Nestjs Swagger Setup

NestJS Swagger Setup

Use this workflow to install or repair Swagger UI and OpenAPI JSON endpoints in a NestJS application.

Inputs

Collect before changes:

• Project root path
• Package manager (npm, pnpm, or yarn)
• Existing global prefix usage (app.setGlobalPrefix(...))
• Desired docs exposure in production (enabled or disabled)

If a required input is missing, ask one precise question and pause implementation.

Preconditions

1. Confirm the target is a NestJS project with main.ts and a root module.
2. Confirm Node and dependency compatibility for the workspace.
3. Confirm write access to source files and environment files.

If preconditions fail, stop and report the exact blocker.

Deterministic Workflow

1. Install required dependencies from project root:
   • @nestjs/swagger
   • @nestjs/config
2. Verify major-version alignment:
   • Nest 11 -> @nestjs/swagger ^11
   • Nest 10 -> @nestjs/swagger ^10
3. Ensure ConfigModule.forRoot({ isGlobal: true }) is configured in the root module (or preserve an equivalent existing global config strategy).
4. Create or repair bootstrap helper using reference.md:
   • src/libs/swagger/setup-swagger.ts
5. Wire setupSwagger(app) in main.ts after app creation and before listen(...).
6. Create or update .env keys for Swagger behavior:
   • SWAGGER_ENABLED
   • SWAGGER_PATH
   • SWAGGER_UI_ENABLED
   • SWAGGER_RAW_ENABLED
   • SWAGGER_JSON_URL
   • SWAGGER_USE_GLOBAL_PREFIX
   • optional SWAGGER_BEARER_AUTH
7. Ensure .env is ignored by git when repository policy requires local secrets.
8. Preserve unrelated project code and avoid refactoring outside Swagger/config scope.

Route Rules

• Default docs path: SWAGGER_PATH=api/docs
• Default JSON route segment: SWAGGER_JSON_URL=openapi.json
• If SWAGGER_USE_GLOBAL_PREFIX=true, JSON endpoint is prefixed by the app global prefix.
• If SWAGGER_UI_ENABLED=false, only raw definition endpoints are served when SWAGGER_RAW_ENABLED=true.
• If both UI and raw are disabled, no Swagger surface should be exposed.

Security Defaults

• Default production stance: SWAGGER_ENABLED=false unless explicitly required.
• If enabled in production, require upstream protection (gateway auth, app guard, or network allowlist).
• Do not use sensitive secrets as feature flags for Swagger enablement.

Verification Gates

1. Start the app (start or start:dev).
2. Validate docs UI route when enabled:
   • http://localhost:<PORT>/<SWAGGER_PATH>
3. Validate OpenAPI JSON route when raw is enabled:
   • without prefix: http://localhost:<PORT>/<SWAGGER_JSON_URL>
   • with prefix: http://localhost:<PORT>/<global-prefix>/<SWAGGER_JSON_URL>
4. Validate bearer auth button only when SWAGGER_BEARER_AUTH=true.
5. Validate the Swagger top bar includes the Download OpenAPI button pointing to configured JSON route.
6. Report exact pass/fail status for each gate.

Failure Handling

• If dependency installation fails, report command and error context and stop before partial wiring.
• If required files are missing (main.ts, root module), stop and request the correct project path.
• If an existing Swagger setup is present, perform minimal edits instead of replacing unrelated options.

Deliverables

• Updated dependency manifest
• Updated root module config import/wiring
• Updated main.ts bootstrap call
• Added or updated src/libs/swagger/setup-swagger.ts
• Added or updated .env Swagger variables
• Verification summary with concrete tested routes

Checklist

• Dependencies installed and version-aligned
• ConfigModule globally available
• setupSwagger helper added or repaired
• setupSwagger(app) called before listen(...)
• .env contains required SWAGGER_* keys
• Swagger exposure matches UI/raw/global-prefix toggles
• Download OpenAPI button visible and functional when UI enabled
• Verification results documented with exact routes

Additional Resources

• Full implementation: reference.md
• Minimal snippets: examples.md