API Scaffold

API Scaffold

Scaffold a complete REST API resource with CRUD endpoints, validation, error handling, and tests.

Inputs

When invoked, determine these from the user's request:

• Resource name (required): e.g., "user", "product", "order". Singularize if plural.
• Framework (optional, default: auto-detect from package.json): "express" or "fastify".
• Language (optional, default: auto-detect from project): "typescript" or "javascript".
• Fields (optional): If the user specifies fields, use them. Otherwise, create a sensible default schema with id, createdAt, updatedAt, and 2-3 domain-relevant fields.

Steps

1. Detect Project Setup

Run these commands to understand the project:

cat package.json
ls src/ || ls app/ || ls .

Determine:

• Framework: Check dependencies for express, fastify, @fastify/, koa, etc.
• Language: Check for tsconfig.json, file extensions in src/.
• Project structure: Identify where routes/controllers live (e.g., src/routes/, src/api/, routes/).
• Existing patterns: Read one existing route file to match the project's conventions.

If no package.json exists, ask the user which framework and language to use.

2. Create the Validation Schema

Create <resource>.schema.<ext> in the appropriate directory.

TypeScript + Zod example (src/schemas/product.schema.ts):

import { z } from 'zod';

export const createProductSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(1).max(255),
  description: z.string().max(2000).optional(),
  price: z.number().positive().finite(),
  category: z.string().min(1).max(100),
  inStock: z.boolean().default(true),
});

export const updateProductSchema = createProductSchema.partial();

export const productIdSchema = z.object({
  id: z.string().uuid(),
});

export const listProductsQuerySchema = z.object({
  page: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(1),
  limit: z.coerce.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(20),
  sort: z.enum(['createdAt', 'name', 'price']).default('createdAt'),
  order: z.enum(['asc', 'desc']).default('desc'),
  search: z.string().max(255).optional(),
});

export type CreateProductInput = z.infer<typeof createProductSchema>;
export type UpdateProductInput = z.infer<typeof updateProductSchema>;
export type ListProductsQuery = z.infer<typeof listProductsQuerySchema>;

If the project uses Joi instead of Zod, use Joi syntax. If neither is installed, use Zod and note that the user should npm install zod.

3. Create the Route/Controller File

Create the route file following the detected project structure.

Express pattern (src/routes/product.routes.<ext>):

import { Router, Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';

const router = Router();

// GET /api/products - List with pagination, sorting, search
router.get('/', async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  try {
    const query = listProductsQuerySchema.parse(req.query);
    // TODO: Replace with actual data source
    const { page, limit, sort, order, search } = query;
    const offset = (page - 1) * limit;
    const items: any[] = []; // TODO: query database
    const total = 0; // TODO: count query
    res.json({
      data: items,
      meta: { page, limit, total, totalPages: Math.ceil(total / limit) },
    });
  } catch (err) { next(err); }
});

// GET /api/products/:id - Get single resource
router.get('/:id', async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  try {
    const { id } = productIdSchema.parse(req.params);
    const item = null; // TODO: find by id
    if (!item) { res.status(404).json({ error: 'Product not found' }); return; }
    res.json({ data: item });
  } catch (err) { next(err); }
});

// POST /api/products - Create resource
router.post('/', async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  try {
    const data = createProductSchema.parse(req.body);
    const item = null; // TODO: insert into database
    res.status(201).json({ data: item });
  } catch (err) { next(err); }
});

// PUT /api/products/:id - Update resource
router.put('/:id', async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  try {
    const { id } = productIdSchema.parse(req.params);
    const data = updateProductSchema.parse(req.body);
    const item = null; // TODO: update in database
    if (!item) { res.status(404).json({ error: 'Product not found' }); return; }
    res.json({ data: item });
  } catch (err) { next(err); }
});

// DELETE /api/products/:id - Delete resource
router.delete('/:id', async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  try {
    const { id } = productIdSchema.parse(req.params);
    const deleted = false; // TODO: delete from database
    if (!deleted) { res.status(404).json({ error: 'Product not found' }); return; }
    res.status(204).send();
  } catch (err) { next(err); }
});

export default router;

Fastify pattern (src/routes/product.routes.<ext>):

import { FastifyInstance } from 'fastify';

export default async function productRoutes(app: FastifyInstance) {
  app.get('/', { schema: { querystring: listSchema } }, async (req, reply) => {
    // ... pagination + list logic
  });
  app.get('/:id', async (req, reply) => { /* ... */ });
  app.post('/', async (req, reply) => { /* ... */ });
  app.put('/:id', async (req, reply) => { /* ... */ });
  app.delete('/:id', async (req, reply) => { /* ... */ });
}

4. Create Error Handling Middleware

If the project does not already have centralized error handling, create src/middleware/errorHandler.<ext>:

import { Request, Response, NextFunction } from 'express';
import { ZodError } from 'zod';

export function errorHandler(err: Error, req: Request, res: Response, _next: NextFunction) {
  // Validation errors
  if (err instanceof ZodError) {
    res.status(400).json({
      error: 'Validation failed',
      details: err.errors.map(e => ({
        field: e.path.join('.'),
        message: e.message,
      })),
    });
    return;
  }

  // Known application errors
  if ('statusCode' in err && typeof (err as any).statusCode === 'number') {
    res.status((err as any).statusCode).json({ error: err.message });
    return;
  }

  // Unknown errors - do not leak internals
  console.error('[ERROR]', err);
  res.status(500).json({ error: 'Internal server error' });
}

5. Create Rate Limiting Middleware

If not already present, create src/middleware/rateLimit.<ext>:

const requestCounts = new Map<string, { count: number; resetAt: number }>();

export function rateLimit({ windowMs = 60_000, max = 100 } = {}) {
  return (req: any, res: any, next: any) => {
    const key = req.ip || req.connection?.remoteAddress || 'unknown';
    const now = Date.now();
    const record = requestCounts.get(key);

    if (!record || now > record.resetAt) {
      requestCounts.set(key, { count: 1, resetAt: now + windowMs });
      return next();
    }

    record.count++;
    res.setHeader('X-RateLimit-Limit', String(max));
    res.setHeader('X-RateLimit-Remaining', String(Math.max(0, max - record.count)));

    if (record.count > max) {
      res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many requests. Please try again later.' });
      return;
    }

    next();
  };
}

Note: For production, recommend express-rate-limit or @fastify/rate-limit instead of this in-memory implementation.

6. Create Test Skeleton

Create <resource>.test.<ext> in the test directory (or alongside the route if no test dir exists):

import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest'; // or jest
// import supertest if available

const BASE_URL = '/api/products';

describe('Product API', () => {
  describe('POST /api/products', () => {
    it('should create a product with valid data', async () => {
      // TODO: send POST request with valid body
      // expect status 201
      // expect response.data to match input
    });

    it('should return 400 for invalid data', async () => {
      // TODO: send POST with missing required fields
      // expect status 400
      // expect response.error to be 'Validation failed'
    });
  });

  describe('GET /api/products', () => {
    it('should return paginated list', async () => {
      // TODO: send GET request
      // expect status 200
      // expect response.data to be an array
      // expect response.meta to have page, limit, total, totalPages
    });

    it('should respect pagination params', async () => {
      // TODO: send GET with ?page=2&limit=5
      // verify correct offset behavior
    });
  });

  describe('GET /api/products/:id', () => {
    it('should return a product by ID', async () => {
      // TODO: create a product first, then fetch by ID
      // expect status 200
    });

    it('should return 404 for non-existent ID', async () => {
      // TODO: fetch with random UUID
      // expect status 404
    });
  });

  describe('PUT /api/products/:id', () => {
    it('should update an existing product', async () => {
      // TODO: create, then update
      // expect status 200
      // expect updated fields
    });

    it('should allow partial updates', async () => {
      // TODO: send PUT with only one field
      // expect other fields unchanged
    });
  });

  describe('DELETE /api/products/:id', () => {
    it('should delete an existing product', async () => {
      // TODO: create, then delete
      // expect status 204
    });

    it('should return 404 for non-existent ID', async () => {
      // TODO: delete with random UUID
      // expect status 404
    });
  });
});

7. Show Registration Instructions

After creating all files, show the user how to register the new route in their app entry point:

// In your main app file (e.g., src/app.ts or src/index.ts):
import productRoutes from './routes/product.routes';
app.use('/api/products', productRoutes);

8. Summary

Print a summary of all created files and any packages that need to be installed:

Created:
  - src/schemas/product.schema.ts
  - src/routes/product.routes.ts
  - src/middleware/errorHandler.ts (if new)
  - src/middleware/rateLimit.ts (if new)
  - tests/product.test.ts

Install (if needed):
  npm install zod
  npm install -D vitest supertest @types/supertest

Next steps:
  1. Register the route in your app entry point
  2. Replace TODO comments with actual database logic
  3. Run tests: npx vitest product

Notes

• Always match existing project conventions (naming, file structure, import style, semicolons, quotes).
• If the project uses ESM ("type": "module"), use import/export. If CJS, use require/module.exports.
• Do not overwrite existing files. If a route file already exists, warn the user and ask before proceeding.