Platform · server

Server

An HTTP API with routes, controllers and live channels, on Node, Bun, Deno or Cloudflare Workers. With React or without it.

  • Node
  • Bun
  • Deno
  • Workers
kitr add server api --runtime node

First time? Run npm i -g kitr once. Inside a project, the global kitr runs your project's own version.

Read the server guideWhat works here
Built onH3
// server/routes.ts
import { defineRoutes } from 'kitr/api'
import HealthController from '#server/controllers/health_controller'
import OrdersController from '#server/controllers/orders_controller'

export const routes = defineRoutes((router) =>
  router.group({ prefix: '/api' }, (api) =>
    api
      .get('/health', [HealthController, 'show'], { name: 'health' })
      .resource('orders', OrdersController),
  ),
)

/** The client your pages call is typed from this. */
export type AppRoutes = typeof routes.$types

Four runtimes, one option

runtime: 'bun', 'deno' or 'workers' changes how kitr dev and kitr build run the same server/main.ts. Workers deploy through wrangler.toml.

A typed client, no codegen

Routes and controllers live in server/routes.ts. The client your pages call is typed from that table, so a renamed field is a type error, not a bug report.

Inside your site or beside it

A project with a web platform also gets app/routes/api.$.ts, which mounts the same server inside TanStack Start. Run it there, or as its own process.

No React required

kitr new my-api --kit server has no React anywhere in its dependency graph: an h3 server, routes, a database hook, logs and tests.

Same commands as every platform

Every platform answers to kitr dev, kitr build and kitr start, by the name you gave it. Leave the name off to run them all.

kitr dev api
tsx watch, bun --watch or wrangler dev, by runtime
kitr build api
a bundled server in dist/api
kitr start api
runs the compiled server

Packages that work here

12 packages run on server. Each one is a single kitr add away.

All packages →

Built for the serverServer-only packages for your API.

apiBuild JSON API routes with validation, and call them from the browser fully typed.BackendClient ServerdbConnect your database so every request can use it.BackendServercacheRemember slow results on the server and clear them by tag when the data changes.BackendServermailWrite emails as React components, send them through your provider, and preview them in development.BackendServershieldTurn on the security basics every API needs: CORS, CSRF protection, safe headers and rate limits.BackendServer

App state

Real-time

Auth

Device features

Analytics & errors

Developer tools

Learn more

GuidesBuild an API server without ReactA JSON API with controllers, validation, a database, auth, realtime events, OpenAPI and a typed client, and no React anywhere.Add sign-in, end to endUsers, password sign-in, cookie sessions, guarded pages, sessions in server actions and API routes, and permissions checked the same way in the browser and on the server.Deploy to productionBuild a kitr app, set its environment, run migrations and ship it as static files, one Node process, a Docker image or a Cloudflare Worker.Build a full-stack appOne codebase with server-rendered pages, a database, server actions, a public API and live updates.Add live updatesPush changes from the server to every open screen over typed channels, so lists and details update without a reload.Migrate from Next.jsMove a Next.js App Router project to kitr page by page, with a map from every Next.js concept to its kitr equivalent.Keep several apps in one repositoryA pnpm workspace with a web app, an API server, a shared package of schemas and types, and a private kitr package, all checked and tested together.Test your appA test suite for a kitr app, from permission rules to a real browser, with a test database and a CI workflow that runs it on every push.
DocsPlatform guideInstall, configure, run and ship.API referenceEvery export, with its types.Platforms referenceEvery option, command and the platform contract.
Resourcesh3 The HTTP framework the server is built on.Bun runtime: 'bun'Deno runtime: 'deno'Cloudflare Workers runtime: 'workers', deployed with wrangler.

Start from a kit

A kit sets up the platforms, the packages and a first page in one command. Kits with server: server, fullstack, saas.

kitr new my-app --kit server

First time? Run npm i -g kitr once. Inside a project, the global kitr runs your project's own version.

Add another platform

Platforms share the app/ folder, so adding one is a command, not a rewrite.

Mix and match →
WebSSR · SPA · PWASoonDesktopElectronSoonTauriRust + webviewSoonMobileiOS · Android