Introduction

FexAPI is a schema-first CLI for generating and serving mock APIs during frontend development.

You define routes once in fexapi/schema.fexapi, compile them to fexapi/.cache/generated.api.json, and run a local API server with realistic fake data.

Why Teams Use FexAPI

• Fast local API setup without spinning up backend services
• Clear mock contracts in versioned schema files
• Repeatable output generated from one source of truth
• Watch mode that regenerates and reloads automatically

Mental Model

schema.fexapi -> fexapi generate -> .cache/generated.api.json -> fexapi serve/dev

fexapi.config.js feeds runtime settings into the same flow, and the full port/route precedence rules live in Configuration.

Which Command When

Task	Command
Create the starter files	fexapi init
Regenerate the cached spec after schema edits	fexapi generate
Reformat schema files	fexapi format
Run the server once	fexapi serve
Develop with automatic reloads	fexapi dev --watch

If you remember one thing, remember this flow:

init -> edit schema -> generate -> serve or dev --watch

Startup Workflow

fexapi init
# edit fexapi/schema.fexapi
fexapi generate
fexapi dev --watch

Files You Actually Need

fexapi/schema.fexapi
fexapi/.cache/generated.api.json
fexapi.config.js

fexapi.config.js is optional but recommended when you want runtime options like cors, delay, or route-level overrides.

Next Steps

• Installation
• Quick Start
• CLI Commands