api-nexus

api-nexus

Overview

api-nexus is a powerful tool for effortlessly generating comprehensive API documentation for both RESTful and GraphQL APIs. Whether you are building REST APIs or GraphQL schemas, this tool streamlines the documentation process, ensuring clarity and consistency.

Required Node Version => 16.0.0

Features

• Automatic Documentation Generation: Easily generate API documentation based on your RESTful endpoints and GraphQL schemas.

• Separate REST and GraphQL Documentation: Create distinct documents for RESTful APIs and GraphQL APIs.

• Developer-Friendly Markdown Format: The generated documentation is presented in Markdown format, making it easy to read and edit.

• Customization Options: Customize the appearance and content of your API documentation to meet your project's specific needs.

• Interactive GraphQL Playground: Include an interactive GraphQL Playground for users to experiment with queries.

Documentation View

1. Getting Started

Step 1: Install api-nexus

• Use the following command to install the api-nexus package in your project:

  
  > npm install -g api-nexus
              OR
  > npm install api-nexus
  
  

Step 2: Create a Config.yml File

• Create a config.yml file in the root directory of your project. For an example configuration, refer to the [ config.yml Example here ]

Step 3: Set Environment Variables

• Create a .env file in the project root directory and export the following environment variables:

  DOC_USER=test
  DOC_PASSWORD=test
  DOC_ENV=Development
  DOC_PORT=3001
  

Explanation:

• If authentication is defined in your config.yml, provide the following environment variables:
  • DOC_USER=test
  • DOC_PASSWORD=test
• The default server port is 3001. If you want to use a different port, set it with the DOC_PORT environment variable:
  • DOC_PORT=4000
• Add the environment for which you want to create the documentation:
  • DOC_ENV=Development

Step 4: Update Package.json

• Add the following command in your package.json to create the api documentation:

  "scripts": {
      "build-api-documentation": "npm explore api-nexus -- npm run build-api-documentation",
      "start": "node app.js"
  }
  

Step 5: Generate Documentation

• Run the following command to generate the documentation files:

  > npm run build-api-documentation
  

Step 6: Verify Generated Files

• After running the command, a doc folder will be created in the root directory with the following structure:

      doc
      ├── build
      ├── dist
      ├── graph
      │ ├── introspection.json
      │ └── graphMetaData.json
      │
      └── rest
          └── restMetaData.json
  

• Note: These files are auto-generated, and renaming them may cause issues in document generation.You can also create this folder structure in the root project directory manual to run the document.

• [Introspection JSON Example here]

• [graphMetaData JSON Example here]

• [restMetaData JSON Example here]

Step 7: Include Code Lines in Your Project

• Include the following code lines in your project to enable the documentation:

  const express = require("express");
  const app = express();
  const path = require("path");
  
  # Include these lines of code
  const documentApi = require(path.join(__dirname,  "doc",  "build",  "server.cjs"));
  documentApi('/api/my-app/document')
  
  app.get("/health",  async (req, res) => {
      res.send("server is up");
  });
  
  app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
      console.error(err.stack);
      res.status(500).send("Something went wrong!");
  });
  
  const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
  
  app.listen(PORT, () => {
      console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
  });
  

• Note : Adjust the path variable to set the base path at which your document will be visible. For example, /api/document , /api-project/document, etc.

Step 8: Access Document Server

• You can access the document server at the following URL with the specified base path:

  >`domain:3001/api/my-app/document`
  

• Note: If you have set the port to 4000, the URL will be accessible at domain:4000/api/my-app/document.

2. Getting Started With Docker & Nginx

• Steps to setup through docker & nginx to run both ports on your domain

  Step 1: Create a Dockerfile

  • Create a docker file in the project root directory

  Step 2: Docker Configuration

  • Add the below configuratio to the docker file

    FROM node:16
    # Set the working directory
    WORKDIR /app
    # Copy only the package.json and package-lock.json to leverage Docker cache
    COPY package*.json ./
    # Install app dependencies
    RUN npm install
    # Build the API documentation (if needed)
    RUN npm run build-api-documentation
    # Copy the rest of the application code
    COPY .  .
    # Expose the necessary ports
    EXPOSE 3000
    EXPOSE 3001
    # Run the application
    CMD ["npm", "start"]
    

  Step 3: Nginx Setup

  • Create the below setup for the server proxy using Nginx:

    server {
        server_name my-domain;
        client_max_body_size 1024m;
        location /api/document {
        proxy_pass http://my-domain:3004/api/document;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://my-domain:3002;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        }
    }
    

  • Explanation

    • Let's consider you set the base URL as /api/document using the documentApi('/api/document') configuration in your application.

    • Now, in the Nginx setup, the location /api/document block is configured to handle requests for /api/document. This block uses proxy_pass to direct these requests to the document API server, which is assumed to be running on port 3001 and mapped to port 3004 using the Docker command:

      > sudo docker run -it -p 3002:3000 -p 3004:3001 api-nexus
      

    • So, the proxy_pass in the Nginx configuration becomes http://my-domain/api/document.You can handle other base URLs in a similar way by creating additional location blocks in the Nginx configuration, allowing you to route different parts of your application to various backend servers based on your requirements. Adjust the port numbers and base URLs accordingly for your specific setup.

3. Getting Started With Http-Proxies

• If you prefer not to use Nginx for proxying, follow the steps below to serve the document using the HTTP proxy instead.

  const express = require("express");
  const app = express();
  const path = require("path");
  const { createProxyMiddleware  }  =  require("http-proxy-middleware");
  
  # Include the API Nexus documentation server (Load the .cjs as it is supported in both commonJs & ES)
  # If you are using ES module, you  need to use the import statement instead of the require.
  # import path from 'path';
  # import documentApi from './doc/build/server.cjs';
  
  const documentApi = require(path.join(__dirname,  "doc",  "build",  "server.cjs"));
  documentApi('/api/document');
  
  # Create a proxy middleware for the "/api/document" route
  const documentProxy = createProxyMiddleware({
  	target:  "http://domain:3001",  //  Replace  with  the  actual  destination  server  URL
  	changeOrigin: true,
  });
  
  # Use the proxy middleware for the "/api/document" route
  app.use("/api/document",  documentProxy);
  
  app.get("/health",  async (req, res) => {
  	res.send("server is up");
  });
  
  app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
  	console.error(err.stack);
  	res.status(500).send("Something went wrong!");
  });
  
  const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
  app.listen(PORT, () => {
  	console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
  });
  

• With the above http proxy setup you can access the api-documentation at domain:3000/api/document.With the above setup you can access both the API with the same port.

Config.yml Options

Variable	Default	Description
	API Nexus
env	${DOC_ENV}	Specify the environment for documentation (Development, Qa, Staging, Production)
includeExample	true	Include example (true/false) [default=true]
	Authentication
documentUser	${DOC_USER}	Default user is - [documentUser=test]
documentPassword	${DOC_PASSWORD}	Default password is - [documentPassword=test@123]
	Info
title	Sample	Title for the main page [default=Sample]
logo		URL for the logo image [default=Logo]
includeDocumentType	both	Include document type (graph, rest, both) [default=both]
introduction	Welcome to our comprehensive guide on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). ...	Introduction for the main page
graphDescription	Welcome to the GraphQL API Overview, your gateway to the future of data querying ...	Description for GraphQL API [default=some description]
restDescription	Welcome to the REST API Overview, your comprehensive resource for understanding and working ...	Description for REST API [default=some description]
	REST
title	REST	[default=Sample]
version	2.0.0	[default=1.0.0]
description	This comprehensive reference provides detailed information on the GraphQL types, ...	Description for REST API [default=Some description]
	Servers
url	https://sample-dev.com/api/rest	Server URL for REST API
env	Development	Environment for the server
headers	Authorization: <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>	Headers for the server
	GraphQL
title	GraphQL	[default=Sample]
version	2.1.0	[default=1.0.0]
description	This comprehensive reference provides detailed information on the GraphQL types, ...	Description for GraphQL API [default=Some description]
	GraphQL Introspection
url	https://sample-dev.com/api/graphql	URL for GraphQL introspection [Make sure it is accessible and allowed to access]
overWriteEachTime	false	Overwrite introspection each time [default=false]
	GraphQL Servers
url	https://sample-dev.com/api/graphql/dev	Server URL for GraphQL API (Development)
env	Development	Environment for the server
headers	Authorization: <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>, Content-Type: "application/json"	Headers for the server (Development)

Note: You can replace <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE> with the actual token. The URLs and other values should be adjusted based on your specific configuration.