Build a fake backend by providing the content of JSON files or JavaScript objects through configurable routes.
Comes as a Node.js server. Useful for mocking, testing and developing independent of the »real« backend.
Let’s say you need an endpoint like http://localhost:8081/api/example which should return:
{
"response": "Yeah"
}
It’s a matter of seconds to create this endpoint with help of this little hapi server.
It might take a few seconds longer as setting up the well-made JSON Server but it’s way more flexible.
- Node.js (v4.0.0 or greater)
git clone https://github.com/micromata/http-fake-backend.git
npm install
Hint: Use yarn install
instead of npm install
if you have installed Yarn … and yup, we have a lock file 💖
Or with help of Yeoman
npm install -g yo
npm install -g generator-http-fake-backend
This comes in handy, because the Yeoman generator has a sub-generator to setup endpoints of your fake backend very convenient. See https://github.com/micromata/generator-http-fake-backend.
The server runs at http://localhost:8081/ providing a page with links to all existing API endpoints.
There are the following two options.
npm run start:dev
This way the server uses nodemon
to restart itself on changes.
This way you dont have to restart the server in case you changed an endpoint.
npm start
Just fires up the server via node.
This one comes is without any magic (eg. foreverjs
)
Each endpoint needs a configuration file in /server/api/
to define routes, http method and the response.
/server/api/simpleExample.js
:
module.exports = SetupEndpoint({
name: 'simpleExample',
urls: [{
requests: [
{ response: '/json-templates/simpleExample.json' }
]
}]
});
/server/api/anotherExample.js
:
module.exports = SetupEndpoint({
name: 'anotherExample',
urls: [{
params: '/read',
requests: [{
method: 'GET',
response: '/json-templates/anotherExample.json'
}]
}, {
params: '/update/{id}',
requests: [{
method: ['PUT', 'PATCH'],
response: {
success: true
}
}, {
method: 'DELETE',
response: {
deleted: true
}
}]
}]
});
/server/api/fakingStatusCodes.js
:
module.exports = SetupEndpoint({
name: 'statusCodes',
urls: [
{
params: '/boomError',
requests: [{
// Returns a 402 status code + error message provided by boom:
// {
// "error" : "Payment Required",
// "statusCode" : 402
// }
statusCode: 402
}]
},
{
params: '/customError',
requests: [{
// Returns a HTTP status code 406 and a self defined response:
response: { error: true },
statusCode: 406
}]
},
{
params: '/regularResponse',
requests: [{
// Returns a 401 error provided by boom
// as defined on endpoint level
response: '/json-templates/anotherExample.json'
}]
}
],
statusCode: 401
});
The configuration object in Detail:
name
- Is used to set the endpoint.
urls
- You need to add at least one url object.
urls.params
- Optional
- URL path parameters with fixed and/or variable path segments.
- Example:
params: '/update/{id}'
- See hapi docs. For example regarding optional path parameters.
urls.requests
- You need to add at least one request object.
- Multiple request objects are needed in case you like to serve different responses via different HTTP methods with the same URL.
urls.requests.method
- optional. Uses
GET
when not defined. string
, orarray
of strings.- is used to define the http method(s) to which the endpoint will listen.
- optional. Uses
urls.requests.response
- Could be a string pointing to a JSON template:
response: '/json-templates/articles.json'
- Or just a JavaScript object:
response: { success: true }
- Could be a string pointing to a JSON template:
urls.requests.statusCode
- Optional
- A status code (number)
- Will return:
- a status code with a self defined response if you provide a response property
- a status code with a predefined error object provided by boom if you dont provide a response property for that request.
statusCode
- Optional
- Every subroute of this endpoint will return a HTTP error with the given status code provided by boom.
The main config is handled via a file named .env
with the following content:
# NODE_ENV
# Could be either `development` or `production`
NODE_ENV=development
# Port of the Server
SERVER_PORT=8081
# Port for running the tests
TEST_PORT=9090
# URL Prefix for the endpoints
# eg. http://localhost:8081/api/foo
API_PREFIX=/api
- Yeoman Generator – Easily generate your fake backend and use sub-generators to setup endpoints like ⚡
Please be aware of the licenses of the components we use in this project. Everything else that has been developed by the contributions to this project is under MIT License.