DartAPI CLI

A CLI tool for scaffolding typed REST APIs in Dart, powered by dartapi_core. Generate a minimal server, a full-featured app, or anything in between — then extend it with your own code.

Part of the DartAPI ecosystem.

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Installation

dart pub global activate dartapi

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Commands

dartapi create <project_name>

Scaffolds a new project. Three modes are available:

Minimal (default)

A bare server with a single GET /hello endpoint. No auth, no database — start from a clean slate.

dartapi create my_app

Generated structure:

my_app/
├── bin/main.dart
├── lib/src/controllers/hello_controller.dart
├── env/.env
├── pubspec.yaml
└── analysis_options.yaml

With specific features (--with)

Add exactly the features you need. Combine multiple features with commas.

dartapi create my_app --with=auth
dartapi create my_app --with=db
dartapi create my_app --with=auth,db
dartapi create my_app --with=auth,db,files,ws

Feature	What gets generated
auth	AuthController, AuthService, LoginDTO, TokenResponse, User model, JwtService wiring
db	dartapi_db dependency, UserRepository/ProductRepository, MigrationRunner wiring
files	FilesController with multipart upload support
ws	WsController with WebSocket echo handler

Features compose cleanly — --with=auth,db generates a full auth flow backed by a real database.

Full scaffold (--full)

A kitchen-sink project with all features, a bootstrap architecture, and a ServiceRegistry-based DI setup.

dartapi create my_app --full

Generated structure:

my_app/
├── bin/main.dart
├── lib/src/
│   ├── controllers/    # AuthController, UserController, ProductController, FilesController, WsController
│   ├── dto/            # LoginDTO, UserDTO, ProductDTO, ResourceDTO
│   ├── models/         # User model
│   ├── repositories/   # UserRepository (in-memory + db variants), ProductRepository
│   ├── services/       # AuthService, UserService, ProductService
│   └── bootstrap.dart  # DI wiring via ServiceRegistry
├── migrations/
├── env/.env
├── pubspec.yaml
└── analysis_options.yaml

After scaffolding any mode:

cd my_app
dart pub get
dart run bin/main.dart

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dartapi generate controller <Name>

Adds a typed controller to an existing project:

dartapi generate controller Order

Generates lib/src/controllers/order_controller.dart with GET and POST stubs.

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dartapi generate migration <name>

Creates a numbered SQL migration file in migrations/:

dartapi generate migration create_orders_table
# → migrations/0001_create_orders_table.sql

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dartapi db migrate

Runs all pending migrations against the configured database.

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dartapi run --port <port>

Starts the server and watches for input:

• r — reload
• :q — quit

dartapi run --port=8080

dartapi run --isolates=N

Spawns N Dart isolates all bound to the same port. The OS load-balances incoming connections across all isolates, utilising every CPU core.

dartapi run --isolates=4         # 4 isolates, one per core

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dartapi build

AOT-compiles the project to a self-contained native binary via dart compile exe. No VM startup cost; single binary deployment.

dartapi build                    # produces ./server
dartapi build --output=myapp     # custom binary name
dartapi build --docker           # also writes a Dockerfile

The --docker flag writes a two-stage Dockerfile: compiles in a dart:stable builder image, copies only the binary into a minimal debian:bookworm-slim runtime image.

dartapi build --docker
docker build -t my-app .
docker run -p 8080:8080 my-app

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dartapi docs [--port=<port>] [--out=<file>]

Exports the OpenAPI spec from a running server:

dartapi docs --out openapi.json

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The framework: dartapi_core

The CLI scaffolds projects that use dartapi_core. You can also use dartapi_core directly without the CLI — it's a standalone framework. See its README for documentation covering routing, validation, DI, JWT auth, middleware, OpenAPI, pagination, SSE, WebSockets, and more.

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Database Setup

When using --with=db or --full, update the DbConfig in bin/main.dart to point at your database:

final config = const DbConfig(
  type: DbType.postgres,
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  database: 'dartapi_test',
  username: 'postgres',
  password: 'yourpassword',
  poolConfig: PoolConfig(maxConnections: 10),
);

Create the tables for the generated controllers:

CREATE TABLE users (
  id       SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name     TEXT NOT NULL,
  email    TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE
);

CREATE TABLE products (
  id       SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name     TEXT NOT NULL,
  price    NUMERIC(10, 2) NOT NULL,
  quantity INTEGER NOT NULL
);

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Links

• dartapi_core — routing, validation, DI, auth, middleware
• dartapi_db — PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite
• GitHub
• pub.dev

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License

BSD 3-Clause License © 2025 Akash G Krishnan