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Ship your backend with Codex.

Hand Codex a backend task. It writes the TypeScript with the Xano SDK, you run it on the Xano Engine on your machine, then deploy it to Xano, and you review every change before it goes live.

Start building with Codex How coding agents build on Xano
$ npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install
Coding agent Codex writes the TypeScript + Platform Xano runs it in production xano-backend agent skill init AGENTS.md Xano Engine your machine Xano cloud live URL local MCP server one set of rules · one path to production

Context, not guesswork

One command installs the xano-backend skill in Codex. llms.txt, its topic files and the AGENTS.md that init writes ground it in the real SDK API, so the backend it writes follows the platform instead of improvising.

A disposable environment for every task

Codex deploys to the Xano Engine on your machine, then to a disposable ephemeral on Xano’s cloud with its own URL. Test it and review it before anything touches your workspace.

Production from day one

Postgres, auth, APIs, background jobs, and scaling are already handled. Codex focuses on the logic, and Xano keeps it running.

Four stops on the SDK line

From terminal to production with Codex.

  1. 01 · Skill

    Add Xano to Codex.

    Install the xano-backend skill into each coding agent on this machine, Codex included, or use the skills installer: npx skills add xano-sdk/sdk. When a project needs a backend and has none, the skill has Codex confirm Xano with you, run init, deploy, and follow the AGENTS.md that init wrote.

    $ npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install
    Terminal $ npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install ✓ installed into each coding agent # or with the skills installer $ npx skills add xano-sdk/sdk SKILL.md xano-backend Codex skill ready confirm Xano · run init · deploy · follow AGENTS.md
  2. 02 · Init

    Scaffold and connect.

    No sign-in needed. init writes a TypeScript backend under xano/, a frontend, the xano:deploy scripts and an AGENTS.md brief for Codex to follow. npx xanosdk local mcp prints the Xano Engine’s MCP server block: add it to Codex’s MCP config, and Codex reads tables and rows, seeds data, and runs functions and tests on your machine. Already on Xano? init --from workspace reads your workspace back as TypeScript, so Codex has real context to work from.

    $ npx @xano/sdk init my-app && cd my-app
    my-app/ xano/index.ts TypeScript backend frontend/ React or Svelte AGENTS.md brief for agents package.json xano:* scripts Xano Engine MCP server on your machine Codex connected read tables seed data run tests
  3. 03 · Task

    Describe the task.

    Tell Codex what the backend needs (a table, an API group, a background task) and it writes TypeScript with the Xano SDK, grounded in llms.txt, its topic files and AGENTS.md. The surface is fully typed, so what Codex writes always compiles to a valid workspace, and the xano.lock every build writes keeps renames as renames.

    Terminal writing xano/index.ts Codex Ask A table An API group A background task Grounded in llms.txt AGENTS.md ✓ always compiles
  4. 04 · Review

    Review before it ships.

    npm run xano:deploy runs the backend on the Xano Engine on your machine, where npx xanosdk test run-all checks it. npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral puts it on a disposable environment on Xano’s cloud with its own URL to review. Nothing reaches your workspace until you release it: deploy --ephemeral --test, release create v1, then promote v1.

    $ npm run xano:deploy
    $ npm run xano:deploy → Deploying ./xano/index.ts → Xano Engine ✓ Xano Engine xanosdk-4f2a91 deployed http://127.0.0.1:53358 Open the builder: http://127.0.0.1:53358/… Xano Engine your machine Ephemeral Xano’s cloud Workspace via a release the same code, from your laptop to production
Only in Codex

AGENTS.md, cloud tasks and sandboxes: Codex on a Xano backend

Codex reads AGENTS.md, and init writes one into every Xano project. The rest of the setup is built for tasks that run without you watching: no account for local runs, no browser for sign-in.

AGENTS.md is already there

The brief init writes tells Codex how the SDK works and how this project deploys. Add your team’s rules to the same file, and Codex, Claude Code and Cursor all follow one brief.

A real backend with no account or network

The Xano Engine is a single binary with Postgres built in. It needs no account and no network, and its version is pinned in package.json, so the backend Codex deploys and tests against is the same engine you run locally.

Cloud tasks without a browser

Local deploys need no sign-in. For an ephemeral on Xano’s cloud, npx @xano/sdk login --paste prints the URL to open anywhere, and a token from your instance’s settings works headless, in a container, a Codespace or CI.

Review the task, then release it

Each task’s changes land in xano/, where you read the diff. npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral gives it a live URL; only a release you create and promote reaches your workspace.

What a Codex task runs
# no account, no network: the Xano Engine
npm run xano:deploy
npx xanosdk test run-all

# a disposable ephemeral on Xano's cloud, tested
npx xanosdk deploy --ephemeral --test

# your workspace, only through a release you approve
npx xanosdk release create v1
npx xanosdk promote v1
Guide

Make AI-generated code safe for production

AI can generate apps fast. Xano can help you make them production-ready, reliable, and built to last.

How Xano governs AI-generated code
From your agent to production Codex writes the code Types compiles Tests suite passes Release read back into production only when every check passes
Docs

Go deeper on the SDK

Every command on this page comes from the Xano SDK. See how coding agents build on Xano →

Guide

The CLI and the agent skill

Guide

Signing in & deploying

GitHub

The Xano SDK on GitHub

The platform under the line

Everything Codex needs to ship real backends.

Logic in Canvas View

See what your code compiled to as a Function Stack in Canvas View: transparent, auditable, human-readable.

Managed Postgres

Production-ready PostgreSQL with triggers, relationships, and direct access. No migrations, no DevOps.

API builder

Instant REST APIs with auth, rate limiting, and custom logic. Ready to connect to any frontend or service.

AI-assisted building

Describe your backend. AI builds schemas, APIs, auth, and logic, governed from the start.

Xano SDK + agent skill

Write the backend as typed TypeScript in your repo, from any IDE or agent, with full governance intact.

Observability & monitoring

Request tracing, performance dashboards, and audit logs across every system.

Environment management

Branch, test, and promote. Git-based versioning so nothing untested reaches production.

RBAC & compliance

HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO compliance with fine-grained access control. Built in from day one.
Questions

Codex and the Xano SDK

How do I connect Codex to Xano?

Run npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install to install the xano-backend skill into each coding agent on your machine, Codex included (status and uninstall work the same way), or npx skills add xano-sdk/sdk. Then npx @xano/sdk init my-app scaffolds a project, and Codex is ready to build. The CLI guide has the details.

Can Codex take tasks on an existing Xano workspace?

Yes. Pull the workspace into a repo once with npx @xano/sdk init my-app --from workspace, which reads it back as TypeScript and diffs it against the source. From then on xano/ is the source Codex edits. A pull carries schema only, so point tasks at the Xano Engine or an ephemeral, never at production data.

What does Codex read before it writes Xano code?

The AGENTS.md that init wrote comes first: it is the project brief Codex picks up. From there the SDK’s llms.txt routes it to the llms/*.md topic files and manifest.json, generated from the SDK’s own sources so they cannot drift. The TypeScript compiler checks whatever Codex writes.

How do I review what Codex built?

Deploy it to the Xano Engine with npm run xano:deploy and open the builder link the deploy prints to see what the code compiled to. For a shareable URL, npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral puts it on a disposable ephemeral on Xano’s cloud. To reach your workspace, cut a release: deploy --ephemeral --test, release create v1, promote v1. Nothing goes live until you say so.

Can Codex run without a browser?

Yes. The Xano Engine needs no account, so local deploys need no sign-in at all. For the cloud, npx @xano/sdk login --paste prints the URL to open anywhere, and a token from your instance’s settings works headless, in a container, a Codespace or CI.

Can Codex build and test a Xano backend on its own?

Yes. The Xano Engine is a single binary with Postgres built in that needs no account and no network, so Codex can deploy to it and run npx xanosdk test run-all before you review anything. You read the diff in xano/, then ship it through an ephemeral and a release. See how coding agents build on Xano.

Who owns the code Codex writes?

You do. It is TypeScript in xano/ in your repo: version it, review it in pull requests, edit it by hand and redeploy. The xano.lock every build writes keeps renames as renames, and Canvas View in the Xano editor shows your team what the code compiled to.

AI builds software. Xano makes it trustworthy.

Let Codex write the backend. Let Xano run it.

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