Never leave the command line
The SDK’s CLI deploys, tests, releases and promotes from your terminal or your CI.
xanosdk Xano SDK: your whole backend as TypeScript.
Your coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) writes the database, APIs, MCP servers and agents in TypeScript with the Xano SDK. Run them on the Xano Engine on your machine, then deploy to Xano with one command. Canvas View and the Function Stack show the whole team what got built.
Start free $
npx @xano/sdk init my-app Everything you or your agents build is governed: reviewed, tested, versioned, and observable before it ships. See how AI code governance works
export const post = table({
name: "post",
schema: {
title: f.text({ required: true }),
published: f.bool({ default: false }),
author: f.tableRef(user),
},
});
const createPost = query({
verb: "POST", apiGroup: blog, name: "posts",
input: { title: input.text({ required: true }) },
stack: [s.db.add({
table: post, row: { title: inp("title") }, as: "row",
})],
response: ref("row"),
});● Adapted from the SDK README. Compiles to Canvas View and the Function Stack on deploy.
Signals on the line
Code for humans and agents, built right.
A language AI already knows
TypeScript, plus an agent skill that teaches Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to write valid Xano code that always compiles.
TypeScript Let AI build deterministically
End-to-end types, a strict export and your team’s Knowledge keep agents on rails.
Knowledge The toolkit
The tools you need to build fast and right.
With a CLI for terminal and CI work, an agent skill and Knowledge that give your agents all the context they need, the Xano Engine on your machine, and out-of-the-box infrastructure when you deploy, you get the flexibility of custom software without the overhead.
Xano SDK
Start with the Xano SDK
Scaffold a backend and frontend in TypeScript, then run, test, release and promote it from your terminal with the SDK’s CLI.
$npx @xano/sdk init my-app - Run it on the Xano Engine:
npm run xano:deploy - Teach your agent the rules:
npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install - Put it live on Xano:
npx xanosdk deploy
Prefer XanoScript?
XanoScript and the Xano CLI
XanoScript is Xano’s language for tables, APIs, functions, tasks, triggers, agents, MCP servers, and tests. Install the Xano CLI from npm to push and pull it, manage branches, releases and tenants, and run workflow tests from your terminal.
$npm install -g @xano/cli XanoScript is the code form of everything in a Xano workspace, synced with the Xano CLI. The Xano SDK writes the same backend as TypeScript in your repo, and npx @xano/sdk init my-app --from workspace reads an existing workspace back as TypeScript.
Get started with the Xano CLI Xano CLI command reference XanoScript reference docs
The code line
From your terminal to a backend agents build right.
- 01 · Xano SDK CLI
Build the way you’re used to.
Run, test and ship your backend without leaving your terminal. The SDK’s CLI fits into professional engineering workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and coworking with AI coding agents.
- Run your backend on the Xano Engine on your machine with
npm run xano:deploy. - Deploy to a disposable ephemeral and run your tests first with
npx xanosdk deploy --ephemeral --test. A failing suite stops the deploy. - Fail CI on any warning with
export --strict. It needs no secrets. - Land releases on your workspace with
xanosdk release createandpromote.
npx xanosdk deploy --ephemeral --test - Run your backend on the Xano Engine on your machine with
- 02 · TypeScript
Real code, no chaos.
Your agent writes tables, APIs, realtime channels, tasks, MCP servers and AI agents as TypeScript objects in your repo. A generated route manifest types every call end to end, so a backend rename is a compile error, not a 404. After each deploy, Canvas View and the Function Stack show what the code compiled to.
- Author and edit backend logic as real TypeScript, reviewed in pull requests.
- Use AI coding agents to accelerate backend development.
- See every change in Canvas View, readable by the business stakeholders you work with.
- 03 · Agent skill + Knowledge
AI that knows Xano and knows your business.
Turn your coding agent into a spec-aware Xano copilot that’s also an expert on how your own business builds. The agent skill teaches Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to write valid Xano code that always compiles.
initconnects your agent to the Xano Engine’s MCP server, and Knowledge holds your workspace rules, so your agent stays on rails and builds the way your team builds.- Ground your agents in the business context they need to build the way your team builds.
- Let your agent read tables and rows, seed data, and run functions and tests on the local engine.
- Catch errors at compile time and with
export --strict, not in production. - Stay in your flow instead of jumping between tools and docs.
npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install
Any agent on the line
Work with your coding agent of choice.
Couplings
Bring your own code.
Already have logic written in JavaScript, Python, or another language? Xano doesn’t lock you into a single way of building. Run JavaScript functions natively via Deno, or deploy sidecar Docker microservices for Python and other runtimes, so you can integrate existing code and libraries without rebuilding from scratch.
Custom functions in the Xano docsJavaScript, natively
Run JavaScript lambda functions directly inside Xano, powered by Deno.
Deno Any language, as a sidecar
Deploy sidecar Docker microservices to run Python, Go, or any language your team already uses.
Docker Managed underneath
Keep the benefits of Xano’s managed infrastructure while using the languages and libraries you already know.
infrastructure Further down the line
Related resources
SDK
How the Xano SDK works
From init to deploy: write with AI, run locally on the Xano Engine, deploy to Xano.
GitHubxano-sdk/sdk on GitHub
Source, guides and examples for the MIT-licensed Xano SDK.
BlogMake Agents Build the Way Your Team Builds
Give your agents the business context they need to build right.
Questions
Building with code on Xano
Can I use AI coding agents like Claude Code or Cursor with Xano?
Yes. npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install teaches Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to write valid Xano code that always compiles. init connects your agent to the Xano Engine’s MCP server, so it can read tables and rows, seed data, and run functions and tests on your machine.
What if I want to use a language Xano doesn’t natively support?
Xano runs JavaScript lambda functions natively through Deno, so you can bring existing logic directly into your Xano backend. For Python or other languages, you can deploy sidecar Docker microservices that run alongside your Xano workspace. This means you’re never forced to rewrite working code: you can bring your existing logic into Xano and combine it with the rest of your backend however you see fit.
What is the Xano SDK, and how is it different from traditional backend code?
The Xano SDK (@xano/sdk on npm, MIT licensed) lets you write a Xano backend as TypeScript objects in your repo: tables, APIs, realtime channels, tasks, MCP servers, AI agents, middleware and triggers. It runs on the Xano Engine on your machine and deploys to Xano’s managed infrastructure, a generated route manifest types every call end to end, and after each deploy Canvas View and the Function Stack show the whole team what the code compiled to.
Can I still use XanoScript and the Xano CLI?
Yes. XanoScript is the code form of everything in a Xano workspace, and the Xano CLI (npm install -g @xano/cli) pushes and pulls it from your terminal. To move to TypeScript, npx @xano/sdk init my-app --from workspace reads an existing workspace back as TypeScript, ready to commit to Git.
What is Knowledge?
Knowledge is a workspace-native library of persistent, team-authored context that tells agents how your team builds. It comes in three forms: a workspace AGENTS.md for always-on rules, docs for on-demand reference, and skills for step-by-step procedures (the same skills and AGENTS.md pattern standard AI coding tools rely on, brought natively into a governed workspace). You can author and manage it three ways: by hand in the Xano UI, through the Xano Agent, or via external coding agents over the Developer MCP, all writing to the same library, with reference files carried per skill. Inclusion modes (always, on demand, or manual) let each skill decide when it enters an agent’s context, so a large library never bloats a session. Every change flows through the same push and commit review as any other agent edit, with full version history, while admins lock and enforce both editing and inclusion. And the same context reaches your local coding agents through the CLI and Developer MCP, so instead of re-explaining your conventions every session, your team’s standards persist and apply repeatably, whatever tool your agents build in.
What does the agent skill do?
It teaches Claude Code, Codex and Cursor the rules of the Xano SDK, so the code they write is valid Xano code that always compiles. Install it into every coding agent on your machine with npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install, or inside Claude Code with /plugin marketplace add xano-sdk/sdk.
How does Xano fit into professional development workflows?
Your backend is TypeScript in your repo, reviewed in pull requests. The SDK’s CLI deploys to disposable ephemerals and runs your tests (npx xanosdk deploy --ephemeral --test), fails CI on any warning with export --strict, and lands releases with xanosdk release create and promote, so teams automate backend delivery without changing how they work.
Do I need to manage infrastructure or DevOps to use Xano?
No. Xano provides ready-to-scale backend infrastructure out of the box, so you can focus on building APIs and business logic instead of provisioning servers, scaling databases, or managing deployments.
Is Xano only for use with AI coding agents?
Not at all. You can write the TypeScript by hand or have a coding agent write it, and the whole team reviews the result in pull requests and in the same workspace. Xano supports human-written code, AI-generated logic, and collaborative workflows between developers and agents.
AI builds software. Xano makes it trustworthy.
The backend agents can build and humans can trust.
Get started: $
npx @xano/sdk init my-app