Start free

Write your backend in TypeScript. Run it anywhere.

Your coding agent writes the database, the APIs, even AI agents. Run it on your own machine on the Xano Engine, with no account and no network. When it is ready, one command puts the same code live on Xano.

View on GitHub Start free
  1. # Scaffold your backend and frontend $ npx @xano/sdk init my-app && cd my-app
  2. # Run the backend on the Xano Engine, on your machine $ npm run xano:deploy
  3. # Start the frontend, already wired to it $ npm run dev

✓ From an empty folder to a running full-stack app, without signing up.

The local track · Write with AI · Run locally · Deploy to Xano

How the Xano SDK works, from init to deploy

  1. 01 · Write with AI

    Your agent writes it in TypeScript.

    Tables, APIs, realtime channels, tasks, MCP servers and AI agents are all TypeScript objects in your repo. The agent skill teaches Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to write valid Xano code that always compiles.

  2. 02 · Run locally on the Xano Engine

    Your whole backend, on your laptop.

    A single binary with Postgres built in. No account, no network, starts in seconds. The engine version is pinned in package.json, so every checkout runs the same one.

  3. 03 · Deploy to Xano

    Same code, live on the cloud.

    One command takes the exact code you ran locally to Xano. Prod matches staging because they are the same commit.

Guardrails · on rails

Guardrails in the SDK: end-to-end types, export --strict, xano.lock, preflight

Every check runs ahead of the change, the way the track appears ahead of the train. Agents can move fast because they cannot leave the line.

End-to-end types

A generated route manifest types every call. A backend rename is a compile error, not a 404.

routes.gen.ts

Strict export in CI

Fail the build on any warning. Every warning and error has a code. Needs no secrets.

export --strict

Stable identities

Renames stay renames and redeploys never duplicate objects, so your public URLs stay yours.

xano.lock

Preflight

Import into a fresh environment, export it back and diff. Import, round-trip and runtime checks.

xanosdk preflight

Tests that gate

Tests on queries, functions and middleware, plus workflow tests. A failing suite stops the deploy.

deploy --test

Release gates

Promotion reads the branch back and refuses anything missing. Shared schema changes need an explicit flag.

promote
Your agent drives. The SDK keeps it on the line.

How Claude Code, Codex and Cursor write Xano code with the SDK

A deterministic, fully typed authoring surface: your agent writes well-typed TypeScript that always compiles to a valid workspace. Install the agent skill once and every coding agent knows the rules.

$ npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install
  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • Cursor
  • Copilot
  • Gemini CLI
  • OpenCode
// xano/index.ts
export const post = table({
  name: "post",
  schema: {
    title:     f.text({ required: true }),
    published: f.bool({ default: false }),
    author:    f.tableRef(user), // type-checked
  },
});

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. Object kinds include table, query, task, mcpServer, agent, tool, middleware, trigger and more.

Cars you can couple on

What you can build with the SDK

Every part of the backend is a TypeScript object in your repo. Your agent writes them, the Xano Engine runs them on your machine, and one deploy puts them live on Xano.

  • Tables

    Postgres tables with typed fields and type-checked references between them.

  • APIs

    REST endpoints in an API group, with typed inputs, a function stack and a response.

  • Realtime channels

    WebSocket channels that push live updates to connected clients.

  • Background tasks

    Background logic that runs outside a request, deployed with the rest of the backend.

  • MCP servers

    Hosted MCP servers that run under the workspace rules: authenticated, permissioned and observable.

  • AI agents

    Agents that run in Xano, powered by a model of your choice.

  • Tools

    Tools your AI agents and MCP servers can call.

  • MCP prompts

    Reusable prompt templates an MCP server offers to the agents that connect to it.

  • MCP resources

    Data an MCP server exposes for agents to read as context.

  • Middleware

    Pre and post logic around your APIs, covered by the same tests.

  • Triggers

    Database triggers that run logic when a table changes.

npm @xano/sdk Version 1.0, MIT licensed GitHub xano-sdk/sdk Source, guides and examples Docs docs.xano.com Reference and deploy guides
Questions

Xano SDK questions

Is the Xano SDK open source?

Yes. The Xano SDK is MIT licensed and published on npm as @xano/sdk, with source, guides and examples on GitHub at xano-sdk/sdk. npx @xano/sdk init my-app scaffolds a backend and frontend in TypeScript, and npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install teaches your coding agent the rules.

Do I need a Xano account to run it?

No. Your backend runs on the Xano Engine on your machine with no account and no network, so you go from an empty folder to a running full-stack app without signing up. An account comes in only when you deploy to Xano, and you can start on the Free plan.

What is the Xano Engine?

The Xano Engine is the whole Xano backend, packaged to run on your laptop: a single binary with Postgres built in, for macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux. It starts in seconds, offline, and its version is pinned in package.json, so every checkout runs the same engine, on your machine, in CI or in Xano’s cloud.

How do I deploy to Xano?

npm run xano:deploy runs your backend on the Xano Engine locally, and npx xanosdk deploy puts the same code live on Xano. Add --ephemeral --test to deploy to a disposable ephemeral and run your tests first; a failing suite stops the deploy. xanosdk release create and promote land a release on your workspace.

Can I use my existing Xano workspace?

Yes. npx @xano/sdk init my-app --from workspace reads your workspace back as TypeScript, ready to commit to Git. From there your coding agent edits it in your repo, and after each deploy Canvas View and the Function Stack show what the code compiled to, readable by everyone on the team.

Build in TypeScript with AI. Run it on the Xano Engine. Ship it to Xano.

AI builds software. Xano makes it trustworthy.

Start free See pricing