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API Overview

The PROJAX API is a RESTful API server built with Express that provides programmatic access to all PROJAX operations. It uses a JSON database (lowdb) for storage and automatically handles port discovery and CORS.

Features​

  • RESTful API with Express
  • JSON database using lowdb
  • Automatic migration from SQLite to JSON
  • Port availability checking (tries ports 38124-38133)
  • CORS enabled for cross-origin requests
  • Automatic port discovery and file-based port sharing

Architecture​

The API server:

  • Runs as a standalone Express server
  • Shares the same JSON database as the CLI (~/.projax/data.json)
  • Automatically finds an available port (38124-38133)
  • Writes the selected port to ~/.projax/api-port.txt for discovery
  • Provides REST endpoints for all operations

Base URL​

The API server runs on an automatically selected port. The port is:

  • Displayed in CLI welcome screen
  • Shown in Desktop app status bar
  • Available via prx api command
  • Written to ~/.projax/api-port.txt

Default port range: 38124-38133

Authentication​

Currently, the API does not require authentication as it's designed for local development use. All endpoints are accessible without authentication.

Response Format​

Success Responses​

  • 200 OK - Successful request
  • 201 Created - Resource created
  • 204 No Content - Successful deletion

Error Responses​

All errors return JSON with an error field:

{
  "error": "Error message here"
}

Common status codes:

  • 400 Bad Request - Invalid request
  • 404 Not Found - Resource not found
  • 409 Conflict - Resource conflict (e.g., duplicate project)
  • 500 Internal Server Error - Server error

CORS​

CORS is enabled for all origins, allowing the Desktop app and other clients to access the API from different origins.

Next Steps​