Introduction to the newline guide to building and deploying a REST API using Deno.

Welcome to Build and Deploy a REST API with Deno!

In this lesson, we will install Deno and create our setup for the rest of the course.

How to Install Deno Locally and in Docker Containers

Introduction

Deno vs Node: A Deno Fresh Start to JavaScript Runtimes

We will look at the command line interface for running Deno

How to Use the Deno REPL Command Line Interface

In this lesson, we will look at general usage of Deno by running a file and also introduce the config file

Executing TypeScript Files With Deno With the Config File

Learn how to use the Deno standard library and other external modules with URL imports

Deno vs Golang's Standard Library

How to Start a Deno Server and Set Permissions

You will learn how to make a simple token authentication in Deno

How to Build a Token Authentication Server With Deno

Getting Started with Deno

Using Databases with Deno

How to Use PostgreSQL in Docker with Deno

How to Integrate MySQL or MariaDB With Deno

How to Add SQLite to Deno with deno-sqlite

Connect to a database

Introduction to database migrations - what, why and how

What is Database Migration? The Strategy to Migrate Data

Get started with database migrations using Nessie

How to Add Nessie to Deno to Migrate Databases

We will go through creating a migration using the Nessie CLI

How to Create a New Database Migration With Deno Nessie

We will look at how to write a migration script where we create a table

Edit a Deno Nessie Database Migration to Catch Errors

We will run our migration and learn how to roll back the migration

How to Run and Roll Back a Database Migration With Deno Nessie

We will create a seed file using the Nessie CLI

How to Create a Database Seed File With Deno Nessie

We will run our seed file and populate our database

How to Import JSON Data and Seed a Database With Deno Nessie

Database migrations

Introduction to the concept of REST APIs and why we use them

REST API Introduction

We will go through the thought process of planning an application.

Best Practices for a REST API: Endpoints and Database Schema

We will create the initial project files and set up our environment

How to Prepare Deno to Build a REST API

We will create the router and look at how to test our endpoints

How to Build REST API Endpoints in Deno

It's time to add Nessie! We will now initialize Nessie in our project and also spin up our development database

Integrate a PostgreSQL Database With Nessie Into a Deno API

Time to connect our models to our database!

Building a MySQL or PostgreSQL Database Pool in Deno

In this step, we will create our first data model and create a corresponding table using a migration

Migrating Data to PostgreSQL and Modeling Data in Deno

Creating the methods to access the database

Build API Calls That Generate SQL Queries in Deno

Creating the server endpoints for the Duck namespace

Create a Database Controller in Deno

We will look at how to set up authentication and further authorize the requests

How to Authenticate and Authorize REST API Requests in Deno

We will create two new tables using a migration and create the equivalent models

Create New Tables and Models With Deno Database Migration

We will create our Quack service and controller

Add List, Create, Read, Update, and Delete Requests in Deno

The last stretch! We will create our final namespace, Crumb, and connect it to our other models and our router

How to Build Many-to-Many Namespace Connections in Deno

Now that our application is completed, we will consider some improvements and discuss alternative approaches.

API Afterthoughts

REST API

We will introduce deployments and what we will learn in this module

Deployment Introduction

We will create a Docker image for our application

How to Create a Docker Image to Containerize an Application

You will learn how to create a basic CI file for GitHub and GitLab, and run tests on them

How to Create Continuous Integration Files for GitHub and GitLab

We will deploy our application to a server using CI, SSH and git.

How to Deploy a Deno API Server With the Digital Ocean API

We will deploy our application to Digital Ocean Apps. This is by far the easiest (but most costly) approach.

How to Deploy a Deno Docker Image to Digital Ocean

Similar to how we did it in lesson 1, we will be deploying using CI and SSH, but instead of git, we will be using Docker.

Deploy with Docker

Deployment

In this course, we will learn how to work with [Deno](https://deno.land) to create a REST API using TypeScript with the web framework [Oak](https://github.com/oakserver/oak) and the migration tool [Nessie](https://github.com/halvardssm/deno-nessie). 
Deno is a JavaScript runtime created by [Ryan Dahl](https://tinyclouds.org), the same creator for Node, as an attempt to simplify the JavaScript landscape by strictly following the WebAPI specs. 
If you are interested in learning more about the motivation behind Deno, you can watch this video where Ryan Dahl explains "[10 Things I Regret About Node.js](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3BM9TB-8yA)"

We will explore how to create an application using the powers of TypeScript, and learn how to traverse the Deno ecosystem which is much like the native web ecosystem. 
There are 5 modules that will take you from installing Deno and running your first lines of code, to working with web frameworks and databases, and in the end, deploying your application to a web server using a deployment pipeline.

Throughout this course, you will experience all the different aspects of Deno which you will need to create your own application in the future. 
And from this course, you will get a good feeling for if Deno is ready to be your next default for new projects.

In this course, we will learn how to create and deploy a REST API with Deno from scratch.

Build and deploy a REST API with Deno

Integrating databases into your application

Importance of database migrations in production applications

Deploying Deno applications to production using CICD

A Deno project has similarities to a Node project, but there are some important
differences. We will in this lesson set up the base for a Deno project and
discuss its components.

As you learned in the previous module, Deno has an optional config file, and we
can make use of the 

 property to store scripts. For now, we want to add
one task to run the above command easily. Create a new file called 

{
  "tasks": {
    "start": "deno run --allow-net --allow-read --allow-env main.ts"
  }
}

As Deno supports import maps, and this is an application (not a library), we
will be using import maps to keep track of our dependencies instead of a

 file as you would commonly see in libraries.

As we will be using a few secrets and some environment-specific variables, the
best way to proceed is by creating a 

 file. For projects where we have
multiple environments and developers, it is beneficial to have an example file
which contains the environment variables with either empty values or with the
development values (for local development). This file can be added to git as it
does not contain production values, and it gives the developers an indication of
what it should contain.

Once this file has been created, copy its content to 

. This is so we can
have the local development variables in the example file, while the 

The first thing we need to do before starting is to set up the initial files for
development. As you have done for the previous modules, you can create a new
project folder to house the REST API.

When starting the development of a REST API, you want to make sure that the
server is actually running before anything else. To do this, we will use

 which is an HTTP middleware framework
for Deno inspired by 

. Oak will handle all
our routing and endpoints so we only have to worry about the logic.

We also want to take advantage of our new 

 file, and to do this, we will
be using the standard module 

 and use the imports to create a simple
application. Note that we are creating an empty 

 interface, but dont
worry, we will soon populate it.

---
title: How to Prepare Deno to Build a REST API
description: We will create the initial project files and set up our environment
code: https://gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/newline-course-apps/halvard-morstad-build-and-deploy-a-rest-api-with-deno-app/-/tree/main/app_with_sqlite_db%20(updated)/module_4.2?ref_type=heads
---

## Deno REST API setup

A Deno project has similarities to a Node project, but there are some important
differences. We will in this lesson set up the base for a Deno project and
discuss its components.

We will be adding the following files:

-   Deno config file (`deno.jsonc`)
-   Import Map (`import_map.json`)
-   Makefile (`Makefile`)
-   dotenv file (`.env` and `.env.example`)
-   GitIgnore (`.gitignore`)
-   Application entrypoint (`main.ts`)

### Deno config file

As you learned in the previous module, Deno has an optional config file, and we
can make use of the `tasks` property to store scripts. For now, we want to add
one task to run the above command easily. Create a new file called `deno.jsonc`
and add the following.

```json
{
  "tasks": {
    "start": "deno run --allow-net --allow-read --allow-env main.ts"
  }
}
```

### Import Map

As Deno supports import maps, and this is an application (not a library), we
will be using import maps to keep track of our dependencies instead of a
`deps.ts` file as you would commonly see in libraries.

Add a `import_map.json` file with the following content:

```json
{
  "imports": {}
}
```

And then add the `importMap` property to the `deno.jsonc`

```json
{
  "importMap": "./import_map.json",
  "tasks": {
    "start": "deno run --allow-net --allow-read --allow-env main.ts"
  }
}
```

### Environment variables

As we will be using a few secrets and some environment-specific variables, the
best way to proceed is by creating a `.env` file. For projects where we have
multiple environments and developers, it is beneficial to have an example file
which contains the environment variables with either empty values or with the
development values (for local development). This file can be added to git as it
does not contain production values, and it gives the developers an indication of
what it should contain.

Create a `.env.example` file with the following content.

```typescript { actualFilename=../../code/module_4.2/.env.example endChar=31 endLine=3 startChar=0 startLine=1 statedFilename=.env.example url=https&#x3A;//gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/build-a-rest-api-with-deno-and-postgresql/module_05/lesson_02/.../code/module_4.2/.env.example }
APP_NAME=quacker
APP_PORT=8000
```

Once this file has been created, copy its content to `.env`. This is so we can
have the local development variables in the example file, while the `.env` file
will be used by our programs.

### Runtime check

The first thing we need to do before starting is to set up the initial files for
development. As you have done for the previous modules, you can create a new
project folder to house the REST API.

When starting the development of a REST API, you want to make sure that the
server is actually running before anything else. To do this, we will use
[Oak](https://github.com/oakserver/oak) which is an HTTP middleware framework
for Deno inspired by [Koa](https://github.com/koajs/koa/). Oak will handle all
our routing and endpoints so we only have to worry about the logic.

We also want to take advantage of our new `.env` file, and to do this, we will
be using the standard module [dotenv](https://deno.land/std/dotenv). Dotenv will
read the `.env` file and set the `Deno.env` values from it.

Add the imports to the `import_map.json`:

```typescript { actualFilename=../../code/module_4.2/import_map.json endChar=136 endLine=7 startChar=0 startLine=1 statedFilename=import_map.json url=https&#x3A;//gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/build-a-rest-api-with-deno-and-postgresql/module_05/lesson_02/.../code/module_4.2/import_map.json }
{
  "imports": {
    "oak": "https://deno.land/x/oak@v11.1.0/mod.ts",
    "dotenv": "https://deno.land/std@0.155.0/dotenv/mod.ts"
  }
}
```

Now create a file called `main.ts` and use the imports to create a simple
application. Note that we are creating an empty `AppState` interface, but dont
worry, we will soon populate it.

```typescript { actualFilename=../../code/module_4.2/main.ts endChar=465 endLine=21 startChar=0 startLine=1 statedFilename=main.ts url=https&#x3A;//gitlab.com/fullstackio/books/build-a-rest-api-with-deno-and-postgresql/module_05/lesson_02/.../code/module_4.2/main.ts }
import { Application, State } from "oak";
import { config as readEnv } from "dotenv";

export interface AppState extends State {}

const { APP_PORT = "8000", APP_NAME = "Application" } = await readEnv({
  safe: true,
});