Astro

Installation

To get started with Astro and bknd you can either install the package manually, and follow the descriptions below, or use the CLI starter:

CLI Starter

Create a new Astro CLI starter project by running the following command:

  npx bknd create -i astro

Manual

Create a new Astro project by following the official guide, and then install bknd as a dependency:

npm install bknd

pnpm install bknd

yarn add bknd

bun add bknd

The guide below assumes you're using Astro v4. We've experienced issues with Astro DB using v5, see this issue.

For the Astro integration to work, you also need to add the react integration:

npx astro add react

You also need to make sure to set the output to server in your Astro config:

// astro.config.mjs
import { defineConfig } from "astro/config";
import react from "@astrojs/react";

export default defineConfig({
  output: "server", 
  integrations: [react()],
});

If you don't want to use React with Astro, there is also an option to serve the bknd Admin UI statically using Astro's middleware. In case you're interested in this, feel free to reach out in Discord or open an issue on GitHub.

Configuration

When run with Node.js, a version of 22 (LTS) or higher is required. Please verify your version by running node -v, and upgrade if necessary.

Now create a bknd.config.ts file in the root of your project. If you created the project using the CLI starter, this file is already created for you.

bknd.config.ts

import type { AstroBkndConfig } from "bknd/adapter/astro";

export default {
  connection: {
    url: "file:data.db",
  },
} satisfies AstroBkndConfig;

See bknd.config.ts for more information on how to configure bknd. The AstroBkndConfig type extends the BkndConfig type with the following additional properties:

type AstroEnv = NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
export type AstroBkndConfig<Env = AstroEnv> = FrameworkBkndConfig<Env>;

Serve the API

Create a helper file to instantiate the bknd instance and retrieve the API, importing the configurationfrom the bknd.config.ts file:

src/bknd.ts

import type { AstroGlobal } from "astro";
import { getApp as getBkndApp } from "bknd/adapter/astro";
import config from "../bknd.config";

export { config };

export async function getApp() {
  return await getBkndApp(config);
}

export async function getApi(
  astro: AstroGlobal,
  opts?: { mode: "static" } | { mode?: "dynamic"; verify?: boolean },
) {
  const app = await getApp();
  if (opts?.mode !== "static" && opts?.verify) {
    const api = app.getApi({ headers: astro.request.headers });
    await api.verifyAuth();
    return api;
  }

  return app.getApi();
}

Create a new catch-all route at src/pages/api/[...api].ts.

src/pages/api/[...api].ts

import { serve } from "bknd/adapter/astro";

export const prerender = false;

export const ALL = serve({
  connection: {
    // location of your local Astro DB
    // make sure to use a remote URL in production
    url: "file:.astro/content.db",
  },
});

For more information about the connection object, refer to the Database guide. In the special case of astro, you may also use your Astro DB credentials since it's also using LibSQL under the hood. Refer to the Astro DB documentation for more information.

Enabling the Admin UI

Create a new catch-all route at src/pages/admin/[...admin].astro:

src/pages/admin/[...admin].astro

---
import { Admin } from "bknd/ui";
import "bknd/dist/styles.css";

import { getApi } from "bknd/adapter/astro";

const api = await getApi(Astro, { mode: "dynamic" });
const user = api.getUser();

export const prerender = false;
---

<html>
   <body>
      <Admin
         withProvider={{ user }}
         config={{
            basepath: "/admin",
            theme: "dark",
            logo_return_path: "/../"
         }}
         client:only
      />
   </body>
</html>

Example usage of the API

You use the API in both static and SSR pages. Just note that on static pages, authentication might not work as expected, because Cookies are not available in the static context.

Here is an example of using the API in static context:

---
import { getApi } from "bknd/adapter/astro";
const api = await getApi(Astro);
const { data } = await api.data.readMany("todos");
---

<ul>
   {data.map((todo) => (
      <li>{todo.title}</li>
   ))}
</ul>

On SSR pages, you can also access the authenticated user:

---
import { getApi } from "bknd/adapter/astro";
const api = await getApi(Astro, { mode: "dynamic" });
const user = api.getUser();
const { data } = await api.data.readMany("todos");

export const prerender = false;
---

{user
   ? <p>Logged in as <b>{user.email}</b>.</p>
   : <p>Not authenticated.</p>}
<ul>
   {data.map((todo) => (
      <li>{todo.title}</li>
   ))}
</ul>

Check the astro repository example for more implementation details or a fully working example using Astro DB.