hjemmesidekongen/expo-api-routes

Expo API Routes

Expo Router supports API routes via +api.ts files — server-only handlers running in Node.js, not in the React Native runtime. They enable full-stack Expo without a separate backend.

File Convention

app/
  api/
    users+api.ts          # /api/users
    users/[id]+api.ts     # /api/users/:id

Request Handlers

Export named functions per HTTP method using ExpoRequest / ExpoResponse from expo-router/server:

import { ExpoRequest, ExpoResponse } from 'expo-router/server';

export async function GET(request: ExpoRequest): Promise<ExpoResponse> {
  const users = await db.user.findMany();
  return ExpoResponse.json(users);
}

export async function POST(request: ExpoRequest): Promise<ExpoResponse> {
  const body = await request.json();
  const user = await db.user.create({ data: body });
  return ExpoResponse.json(user, { status: 201 });
}

Key Rules

• API routes run server-side — never import React or RN components.
• Validate inputs with zod before touching any database or external service.
• Authenticate via Authorization: Bearer headers — cookies aren't reliable in RN clients.
• Server-only env vars are never bundled into the native app — safe to use in API routes.
• Return explicit status codes on every error path — default is 200, which misleads clients.

See references/process.md for dynamic segments, middleware, auth, database access, type sharing, error handling, deployment, and anti-patterns.