> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sdk.docs.xano.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Xano SDK

> The official TypeScript SDK for Xano: write the database, APIs and AI agents in TypeScript, run them on the Xano Engine on your machine with no account, then deploy them to Xano.

Xano is one platform to build, run and govern AI-built software. The **Xano SDK** is its
official TypeScript SDK. Your coding agent (Claude Code, Codex or Cursor) writes the database,
APIs, MCP servers and agents in TypeScript with the Xano SDK. You run them on the Xano Engine
on your machine, then deploy them to Xano, where one set of rules governs every release.

## Write with AI. Run locally. Deploy to Xano.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Write with AI">
    Scaffold a project, and give your coding agent the skill that teaches it the SDK.

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx @xano/sdk init my-app
    npx @xano/sdk agent-skill install
    ```

    `init` writes a TypeScript backend in `xano/`, a React frontend, and an `AGENTS.md` brief
    every coding agent reads.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run locally">
    Deploy the backend to the Xano Engine on your machine, then start the frontend against it.

    ```bash theme={null}
    npm run xano:deploy
    npm run dev
    ```

    No account and no sign-in. The deploy prints the backend URL and a link that opens the
    Xano editor on the Engine.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Deploy to Xano">
    Deploy the same code to an ephemeral in Xano's cloud and run its tests, then cut a release
    from it and promote it to your workspace.

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx xanosdk deploy --ephemeral --test
    ```

    [Where your code goes](/ship/where-code-goes) lists every target and what a deploy to each
    one changes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Governed from the first release

Code reaches your workspace through a release: a stored, named record of a backend that
came up and answered. A promote lands it on a new Xano branch and leaves live alone
until you say so. The same rules apply to every person and every AI agent on the team, and
the Xano editor shows everyone what got built. Read more about
[governing AI-built code](https://xano.com/ai-code-governance/).

## Start where you are

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="A new app" icon="rocket" href="/start/quickstart">
    From an empty folder to a backend on your machine and a frontend that reads from it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="With your coding agent" icon="robot" href="/ai/coding-agents">
    Install the agent skill and let Claude Code, Codex or Cursor build on the Xano Engine.
  </Card>

  <Card title="An existing Xano workspace" icon="cloud-arrow-down" href="/start/existing-workspace">
    Read a workspace back as TypeScript and take it into Git.
  </Card>

  <Card title="An existing app" icon="code" href="/start/existing-app">
    Add a Xano backend beside a frontend you already have.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Shipping to production" icon="ship" href="/ship/overview">
    Cut a release, promote it to your workspace or deploy it to a tenant.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How it works" icon="diagram-project" href="/start/how-it-works">
    Def objects, bundles, and where the SDK sits next to XanoScript and the Xano editor.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Which command goes where

| Command | Target |
| - | - |
| `npm run xano:deploy` | The Xano Engine on your machine. No account. |
| `npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral` | An ephemeral: a disposable environment in Xano's cloud. |
| `npx xanosdk release create` + `npx xanosdk promote` | Your workspace, on a new Xano branch. |

## No account to start

The Xano Engine runs on macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux, and needs no Xano account. You need
one only when you deploy to Xano's cloud, and the Free plan covers it
([Connect to Xano](/start/connect-to-xano)). The SDK is MIT licensed:
[source on GitHub](https://github.com/xano-sdk/sdk) and
[`@xano/sdk` on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xano/sdk).


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