Quickstart

You go from an empty folder to a running app: a Xano backend on your machine and a frontend that reads from it. No Xano account, no sign-in.

Before you start

Node.js 20.19 or later.
macOS on Apple silicon, or Linux (x64 or arm64), for the Xano Engine.

On Windows or an Intel Mac? There is no Xano Engine build for your machine yet. Wherever this page says npm run xano:deploy, run npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral instead: it deploys the same code to an ephemeral in Xano’s cloud. That needs a Xano account, so sign in first (Connect to Xano). See where the Engine differs today.

Run it

Scaffold the project

npx @xano/sdk init my-app
cd my-app

init writes a TypeScript backend under xano/, a React frontend under frontend/, and the xano:* scripts, then runs npm install. For Svelte pass --framework svelte; for a backend with no frontend, --framework none. In a terminal it asks which one, and Enter takes React.

Deploy the backend to the Xano Engine

macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux
Windows and Intel Mac

npm run xano:deploy

This type-checks xano/ and deploys it to the Xano Engine on your machine. The first run downloads the Engine for your platform and pins its version in package.json. Later runs start in seconds and work offline.

→ Deploying xano/index.ts → Xano Engine
i Pinned Xano Engine v0.1.26 in my-app/package.json — commit it so everyone on this project runs the same engine.
  on Xano Engine · 127.0.0.1:53358 · workspace 1
i Nothing to keep yet — this environment is new, so it is replaced and seeded. Later deploys with `--keep-data` keep its rows.
✓ Xano Engine xanosdk-4f2a91c03b7e deployed (4.4s)
i New Xano Engine URL:
  http://127.0.0.1:53358
  Open the builder: http://127.0.0.1:53358/_engine/sign-in?key=…
  Meta API bearer (the local XANO_META_TOKEN): `npx xanosdk local token`
  MCP server for coding agents: http://127.0.0.1:53358/_engine/mcp — connect one with `npx xanosdk local mcp`
  Stop it with `npx xanosdk local stop xanosdk-4f2a91c03b7e`
  No static site was published. Run your frontend locally against the URL above, or pass `--static <dir>` to have the engine serve a built one.
  Pointed .env.local at this deploy (VITE_XANO_HOST) — restart your dev server to pick it up. `--no-dev-env` skips this.

The output gives you three things: the backend URL, an Open the builder link, and a line saying it wrote that URL into .env.local as VITE_XANO_HOST.

There is no Xano Engine build for these machines yet, so you deploy to an ephemeral in Xano’s cloud instead. That needs a Xano account (Connect to Xano walks through creating one).

npx xanosdk login
npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral

login opens your browser to sign in. xano:deploy:ephemeral builds the frontend and deploys it with the backend to an ephemeral. It prints the backend URL on *.xano.io, the frontend URL, and an npx xanosdk impersonate command that opens the builder. Open the frontend URL and skip the next step.

Start the frontend

npm run dev

Vite reads VITE_XANO_HOST from .env.local, so the frontend calls the backend you just deployed. Open the URL Vite prints.

Open the builder

Open the Open the builder link from the deploy output. It signs you in to the Xano editor running on the Engine, where you can browse your tables and see what your TypeScript compiled to.

The starter backend is empty, so there is nothing to call yet. Your first table and endpoint come next.

Change something

Edit a file under xano/, then run npm run xano:deploy again. Each redeploy to the Engine keeps the rows already in your tables (the script passes --keep-data). Keep npm run dev running. npm run xano:deploy -- --reset gives you a clean, re-seeded backend.

What you built: the files init wrote, which ones to commit, and which script deploys where.
Your first change: add a table and an endpoint, and call it from the frontend.
Connect to Xano: create a free account and deploy the same code to Xano’s cloud.

Get started

Build

Run locally

Deploy to Xano

Govern

Use with AI tools

Help

Before you start

Run it

Change something

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​Before you start

​Run it

​Change something

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Before you start

Run it

Change something

Next