What you built

npx @xano/sdk init my-app writes one project with two halves: a Xano backend in xano/ and a Vite frontend in frontend/, under a single package.json. This page walks through the React scaffold. The Svelte one has the same backend half.

The layout

my-app/
├── xano/
│   ├── index.ts            your backend: tables, APIs, functions, registered on one workspace
│   ├── EXAMPLE.md          a walkthrough for your first table and endpoint
│   ├── .env.example        names of the backend's env vars (values go in xano/.env)
│   ├── lambdas/            type-checking config for lambda code
│   ├── xano.lock           written by the first deploy or export
│   └── routes.gen.ts       written once the backend has an endpoint
├── frontend/
│   ├── index.html
│   └── src/
│       ├── App.tsx
│       └── lib/api.ts      where the frontend calls the backend
├── package.json            scripts, dependencies, and the Xano Engine pin
├── xano.profile.json       which signed-in Xano profile this project deploys with
├── AGENTS.md               a brief for coding agents working in this project
├── .mcp.json               connects Claude Code to the Xano Engine's MCP server
├── .cursor/mcp.json        the same, for Cursor
├── .github/workflows/check.yml   runs npm run xano:check on every push and pull request
└── README.md

xano/index.ts starts empty but already compiles and deploys. Everything you author is a def object (a table(), a query(), an apiGroup()) registered on the workspace("my-app") it default-exports. How it works explains the model, and Your first change adds a table and an endpoint.

What to commit

Commit the whole project except what .gitignore already leaves out. Three files are easy to get wrong:

File	Why it is committed
`xano/xano.lock`	Pins each object’s identity and each API group’s URL slug, so a rename stays a rename instead of a delete and re-create. Every build updates it.
`package.json`	Holds the Xano Engine pin the first deploy writes, so everyone on the project runs the same Engine version.
`xano/routes.gen.ts`	The route manifest the frontend takes its paths and request types from. `npm run xano:check` fails when it is stale.

The Engine pin looks like this:

{
  "xanosdk": {
    "@xano/sdk": { "engine": "vX.Y.Z" }
  }
}

The pin moves only when you say so: a deploy offers a newer Engine and never applies it without a yes, and npx xanosdk local update moves it on purpose. See Xano Engine. Two backend files are never committed: xano/.env holds the values of your backend’s environment variables, and xano/.secrets.json holds documentation tokens. .env.local holds the VITE_XANO_HOST the Engine deploy writes, and is per machine.

Which script deploys where

Script	What it does	Target
`npm run xano:deploy`	Type-checks, then deploys the backend with `--keep-data`, so your rows survive the redeploy. Writes the backend URL into `.env.local`.	The Xano Engine on your machine
`npm run xano:deploy:ephemeral`	Builds the frontend, then deploys the backend and the built frontend together.	An ephemeral in Xano’s cloud (needs an account)
`npm run xano:deploy:frontend`	Rebuilds the frontend and republishes it, without touching the backend.	The Engine or ephemeral you last deployed to
`npm run xano:test`	Runs the tests on the backend you last deployed. Compiles nothing.	The Engine or ephemeral you last deployed to
`npm run xano:check`	Checks the routes, types and `xano.lock` without writing anything. This is what CI runs.	Nothing
`npm run xano:export`	Compiles the backend to `workspace.json` (do not commit it).	Nothing
`npm run dev`	Starts the Vite dev server against `VITE_XANO_HOST`.	Your browser

Your workspace is reached through a release, never through a script: deploy to an ephemeral with tests, cut a release, then promote it. Deploy to Xano covers that path.

How it works: def objects, bundles, and where the SDK sits next to XanoScript and the Xano editor.
Your first change: add a table and an endpoint.
Where your code goes: every deploy command and what it writes.

Get started

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The layout

What to commit

Which script deploys where

Next

​The layout

​What to commit

​Which script deploys where

​Next

The layout

What to commit

Which script deploys where

Next