CodeIgniter 4 API Generator

Automatically generate RESTful APIs for your CodeIgniter 4 application based on your MySQL database tables. No code required! Just install, configure your database, and your APIs are ready to use.

✨ Features

Instant API Generation: APIs work immediately after installation - no additional setup required
Full CRUD Operations: Automatic GET, POST, PUT, DELETE endpoints for all tables
Composite Primary Key Support: Automatically handles tables with single or multiple primary keys
Smart Validation: Auto-generates validation rules from database schema
OpenAPI/Swagger Documentation: Beautiful interactive API documentation with Scalar UI
Pagination Support: Built-in pagination for listing endpoints
Advanced Filtering: Filter records by any column via query parameters
Multi-tenant Support: Built-in column filtering for multi-tenant applications
Flexible Configuration: Customize everything - endpoints, columns, validation rules per table
Foreign Key Support: Automatically detects relationships
Route Caching: Fast performance with intelligent route caching
CLI Commands: Powerful commands to manage and inspect your APIs

📋 Requirements

PHP 8.1 or higher
CodeIgniter 4.x
MySQL/MariaDB database

🚀 Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require jivtesh/ci4-api-generator

That's it! The package uses CodeIgniter's auto-discovery feature. Your APIs are now live at http://yoursite.com/api/v1/.

🎯 Quick Start

1. Install the Package

composer require jivtesh/ci4-api-generator

2. Configure Database

Make sure your database is configured in app/Config/Database.php:

public array $default = [
    'hostname' => 'localhost',
    'username' => 'your_username',
    'password' => 'your_password',
    'database' => 'your_database',
    'DBDriver' => 'MySQLi',
    // ... other settings
];

3. Test Your APIs

Your APIs are now available! If you have a table named users, you can access:

# List all users
GET http://yoursite.com/api/v1/users

# Get a specific user
GET http://yoursite.com/api/v1/users/1

# Create a new user
POST http://yoursite.com/api/v1/users

# Update a user
PUT http://yoursite.com/api/v1/users/1

# Delete a user
DELETE http://yoursite.com/api/v1/users/1

4. View Available Routes

php spark api:list

5. Generate API Documentation

php spark api:generate --openapi

This generates the file openapi.json in writable-->api-docs folderm which is used by Scalar in View file to create api documentation.

Then visit http://yoursite.com/api/v1/docs to see your interactive API documentation.

📚 Available Endpoints

For each table in your database, the following endpoints are automatically created:

Method	Endpoint	Description	Example
GET	`/api/v1/{table}`	List all records (paginated)	`/api/v1/users`
GET	`/api/v1/{table}/{id}`	Get a single record	`/api/v1/users/1`
GET	`/api/v1/{table}/{id1}/{id2}`	Get a single record (composite key)	`/api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336`
POST	`/api/v1/{table}`	Create a new record	`/api/v1/users`
PUT	`/api/v1/{table}/{id}`	Update a record	`/api/v1/users/1`
PUT	`/api/v1/{table}/{id1}/{id2}`	Update a record (composite key)	`/api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336`
DELETE	`/api/v1/{table}/{id}`	Delete a record	`/api/v1/users/1`
DELETE	`/api/v1/{table}/{id1}/{id2}`	Delete a record (composite key)	`/api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336`

Notes:

Table names with underscores are converted to hyphens in URLs (e.g., user_profiles → /api/v1/user-profiles)
The package automatically detects composite primary keys and generates appropriate routes
For composite keys, provide all key values in order as defined in the database

🔧 Configuration (Optional)

By default, the package works with zero configuration. However, you can customize behavior by creating a config file.

Create Custom Configuration

Create app/Config/ApiGenerator.php:

<?php

namespace Config;

use JivteshGhatora\Ci4ApiGenerator\Config\ApiGenerator as BaseApiGenerator;

class ApiGenerator extends BaseApiGenerator
{
    // Override any settings here
}

Configuration Options

Basic Settings

/**
 * API prefix - the base URL path for all API endpoints
 */
public string $apiPrefix = 'api/v1';

/**
 * Enable/disable API documentation
 */
public bool $apiDocumentationEnabled = true;

/**
 * API documentation URL path
 */
public string $apiDocumentationPath = 'api/v1/docs';

/**
 * Route cache TTL in seconds (default: 1 hour)
 */
public int $maxCacheAge = 3600;

Table Selection

/**
 * Generate APIs only for specific tables (empty = all tables)
 */
public array $tables = [];
// Example: public array $tables = ['users', 'posts', 'comments'];

/**
 * Exclude specific tables from API generation
 */
public array $excludeTables = ['migrations', 'ci_sessions'];

Enable/Disable Endpoints Per Table

/**
 * Default endpoints for all tables
 * Options: 'index', 'show', 'create', 'update', 'delete'
 */
public array $defaultEndpoints = ['index', 'show', 'create', 'update', 'delete'];

/**
 * Customize endpoints for specific tables
 */
public array $enabledEndpoints = [
    'users' => ['index', 'show', 'update'],  // Read-only + update for users
    'logs' => ['index', 'show'],              // Read-only for logs
    'posts' => ['index', 'show', 'create', 'update', 'delete']  // Full CRUD for posts
];

Restrict Visible Columns

/**
 * Control which columns are returned in API responses
 * Empty array = all columns (default)
 */
public array $enabledColumnsToShow = [
    'users' => ['id', 'name', 'email', 'created_at'],  // Hide password, etc.
    'posts' => ['id', 'title', 'content', 'author_id', 'created_at']
];

Custom Validation Rules

/**
 * Override auto-generated validation rules
 * Format: ['table_name' => ['column' => 'validation_rules']]
 */
public array $validationRules = [
    'users' => [
        'email' => 'required|valid_email|is_unique[users.email]',
        'username' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[20]|alpha_numeric',
        'age' => 'required|integer|greater_than_equal_to[18]'
    ],
    'posts' => [
        'title' => 'required|min_length[5]|max_length[200]',
        'content' => 'required|min_length[10]'
    ]
];

Multi-Tenant Filtering

/**
 * Automatically filter queries by specific columns
 * Perfect for multi-tenant applications
 */
public array $multiTenantColumns = [
    'company_id' => '123',  // All queries will filter by company_id = 123
    'tenant_id' => '456'
];

/**
 * Exclude specific tables from multi-tenant filtering
 */
public array $multiTenantExcludeTables = ['settings', 'system_logs'];

Dynamic Multi-Tenant Example:

// In your BaseController or filter
$config = config('ApiGenerator');
$config->multiTenantColumns = [
    'company_id' => session('user_company_id')  // Dynamically set from session
];

Pagination Settings

/**
 * Default number of records per page
 */
public int $perPage = 20;

/**
 * Maximum allowed records per page
 */
public int $maxPerPage = 100;

Complete Configuration Example

<?php

namespace Config;

use JivteshGhatora\Ci4ApiGenerator\Config\ApiGenerator as BaseApiGenerator;

class ApiGenerator extends BaseApiGenerator
{
    public string $apiPrefix = 'api/v2';
    
    public array $excludeTables = ['migrations', 'ci_sessions', 'password_resets'];
    
    public array $enabledEndpoints = [
        'users' => ['index', 'show', 'update'],
        'posts' => ['index', 'show', 'create', 'update', 'delete'],
        'comments' => ['index', 'show', 'create', 'delete']
    ];
    
    public array $enabledColumnsToShow = [
        'users' => ['id', 'username', 'email', 'created_at']
    ];
    
    public array $validationRules = [
        'users' => [
            'email' => 'required|valid_email|is_unique[users.email]',
            'username' => 'required|min_length[3]|max_length[20]'
        ]
    ];
    
    public array $multiTenantColumns = [
        'company_id' => null  // Set dynamically in your app
    ];
    
    public int $perPage = 50;
    public int $maxPerPage = 200;
}

🎨 API Usage Examples

Listing Records (GET)

# Get all users (paginated)
GET /api/v1/users

# With pagination
GET /api/v1/users?page=2&per_page=10

# With filtering
GET /api/v1/users?status=active&role=admin

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "created_at": "2024-01-15 10:30:00"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "current_page": 1,
    "per_page": 20,
    "total": 45,
    "last_page": 3
  }
}

Get Single Record (GET)

Single Primary Key

GET /api/v1/users/1

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "created_at": "2024-01-15 10:30:00"
  }
}

Composite Primary Key

For tables with composite primary keys (e.g., payments table with customerNumber and checkNumber):

GET /api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "customerNumber": "103",
    "checkNumber": "HQ336336",
    "paymentDate": "2004-10-19",
    "amount": "6066.78"
  }
}

Note: The order of primary key values in the URL must match the order defined in the database schema.

Create Record (POST)

POST /api/v1/users
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "secure123"
}

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Record created successfully",
  "id": 2
}

Update Record (PUT)

Single Primary Key

PUT /api/v1/users/1
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "John Updated",
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Record updated successfully"
}

Composite Primary Key

PUT /api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "paymentDate": "2004-10-20",
  "amount": "7000.00"
}

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Record updated successfully"
}

Delete Record (DELETE)

Single Primary Key

DELETE /api/v1/users/1

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Record deleted successfully"
}

Composite Primary Key

DELETE /api/v1/payments/103/HQ336336

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Record deleted successfully"
}

🖥️ CLI Commands

List All Available APIs

php spark api:list

Output:

Available API Endpoints:

+---------+--------------------------------+-------+----------+
| Method  | Endpoint                       | Table | Action   |
+---------+--------------------------------+-------+----------+
| GET     | http://site.com/api/v1/users   | users | List all |
| GET     | http://site.com/api/v1/users/1 | users | Get one  |
| POST    | http://site.com/api/v1/users   | users | Create   |
| PUT     | http://site.com/api/v1/users/1 | users | Update   |
| DELETE  | http://site.com/api/v1/users/1 | users | Delete   |
+---------+--------------------------------+-------+----------+

Total endpoints: 5

List APIs for Specific Table

php spark api:list users

Generate API Documentation

# Generate OpenAPI/Swagger specification
php spark api:generate --openapi

# Generate route cache
php spark api:generate --cache

# Generate everything
php spark api:generate --all

Refresh Everything

# Clear cache and regenerate all APIs
php spark api:refresh

📖 API Documentation

The package includes beautiful, interactive API documentation powered by Scalar.

Accessing Documentation

Generate the OpenAPI specification:

php spark api:generate --openapi

Visit the documentation URL:

http://yoursite.com/api/v1/docs

Features of Documentation

Interactive Testing: Test APIs directly from the browser
Request/Response Examples: See example requests and responses
Schema Visualization: View table structures and relationships
Authentication Testing: Built-in request builder
Search Functionality: Quickly find endpoints

Customizing Documentation Path

public string $apiDocumentationPath = 'api/docs';  // Custom path

Disabling Documentation

public bool $apiDocumentationEnabled = false;

🔒 Security & Best Practices

Authentication & Authorization

This package provides the API infrastructure. You should add authentication:

Create an Authentication Filter (app/Filters/ApiAuthFilter.php):

<?php

namespace App\Filters;

use CodeIgniter\Filters\FilterInterface;
use CodeIgniter\HTTP\RequestInterface;
use CodeIgniter\HTTP\ResponseInterface;

class ApiAuthFilter implements FilterInterface
{
    public function before(RequestInterface $request, $arguments = null)
    {
        $token = $request->getHeaderLine('Authorization');
        
        // Validate token
        if (!$this->isValidToken($token)) {
            return service('response')
                ->setJSON(['error' => 'Unauthorized'])
                ->setStatusCode(401);
        }
    }

    public function after(RequestInterface $request, ResponseInterface $response, $arguments = null)
    {
        // Do nothing
    }

    private function isValidToken($token): bool
    {
        // Your token validation logic
        return !empty($token);
    }
}

Register Filter in app/Config/Filters.php:

public array $aliases = [
    'api-auth' => \App\Filters\ApiAuthFilter::class,
];

public array $filters = [
    'api-auth' => ['before' => ['api/*']],
];

Recommended Security Practices

Always use HTTPS in production
Implement rate limiting (use CodeIgniter's Throttle filter)
Validate and sanitize all inputs (auto-handled by validation rules)
Use strong validation rules for sensitive fields
Hide sensitive columns using enabledColumnsToShow
Restrict endpoints as needed via enabledEndpoints
Implement proper CORS policies if accessed from browsers
Use multi-tenant filtering for data isolation

🛠️ Advanced Usage

Dynamic Configuration

You can modify configuration at runtime:

// In a controller or filter
$config = config('ApiGenerator');
$config->multiTenantColumns['company_id'] = session('user_company_id');

Custom Validation Logic

Extend the ApiController for complex validation:

<?php

namespace App\Controllers\Api;

use JivteshGhatora\Ci4ApiGenerator\Controllers\ApiController as BaseApiController;

class CustomApiController extends BaseApiController
{
    protected function beforeCreate($data)
    {
        // Add custom logic before creating
        $data['created_by'] = session('user_id');
        return $data;
    }
}

Soft Deletes Support

The package automatically detects deleted_at columns and enables soft deletes.

Timestamp Handling

Automatically detects and handles created_at and updated_at columns.

🐛 Troubleshooting

APIs Not Working

Check if composer autoload is updated:

composer dump-autoload

Verify database connection:

php spark db:table tablename

Check routes are registered:

php spark routes

Clear cache:

php spark api:refresh

404 Errors

Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled (Apache)
Check .htaccess file exists in public folder
Verify $baseURL in app/Config/App.php

Validation Errors

Check your custom validation rules syntax
Ensure column names match database exactly
Review auto-generated rules: php spark api:generate

Performance Issues

Enable route caching: php spark api:generate --cache
Increase maxCacheAge in configuration
Add database indexes on frequently queried columns

📊 Response Formats

Success Response

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": { /* your data */ }
}

Error Responses

{
  "status": 400,
  "error": 400,
  "messages": {
    "error": "Validation failed",
    "field_name": "Field is required"
  }
}

HTTP Status Codes

200 OK - Successful GET, PUT, DELETE
201 Created - Successful POST
400 Bad Request - Validation error
404 Not Found - Record not found
403 Forbidden - Endpoint disabled
500 Internal Server Error - Server error

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📝 License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the BSD-3-Clause license.

👤 Author

Jivtesh Ghatora

Email: [email protected]
GitHub: @jivtesh813

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built for CodeIgniter 4 framework
Uses Scalar for beautiful API documentation
Inspired by the need for rapid API development

Star ⭐ this repository if you find it helpful!

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CodeIgniter 4 API Generator

✨ Features

📋 Requirements

🚀 Installation

🎯 Quick Start

1. Install the Package

2. Configure Database

3. Test Your APIs

4. View Available Routes

5. Generate API Documentation

📚 Available Endpoints

🔧 Configuration (Optional)

Create Custom Configuration

Configuration Options

Basic Settings

Table Selection

Enable/Disable Endpoints Per Table

Restrict Visible Columns

Custom Validation Rules

Multi-Tenant Filtering

Pagination Settings

Complete Configuration Example

🎨 API Usage Examples

Listing Records (GET)

Get Single Record (GET)

Single Primary Key

Composite Primary Key

Create Record (POST)

Update Record (PUT)

Single Primary Key

Composite Primary Key

Delete Record (DELETE)

Single Primary Key

Composite Primary Key

🖥️ CLI Commands

List All Available APIs

List APIs for Specific Table

Generate API Documentation

Refresh Everything

📖 API Documentation

Accessing Documentation

Features of Documentation

Customizing Documentation Path

Disabling Documentation

🔒 Security & Best Practices

Authentication & Authorization

Recommended Security Practices

🛠️ Advanced Usage

Dynamic Configuration

Custom Validation Logic

Soft Deletes Support

Timestamp Handling

🐛 Troubleshooting

APIs Not Working

404 Errors

Validation Errors

Performance Issues

📊 Response Formats

Success Response

Error Responses

HTTP Status Codes

🤝 Contributing

📝 License

👤 Author

🙏 Acknowledgments

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