import RecipeLinks from "~/components/RecipeLinks.astro";

Astro lets you create custom endpoints to serve any kind of data. You can use this to generate images, expose an RSS document, or use them as API Routes to build a full API for your site.

In statically-generated sites, your custom endpoints are called at build time to produce static files. If you opt in to SSR mode, custom endpoints turn into live server endpoints that are called on request. Static and SSR endpoints are defined similarly, but SSR endpoints support additional features.

Static File Endpoints

To create a custom endpoint, add a .js or .ts file to the /pages directory. The .js or .ts extension will be removed during the build process, so the name of the file should include the extension of the data you want to create. For example, src/pages/data.json.ts will build a /data.json endpoint.

Endpoints export a GET function (optionally async) that receives a context object with properties similar to the Astro global. Here, it returns a Response object with a name and url, and Astro will call this at build time and use the contents of the body to generate the file.

// Outputs: /builtwith.jsonexport function GET({ params, request }) {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      name: "Astro",      url: "https://astro.build/",    }),  );}

Since Astro v3.0, the returned Response object doesn't have to include the encoding property anymore. For example, to produce a binary .png image:

export async function GET({ params, request }) {  const response = await fetch(    "https://docs.astro.build/assets/full-logo-light.png",  );    return new Response(await response.arrayBuffer());}

You can also type your endpoint functions using the APIRoute type:

import type { APIRoute } from "astro";export const GET: APIRoute = async ({ params, request }) => {...}

params and Dynamic routing

Endpoints support the same dynamic routing features that pages do. Name your file with a bracketed parameter name and export a getStaticPaths() function. Then, you can access the parameter using the params property passed to the endpoint function:

import type { APIRoute } from "astro";const usernames = ["Sarah", "Chris", "Yan", "Elian"];export const GET: APIRoute = ({ params, request }) => {  const id = params.id;    return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      name: usernames[id],    }),  );};export function getStaticPaths() {  return [    { params: { id: "0" } },    { params: { id: "1" } },    { params: { id: "2" } },    { params: { id: "3" } },  ];}

This will generate four JSON endpoints at build time: /api/0.json, /api/1.json, /api/2.json and /api/3.json. Dynamic routing with endpoints works the same as it does with pages, but because the endpoint is a function and not a component, props aren't supported.

request

All endpoints receive a request property, but in static mode, you only have access to request.url. This returns the full URL of the current endpoint and works the same as Astro.request.url does for pages.

import type { APIRoute } from "astro";export const GET: APIRoute = ({ params, request }) => {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      path: new URL(request.url).pathname,    }),  );};

Server Endpoints (API Routes)

Everything described in the static file endpoints section can also be used in SSR mode: files can export a GET function which receives a context object with properties similar to the Astro global.

But, unlike in static mode, when you enable on-demand rendering for a route, the endpoint will be built when it is requested. This unlocks new features that are unavailable at build time, and allows you to build API routes that listen for requests and securely execute code on the server at runtime.

Your routes will be rendered on demand by default in server mode. In static mode, you must opt out of prerendering for each custom endpoint with export const prerender = false.

<RecipeLinks slugs={["en/recipes/call-endpoints" ]}/>

:::note Be sure to enable an on-demand rendering mode before trying these examples, and opt out of prerendering in static mode. :::

Server endpoints can access params without exporting getStaticPaths, and they can return a Response object, allowing you to set status codes and headers:

import { getProduct } from "../db";export async function GET({ params }) {  const id = params.id;  const product = await getProduct(id);  if (!product) {    return new Response(null, {      status: 404,      statusText: "Not found",    });  }  return new Response(JSON.stringify(product), {    status: 200,    headers: {      "Content-Type": "application/json",    },  });}

This will respond to any request that matches the dynamic route. For example, if we navigate to /helmet.json, params.id will be set to helmet. If helmet exists in the mock product database, the endpoint will use a Response object to respond with JSON and return a successful HTTP status code. If not, it will use a Response object to respond with a 404.

In SSR mode, certain providers require the Content-Type header to return an image. In this case, use a Response object to specify a headers property. For example, to produce a binary .png image:

export async function GET({ params, request }) {  const response = await fetch(    "https://docs.astro.build/assets/full-logo-light.png",  );  const buffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());    return new Response(buffer, {    headers: { "Content-Type": "image/png" },  });}

HTTP methods

In addition to the GET function, you can export a function with the name of any HTTP method. When a request comes in, Astro will check the method and call the corresponding function.

You can also export an ALL function to match any method that doesn't have a corresponding exported function. If there is a request with no matching method, it will redirect to your site's 404 page.

export const GET: APIRoute = ({ params, request }) => {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      message: "This was a GET!",    }),  );};export const POST: APIRoute = ({ request }) => {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      message: "This was a POST!",    }),  );};export const DELETE: APIRoute = ({ request }) => {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      message: "This was a DELETE!",    }),  );};export const ALL: APIRoute = ({ request }) => {  return new Response(    JSON.stringify({      message: `This was a ${request.method}!`,    }),  );};

If you define a GET function but no HEAD function, Astro will automatically handle HEAD requests by calling the GET function and stripping the body from the response.

<RecipeLinks slugs={["en/recipes/captcha", "en/recipes/build-forms-api" ]}/>

request

In SSR mode, the request property returns a fully usable Request object that refers to the current request. This allows you to accept data and check headers:

export const POST: APIRoute = async ({ request }) => {  if (request.headers.get("Content-Type") === "application/json") {    const body = await request.json();    const name = body.name;        return new Response(      JSON.stringify({        message: "Your name was: " + name,      }),      {        status: 200,      },    );  }    return new Response(null, { status: 400 });};

Redirects

The endpoint context exports a redirect() utility similar to Astro.redirect:

import { getLinkUrl } from "../db";export async function GET({ params, redirect }) {  const { id } = params;  const link = await getLinkUrl(id);  if (!link) {    return new Response(null, {      status: 404,      statusText: "Not found",    });  }  return redirect(link, 307);}