Services

Services in Nordcraft simplify working with APIs by automatically retrieving endpoint details from back-end providers. When you create a service connection, Nordcraft pre-fills the necessary information for new APIs, reducing setup time and minimizing configuration errors.

Nordcraft supports connections to a variety of back-end services:

  • Contentful: Content management system (GraphQL)
  • DatoCMS: Content management system (GraphQL)
  • Supabase: Open-source Postgres database with authentication and real-time capabilities
  • Umbraco: Content management system (GraphQL)
  • Xano: No-code database and API builder
  • OpenAPI: Any service using the OpenAPI Specification (v2 and v3)

Add a service

You can add services in Nordcraft in two ways.

From the API creation flow

The add new API dialog is open. In the services section, the connect now button is highlighted. To the left of this, another part of the Nordcraft editor has been spliced onto the image, showing three available pre-configured services available to add: Supabase, Xano and OpenAPI.

  1. 1
    When creating a new API, click the Connect new button
  2. 2
    Select the service you want to connect to from the available options

From the project sidebar

The project sidebar is visible to the left of the editor, showing the plus button next to the services list. The plus button has been clicked, which shows a new dialog listing three available pre-configured services available to add: Supabase, Xano and OpenAPI.

  1. 1
    Open the project sidebar by clicking the folder icon or using Cmd/Ctrl + K
  2. 2
    Navigate to the Services section and click the + button to add a new service
  3. 3
    Select your desired service

Configure specific services

Supabase

The Supabase service dialog is open. The name of the service is Supabase and this is directly editable. In the setup section there below there are two input fields to paste a project URL and anon public key. These values can also be defined via formulas indicated by the fx buttons to the right of each input. Below the input fields there is a status message on current connectivity, with a check connection button that is currently disabled. At the bottom of the dialog there are two options indicated by icons to either delete the service or confirm the connection credentials.

To connect to Supabase:

  1. 1
    Enter a name for the service (defaults to "Supabase")
  2. 2
    Press "Connect Supabase" to authenticate with Supabase
  3. 3
    After returning to the Nordcraft editor, pick the project you want to connect to from the list of available Supabase projects

By default, Supabase doesn't expose its OpenAPI documentation. Therefore, it's necessary to authenticate through Nordcraft's Supabase OAuth App. This will store a cookie in your browser, allowing Nordcraft to access the OpenAPI documentation for your Supabase project.

If you want to use GraphQl with Supabase, you must enable the GraphQL extension and allow introspection queries.

Tip

To get up and running quickly with Supabase, including auth, realtime, and file uploads, install the Supabase Connect package in your project, or create a new website using the Nordbase template, which is a pre-configured template that demonstrates all functionality of the Supabase Connect package.

The create a new project screen in Nordcraft, highlighting the Nordbase template, which is third in the basic list at the top of the template lists.

Xano

The Xano service dialog is open. The name of the service is Xano and this is directly editable. In the setup section there below there is one input field to paste a Xano base URL. Thus values can also be defined via a formula indicated by the fx button to the right of the input. Below the input field there is a status message on current connectivity, with a check connection button that is currently disabled. At the bottom of the dialog there are two options indicated by icons to either delete the service or confirm the connection credentials.

To connect to Xano:

  1. 1
    Enter a name for the service (defaults to "Xano")
  2. 2
    Provide the Base URL for your Xano API

The Base URL can be found in your Xano workspace:

  • Select API in the left menu
  • Choose the API group you want to use
  • Click the Copy base URL button in the top right corner

After the Xano service is added, Nordcraft checks the connection to confirm it can reach the API documentation.

Warning

Nordcraft currently only supports public Xano API documentation. If your API documentation is private, you will need to make it public.

To make your Xano API documentation public:

  1. 1
    Go to your Xano API group
  2. 2
    Click the More options button (three dots) in the top right
  3. 3
    Select Settings
  4. 4
    Change Swagger (OpenAPI) Documentation to Public

Custom service (OpenAPI)

The OpenAPI service dialog is open. The name of the service is Custom and this is directly editable. In the setup section there below there are two input fields to paste a base URL and a docs URL. These values can also be defined via formulas indicated by the fx buttons to the right of each input. Below the input fields there is a status message on current connectivity, with a check connection button that is currently disabled. At the bottom of the dialog there are two options indicated by icons to either delete the service or confirm the connection credentials.

For services not natively supported by Nordcraft, you can add a custom service using OpenAPI specification:

  1. 1
    Enter a name for the service (defaults to "Custom")
  2. 2
    Configure the following:
    • Base URL: The root URL that will be applied to all paths in the service
    • Docs URL: The URL to the OpenAPI JSON Specification file of the service

Nordcraft performs a check after setup to confirm the API documentation is accessible.

Info

Nordcraft currently supports OpenAPI Specification versions 2 and 3.

Use a service in an API

Once your services are configured, the API creation process becomes simplified by providing pre-defined endpoints from your back end:

  1. 1
    When creating a new API, you will see your connected services
  2. 2
    Choose the endpoint from the available options of your selected service
  3. 3
    Nordcraft automatically pre-fills all request details: path, headers, parameters, body
  4. 4
    Adjust specific values as needed for your implementation

This approach streamlines API creation by leveraging the schema information already defined in your back-end service.

Tip

To reuse API and service configuration values throughout your project, click the fx button next to a field. This creates a project formula that can be referenced anywhere else.

Benefits of services

Connecting to services offers several advantages:

  • Reduced configuration time: Automatically populate API endpoints with correct paths and parameters
  • Consistency: Ensure proper formatting for requests based on the service's documentation
  • Discovery: Easily browse available endpoints without referring to external documentation
  • Maintainability: When your back-end service changes, you can update the connection in one place to be applied across all related APIs

Editing service endpoints

When you create a new API via a service connection, Nordcraft automatically pre-fills the necessary information for that new API, including the URL path. When you create an API via a service connection, you may encounter a situation where you need to change the URL path of an API.

Currently, is not possible to edit the URL path of an API linked to a service to point to a different service endpoint. However, to save you creating a brand new API, you can choose to detach the API from the service, which allows you to edit any part of the API connection. Click on the three dot menu to the top right of the API panel and click Detach service.

The API panel is open. A DatoCMS service is connected. The three dot menu at the top right of the API panel has been clicked, revealing a menu with one option to click: detach service.

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