Developing APIs: Overview
You've designed a complete User API in Apidog. Now it's time to turn that design into working code.Here's something that might surprise you: you don't actually need to write everything from scratch anymore. With today's AI tools, you can generate a complete, production-ready API from your design spec in about 30 minutes. I know that sounds too good to be true, but stick with me.
How Development Has Changed#
Think about how people used to build APIs. You'd spend weeks learning a programming language, then more weeks learning a framework, then finally start writing code. Hours of debugging later, you'd have something that mostly works. Maybe. If you're lucky.That's not how it works anymore. In 2024, you export your API specification, feed it to an AI coding assistant, and get back a complete project with authentication, database integration, error handling, and everything else you need. Then you spend your time understanding and customizing it, rather than fighting with syntax errors.The difference: What used to take weeks now takes hours.
What We're Building#
Throughout this chapter, you'll build a complete User API with these endpoints:POST /users - User registration
POST /user/login - Login with JWT token
GET /users/{id} - Get user profile
PUT /users/{id} - Update user (authenticated)
DELETE /users/{id} - Delete account (authenticated)
POST /user/logout - Logout (authenticated)
The Workflow#
The process is surprisingly straightforward. Here's what you'll do:1. Export your API design
In Apidog, go to Settings β Export β OpenAPI 3.0. You'll get an openapi.json file containing your complete API design.2. Generate code with AI
Open the file in Cursor or Windsurf and ask it to generate a complete project. In about 10 minutes, you'll have full project structure, all endpoints implemented, database configured, and authentication working.Your API runs at http://localhost:8000.4. Test in Apidog
Switch to your Local environment, test all endpoints, and verify the responses match your design.Your API is now live with a public URL.When I say it's fast, I mean it. From export to deployed API in under an hour is completely realistic.
AI Coding Assistant (choose one):Cursor - cursor.sh (Recommended)Best AI coding experience with "Composer" mode for full projects
Free trial available, then $20/month
What most professional developers use
Completely free with similar "Cascade" mode
Great alternative if you want to start without payment
Runs your API. Install once, use simple commands. We'll cover installation in the setup chapter.Apidog
You already have it! Used for testing and validation.Railway or Render
Free deployment platforms that give you a public URL for your API.
Ready?#
Make sure you've completed the Designing APIs chapter and have your User module designed in Apidog. That's really all you need.Next up is installing Cursor or Windsurf and Python, which takes about 15 minutes. Then you'll generate your first complete API in 30 minutes. Modified atΒ 2025-12-29 10:42:25
