AstrolaDB (alab)

One schema: many outputs.

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Stop writing boilerplate. Define your data model once. Use custom generators to produce REST APIs in FastAPI, Go Chi, Rust Axum, or tRPC. Export types, SQL migrations, and OpenAPI specs directly from the core engine.

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Documentation

• Quick Start Guide — Get started in 5 minutes
• Tutorial — Build your first project
• Generator Guide — Write custom generators
• Migration Reference — Schema evolution
• Field Types — All available column types
• CLI Commands — Complete command reference

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Download Release

Or install via script:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hlop3z/astroladb/main/install.sh | sh

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One Schema

// schemas/blog/post.js
export default table({
  id: col.id(),
  title: col.title(),
  body: col.text(),
  author: col.belongs_to("auth.user"), // Foreign key
  published: col.flag(),
})
  .timestamps()
  .many_to_many("blog.tags"); // Auto-creates join table

Many Outputs

graph TD
    A[Schema Files<br/>model.js] --> B[AstrolaDB Engine]

    B --> C[Type Exports<br/>Rust • Go • Python • TypeScript]
    B --> D[SQL Migrations<br/>PostgreSQL • SQLite]
    B --> E[API Specifications<br/>OpenAPI • GraphQL]
    B --> F[Custom Generators<br/>APIs • Infrastructure • SDKs • Tooling]

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AstrolaDB turns a single schema into multiple artifacts through two approaches:

Core Engine (built-in, versioned with AstrolaDB)

• Type Exports: Rust, Go, Python, TypeScript
• SQL Migrations: PostgreSQL, SQLite
• API Specs: OpenAPI, GraphQL

Generators (extensible, user-defined JavaScript functions)

• Complete APIs: FastAPI, Chi, Axum, tRPC, Express
• Infrastructure: Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm
• SDKs & Clients: Language SDKs, RPC clients
• Tooling: CLIs, test suites, documentation sites
• Any structured text expressible from your schema

// Example generator
export default gen((schema) =>
  render({
    "models.py": buildModels(schema),
    "router.py": buildRouter(schema),
  }),
);

View generator guide →

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See It In Action

From schema to running API using an example generator:

# 1. Initialize project
alab init

# 2. Create your schema
alab table auth user

# 3. Download an example generator
alab gen add https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hlop3z/astroladb/main/examples/generators/generators/fastapi.js

# 4. Run the generator
alab gen run generators/fastapi -o ./backend

# 5. Run it
cd backend
uv add fastapi[standard]
uv run fastapi dev main.py
# → http://localhost:8000/docs

What the generator produced:

backend/
├── auth/
│   ├── models.py      # Pydantic models with validation
│   ├── router.py      # CRUD endpoints (list, get, create, update, delete)
│   └── __init__.py
└── main.py            # FastAPI app with Swagger docs

All from that one schema file. The generator handles the boilerplate.

View all generator examples →

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💎 Example Generators

Example generators demonstrating what's possible with the platform:

Framework	Language	What It Generates	Example Output
FastAPI	Python	Pydantic models + CRUD routers + FastAPI app	View Code
Chi	Go	Structs + handlers + Chi router	View Code
Axum	Rust	Structs + handlers + Axum server	View Code
tRPC	TypeScript	Zod schemas + type-safe RPC routers	View Code

These are reference implementations you can use or modify. Or write your own generator in JavaScript to produce any text output.

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How Generators Work

Sandboxed Runtime: Generators run isolated with no network, eval, or filesystem access. Full constraints →

Migrations: Reversible up/down migrations with interactive prompts. Migration guide →

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⚡ Core Features

The platform provides built-in schema orchestration and a generator runtime:

Feature	Description
Single Binary	~9 MB static executable. Zero dependencies.
Schema Engine	Type-safe JavaScript DSL for data modeling.
Auto Migrations	SQL migrations generated from schema changes.
Multi-Language Export	Built-in types for Rust, Go, Python, TypeScript.
Generator Runtime	Sandboxed JS execution for custom code generation.
No Runtime Lock-in	Works without Node.js, JVM, or Python runtime.
Live Development	Built-in HTTP server (alab live) with hot reload.
OpenAPI Ready	Exports openapi.json for integration with 25+ languages.
Namespace Support	Logical grouping (e.g., auth.user) prevents naming collisions.

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🎸 Complete Workflow

1. Initialize Project

alab init

Creates:

project/
├── alab.yaml        # Configuration
├── schemas/         # Your schema definitions
├── migrations/      # Generated SQL migrations
└── types/           # TypeScript definitions for IDE support

2. Define Your Schema

alab table auth user

Edit schemas/auth/user.js:

export default table({
  id: col.id(),
  email: col.email().unique(),
  username: col.username().unique(),
  password: col.password_hash(),
  role: col.enum(["admin", "editor", "viewer"]).default("viewer"),
  is_active: col.flag(true),
}).timestamps();

3. Generate & Apply Migrations

# Generate migration
alab new create_users

# Preview SQL
alab migrate --dry

# Apply to database
alab migrate

4. Export Types

# Export to all languages
alab export -f all

# Or specific language
alab export -f typescript
alab export -f python
alab export -f go
alab export -f rust

5. Use Generators (Optional)

# Download example generator
alab gen add https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hlop3z/astroladb/main/examples/generators/generators/fastapi.js

# Run generator
alab gen run generators/fastapi -o ./backend

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Live Development Mode

Instant schema exploration with automatic hot reloading:

alab live

Opens an interactive HTTP server where you can explore your schema, test the normalized object, and see changes in real-time.

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Who Is This For?

• Platform engineers building code generation pipelines
• Polyglot developers maintaining services in multiple languages
• Meta-programmers who want deterministic code generation
• Startups needing to move fast without sacrificing type safety
• Solo developers prototyping full-stack applications
• API-first teams who want to skip repetitive boilerplate

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Migrations — Preview Status

• Migration engine is actively evolving
• APIs may introduce breaking changes
• Recommendation: Always test thoroughly in staging before production

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License

BSD-3-Clause

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_{Built with ❤️ by hlop3z}