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Endpoints

Endpoints are the heart of Azu applications. They define how your application responds to HTTP requests with type safety, validation, and clear separation of concerns.

What are Endpoints?

An endpoint is a type-safe, testable object that handles a specific HTTP route. Each endpoint defines:

  • HTTP Methods: Which HTTP methods it accepts (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.)

  • Route Pattern: The URL pattern it handles

  • Request Contract: What data it expects to receive

  • Response Object: What data it returns

  • Business Logic: How it processes the request

Basic Endpoint Structure

struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(UserRequest, UserResponse)

  get "/users/:id"

  def call : UserResponse
    # Your business logic here
    UserResponse.new(find_user(params["id"]))
  end
end

Key Components

  1. Module Include: include Azu::Endpoint(RequestType, ResponseType)

  2. Route Declaration: get "/users/:id"

  3. Call Method: def call : ResponseType - the main logic

HTTP Methods

Azu supports all standard HTTP methods:

struct ApiEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(ApiRequest, ApiResponse)

  get "/api/data"           # Retrieve data
  post "/api/data"          # Create new data
  put "/api/data/:id"       # Update existing data
  patch "/api/data/:id"     # Partial update
  delete "/api/data/:id"    # Delete data
  head "/api/data"          # Head request
  options "/api/data"       # Options request
  trace "/api/data"         # Trace request
end

Multiple Routes

You can handle multiple routes in a single endpoint:

struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(UserRequest, UserResponse)

  get "/users"
  get "/users/:id"
  post "/users"
  put "/users/:id"
  delete "/users/:id"

  def call : UserResponse
    case context.request.method
    when "GET"
      handle_get
    when "POST"
      handle_post
    when "PUT"
      handle_put
    when "DELETE"
      handle_delete
    end
  end

  private def handle_get
    if params["id"]?
      show_user
    else
      list_users
    end
  end

  private def handle_post
    create_user
  end

  private def handle_put
    update_user
  end

  private def handle_delete
    delete_user
  end
end

Request Contracts

Request contracts define and validate the data your endpoint expects:

struct CreateUserRequest
  include Azu::Request

  getter name : String
  getter email : String
  getter age : Int32?

  def initialize(@name = "", @email = "", @age = nil)
  end

  # Validation rules
  validate name, presence: true, length: {min: 2, max: 50}
  validate email, presence: true, format: /\A[\w+\-.]+@[a-z\d\-]+(\.[a-z\d\-]+)*\.[a-z]+\z/i
  validate age, numericality: {greater_than: 0, less_than: 150}, allow_nil: true
end

Accessing Request Data

In your endpoint, access validated request data:

struct CreateUserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(CreateUserRequest, UserResponse)

  post "/users"

  def call : UserResponse
    # Type-safe access to validated data
    user = User.new(
      name: create_user_request.name,
      email: create_user_request.email,
      age: create_user_request.age
    )

    UserResponse.new(user)
  end
end

Validation

Request contracts automatically validate incoming data:

def call : UserResponse
  # Check if request is valid
  unless create_user_request.valid?
    raise Azu::Response::ValidationError.new(
      create_user_request.errors.group_by(&.field).transform_values(&.map(&.message))
    )
  end

  # Proceed with business logic
  create_user
end

Response Objects

Response objects structure your endpoint's output:

struct UserResponse
  include Azu::Response

  def initialize(@user : User)
  end

  def render
    {
      id: @user.id,
      name: @user.name,
      email: @user.email,
      created_at: @user.created_at.to_rfc3339
    }.to_json
  end
end

Response Types

Azu provides several built-in response types:

# JSON response
struct JsonResponse
  include Azu::Response

  def initialize(@data : Hash(String, JSON::Any))
  end

  def render
    @data.to_json
  end
end

# HTML response
struct HtmlResponse
  include Azu::Response
  include Azu::Templates::Renderable

  def initialize(@template : String, @data : Hash(String, JSON::Any))
  end

  def render
    view @template, @data
  end
end

# Text response
struct TextResponse
  include Azu::Response

  def initialize(@text : String)
  end

  def render
    @text
  end
end

Route Parameters

Access URL parameters in your endpoints:

struct ShowUserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(Azu::Request::Empty, UserResponse)

  get "/users/:id"

  def call : UserResponse
    user_id = params["id"].to_i64

    if user = User.find(user_id)
      UserResponse.new(user)
    else
      raise Azu::Response::NotFound.new("/users/#{user_id}")
    end
  end
end

Parameter Types

Parameters are automatically converted to the appropriate type:

# String parameter
name = params["name"] # String

# Integer parameter
id = params["id"].to_i # Int32

# Float parameter
price = params["price"].to_f # Float64

# Boolean parameter
active = params["active"] == "true" # Bool

Query Parameters

Access query string parameters:

struct ListUsersEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(Azu::Request::Empty, UsersListResponse)

  get "/users"

  def call : UsersListResponse
    # Access query parameters
    page = params["page"]?.try(&.to_i) || 1
    limit = params["limit"]?.try(&.to_i) || 10
    search = params["search"]?

    users = User.search(search).paginate(page, limit)
    UsersListResponse.new(users)
  end
end

Request Context

Access the full HTTP request context:

struct ApiEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(ApiRequest, ApiResponse)

  def call : ApiResponse
    # Access request headers
    user_agent = context.request.headers["User-Agent"]?
    content_type = context.request.headers["Content-Type"]?

    # Access request body
    body = context.request.body.try(&.gets_to_end)

    # Set response headers
    context.response.headers["X-Custom-Header"] = "value"

    # Set response status
    status 201

    ApiResponse.new(process_data)
  end
end

Error Handling

Handle errors gracefully in your endpoints:

struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(UserRequest, UserResponse)

  def call : UserResponse
    begin
      # Your business logic
      user = process_user_request
      UserResponse.new(user)
    rescue e : UserNotFoundError
      raise Azu::Response::NotFound.new("/users/#{user_id}")
    rescue e : ValidationError
      raise Azu::Response::ValidationError.new(e.errors)
    rescue e
      Log.error(exception: e) { "Unexpected error in UserEndpoint" }
      raise Azu::Response::InternalServerError.new("Something went wrong")
    end
  end
end

Common Error Responses

# 400 Bad Request
raise Azu::Response::BadRequest.new("Invalid request format")

# 401 Unauthorized
raise Azu::Response::Unauthorized.new("Authentication required")

# 403 Forbidden
raise Azu::Response::Forbidden.new("Access denied")

# 404 Not Found
raise Azu::Response::NotFound.new("/users/999")

# 422 Unprocessable Entity
raise Azu::Response::ValidationError.new({"name" => ["Name is required"]})

# 500 Internal Server Error
raise Azu::Response::InternalServerError.new("Server error")

Status Codes

Set appropriate HTTP status codes:

struct CreateUserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(CreateUserRequest, UserResponse)

  post "/users"

  def call : UserResponse
    user = create_user

    # Set 201 Created status
    status 201

    # Set Location header
    context.response.headers["Location"] = "/users/#{user.id}"

    UserResponse.new(user)
  end
end

Common Status Codes

  • 200 OK: Successful GET, PUT, PATCH

  • 201 Created: Successful POST

  • 204 No Content: Successful DELETE

  • 400 Bad Request: Invalid request

  • 401 Unauthorized: Authentication required

  • 403 Forbidden: Access denied

  • 404 Not Found: Resource not found

  • 422 Unprocessable Entity: Validation errors

  • 500 Internal Server Error: Server error

Content Types

Handle different content types:

struct ApiEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(ApiRequest, ApiResponse)

  def call : ApiResponse
    # Set content type
    content_type "application/json"

    # Or set based on request
    case context.request.headers["Accept"]?
    when "application/json"
      content_type "application/json"
    when "application/xml"
      content_type "application/xml"
    else
      content_type "application/json"
    end

    ApiResponse.new(data)
  end
end

Testing Endpoints

Test your endpoints with Crystal's built-in testing framework:

require "spec"
require "azu"

describe UserEndpoint do
  it "creates a user successfully" do
    request = CreateUserRequest.new(
      name: "Alice",
      email: "alice@example.com",
      age: 30
    )

    endpoint = UserEndpoint.new
    response = endpoint.call

    response.should be_a(UserResponse)
    response.user.name.should eq("Alice")
  end

  it "handles validation errors" do
    request = CreateUserRequest.new(
      name: "",  # Invalid: empty name
      email: "invalid-email"  # Invalid: bad format
    )

    endpoint = UserEndpoint.new

    expect_raises(Azu::Response::ValidationError) do
      endpoint.call
    end
  end
end

Best Practices

1. Single Responsibility

Each endpoint should have a single, clear responsibility:

# Good: Single responsibility
struct CreateUserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(CreateUserRequest, UserResponse)
  post "/users"
  def call : UserResponse; end
end

# Avoid: Multiple responsibilities
struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(UserRequest, UserResponse)
  get "/users"
  post "/users"
  put "/users/:id"
  delete "/users/:id"
  # Too many responsibilities
end

2. Type Safety

Always use typed request and response objects:

# Good: Type-safe
struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(CreateUserRequest, UserResponse)
end

# Avoid: Untyped
struct UserEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(Azu::Request::Empty, Azu::Response::Text)
end

3. Error Handling

Handle errors gracefully and provide meaningful messages:

def call : UserResponse
  begin
    user = find_user(params["id"])
    UserResponse.new(user)
  rescue e : UserNotFoundError
    raise Azu::Response::NotFound.new("User not found")
  rescue e
    Log.error(exception: e) { "Error in UserEndpoint" }
    raise Azu::Response::InternalServerError.new("Internal server error")
  end
end

4. Validation

Always validate input data:

def call : UserResponse
  unless request.valid?
    raise Azu::Response::ValidationError.new(request.errors)
  end

  # Proceed with business logic
end

5. Status Codes

Use appropriate HTTP status codes:

def call : UserResponse
  user = create_user

  # Set appropriate status
  status 201  # Created

  UserResponse.new(user)
end

Advanced Patterns

Resource Endpoints

Create RESTful resource endpoints:

# Users resource
struct UsersResource
  include Azu::Endpoint(UsersRequest, UsersResponse)

  get "/users"
  post "/users"
  get "/users/:id"
  put "/users/:id"
  delete "/users/:id"

  def call : UsersResponse
    case context.request.method
    when "GET"
      if params["id"]?
        show_user
      else
        list_users
      end
    when "POST"
      create_user
    when "PUT"
      update_user
    when "DELETE"
      delete_user
    end
  end
end

Nested Resources

Handle nested resources:

struct UserPostsEndpoint
  include Azu::Endpoint(PostsRequest, PostsResponse)

  get "/users/:user_id/posts"
  post "/users/:user_id/posts"

  def call : PostsResponse
    user_id = params["user_id"].to_i64

    case context.request.method
    when "GET"
      list_user_posts(user_id)
    when "POST"
      create_user_post(user_id)
    end
  end
end

Next Steps

Now that you understand endpoints:

  1. Request Contracts - Master request validation and type safety

  2. Response Objects - Structure your API responses

  3. Routing - Organize your application routes

  4. Middleware - Customize request processing

  5. Testing - Write comprehensive tests for your endpoints

  6. WebSocket Channels - Build real-time features

Endpoints are the foundation of Azu applications. With type safety, validation, and clear separation of concerns, they make your code robust, testable, and maintainable.

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