Join the Data API builder community! This sign up will help us maintain a list of interested developers to be part of our roadmap and to help us better understand the different ways DAB is being used. Sign up here.
Data API builder (DAB) is an open-source, no-code tool that creates secure, full-featured REST and GraphQL endpoints for your database. It’s a CRUD data API engine that runs in a container—on Azure, any other cloud, or on-premises. DAB is built for developers with integrated tooling, telemetry, and other productivity features.
erDiagram
DATA_API_BUILDER ||--|{ DATA_API : "Provides"
DATA_API_BUILDER {
container true "Microsoft Container Repository"
open-source true "MIT license / any cloud or on-prem."
objects true "Supports: Table / View / Stored Procedure"
developer true "Swagger / Nitro (fka Banana Cake Pop)"
otel true "Open Telemetry / Structured Logs / Health Endpoints"
security true "EntraId / EasyAuth / OAuth / JWT / Anonymous"
cache true "Level1 (in-memory) / Level2 (redis)"
policy true "Item policy / Database policy / Claims policy"
hot_reload true "Dynamically controllable log levels"
}
DATA_API ||--o{ DATASOURCE : "Queries"
DATA_API {
REST true "$select / $filter / $orderby"
GraphQL true "relationships / multiple mutations"
}
DATASOURCE {
MS_SQL Supported
PostgreSQL Supported
Cosmos_DB Supported
MySQL Supported
SQL_DW Supported
}
CLIENT ||--o{ DATA_API : "Consumes"
CLIENT {
Transport HTTP "HTTP / HTTPS"
Syntax JSON "Standard payloads"
Mobile Supported "No requirement"
Web Supported "No requirement"
Desktop Supported "No requirement"
Language Any "No requirement"
Framework None "Not required"
Library None "Not required"
ORM None "Not required"
Driver None "Not required"
}
Use the Getting Started tutorial to quickly explore the core tools and concepts. It gives you hands-on experience with how DAB makes you more efficient by removing boilerplate code.
1. Install the DAB CLI
The DAB CLI is a cross-platform .NET tool. Install the .NET SDK before running:
dotnet tool install microsoft.dataapibuilder -g
2. Create your initial configuration file
DAB requires a JSON configuration file. Edit manually or with the CLI. Use dab --help for syntax options.
dab init
--database-type mssql
--connection-string "@env('my-connection-string')"
--host-mode development
3. Add your first table
DAB supports tables, views, and stored procedures. It works with SQL Server, Azure Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Data Warehouse. Security is engine-level, but permissions are per entity.
dab add Actor
--source "dbo.Actor"
--permissions "anonymous:*"
4. Run Data API builder
In production, DAB runs in a container. In development, it’s self-hosted locally with hot reload, Swagger, and Nitro (fka Banana Cake Pop) support.
dab start
Note: Before you run
dab start, make sure your connection string is stored in an environment variable calledmy-connection-string. This is required for@env('my-connection-string')in your config file to work. The easiest way is to create a.envfile withname=valuepairs—DAB will load these automatically at runtime.
5. Access your data source
By default, DAB enables both REST and GraphQL. REST supports $select, $filter, and $orderBy. GraphQL uses config-defined relationships.
GET http://localhost:5000/api/Actor
Demo source code: startrek
| Category | Features |
|---|---|
| Database Objects | • NoSQL collections • RDBMS tables, views, stored procedures |
| Data Sources | • SQL Server & Azure SQL • Azure Cosmos DB • PostgreSQL • MySQL |
| REST | • $select for projection• $filter for filtering• $orderBy for sorting |
| GraphQL | • Relationship navigation • Data aggregation • Multiple mutations |
| Telemetry | • Structured logs • OpenTelemetry • Application Insights • Health endpoints |
| Advanced | • Pagination • Level 1 (in-memory) cache • Level 2 (Redis) cache |
| Authentication | • OAuth2/JWT • EasyAuth • Entra ID |
| Authorization | • Role-based support • Entity permissions • Database policies |
| Developer | • Cross-platform CLI • Swagger (REST) • Banana Cake Pop (GraphQL) • Open Source • Hot Reload |
This diagram shows how DAB works. DAB dynamically creates endpoints from your config file. It translates HTTP requests to SQL, returns JSON, and auto-pages results.
sequenceDiagram
actor Client
box Data API builder (DAB)
participant Endpoint
participant QueryBuilder
end
participant Configuration as Configuration File
box Data Source
participant DB
end
Endpoint->>Endpoint: Start
activate Endpoint
Endpoint->>Configuration: Request
Configuration-->>Endpoint: Configuration
Endpoint->>DB: Request
DB-->>Endpoint: Metadata
Note over Endpoint, DB: Some configuration is validated against the metadata
Endpoint-->>Endpoint: Configure
deactivate Endpoint
Client-->>Endpoint: HTTP Request
activate Endpoint
critical
Endpoint-->>Endpoint: Authenticate
Endpoint-->>Endpoint: Authorize
end
Endpoint->>QueryBuilder: Request
QueryBuilder-->>Endpoint: SQL
alt Cache
Endpoint-->>Endpoint: Use Cache
else Query
Endpoint-->>DB: Request
Note over Endpoint, DB: Query is automatically throttled and results paginated
DB->>Endpoint: Results
Note over Endpoint, DB: Results are automatically cached for use in next request
end
Endpoint->>Client: HTTP 200
deactivate Endpoint
Because DAB is stateless, it can scale up or out using any container size. It builds a feature-rich API like you would from scratch—but now you don’t have to.
To contribute, see these documents:
Data API builder for Azure Databases is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
Nitro (fka Banana Cake Pop by ChilliCream, Inc.) may optionally store work in its cloud service via your ChilliCream account. Microsoft is not affiliated with or endorsing this service. Use at your discretion.
This project may use trademarks or logos. Use of Microsoft trademarks must follow Microsoft’s Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of third-party marks is subject to their policies.
