Building a full-stack API from scratch is no small feat. First, you design your database schema. Then you scaffold your models, write CRUD endpoints, set up routes, connect to the database, and test it all. Even experienced developers spend hours—or days—on boilerplate before they can focus on real business logic.

With Codespell’s Design to Code, you can skip the repetitive work and get a complete backend scaffold in minutes. This powerful AI-driven tool takes your database schema and auto-generates API code in Node.js, Java, .NET, or other supported stacks.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to generate a full-stack API using Codespell’s Design to Code—from importing your schema to getting production-ready CRUD endpoints.

Why Automate API Development?

Every new project starts with the same pattern: defining entities, setting up routes, wiring up controllers, configuring the ORM. It’s repetitive, error-prone, and slows you down.

Codespell’s Design to Code eliminates this friction by:

• Automatically generating models, controllers, and routes based on your schema
• Supporting multiple backend languages and frameworks
• Providing clean, extensible code you can build on

It doesn’t just speed up development—it sets a solid foundation you can trust.

Step-by-Step: Generating an API with Codespell

Step 1: Launch Design to Code

Start inside your IDE (Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, IntelliJ, or Eclipse) with the Codespell extension installed. You’ll see a sidebar with Codespell’s features.

Click on Design to Code to open the workspace.
→ Create a new project and choose API Development as the type.

This launches the guided flow for backend API generation.

Step 2: Select Your Tech Stack

Codespell supports multiple languages, frameworks, and databases. In this step, you’ll choose:

• Language: Node.js, Java, .NET, Golang, PHP ‍
• Framework: Express (Node.js), Spring Boot (Java), .NET Core, Laravel (PHP), etc. ‍
• Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server

Example: If you’re building a Node.js backend with Express and MySQL, just pick those from the dropdowns. Codespell configures the project structure accordingly.

Step 3: Import or Define Your Database Schema

You can’t generate APIs without knowing your data model. Here, Codespell gives you two options:

1. Import an existing SQL schema → Upload your database dump or schema file (e.g., from MySQL Workbench). ‍
2. Create schema manually → Use Codespell’s visual editor to add tables, columns, and define relationships.

The visual interface maps out entities like an ERD. Foreign keys and relationships are auto-detected if you import; manual entry lets you tweak or add missing relations.

Step 4: Review the Entity Model

Once your schema is imported or defined, you’ll get a visual overview of your entities and how they connect.

Take a moment to review:

• Are all tables present?
• Do foreign key relationships look correct?
• Need to rename a field or add an index?

You can edit directly in the tool before generating the code.

Step 5: Generate the API Code

Now the magic happens.

Click “Review & Generate”. Codespell will process your schema and selections, then generate:

• CRUD endpoints for every entity
• Models for each table
• Controller files with ready-to-use logic
• Routes configured to match your framework’s conventions
• Database configuration and connection files

The output is a fully structured project folder inside your IDE. You can open the code immediately—no manual wiring needed.

👉 Codespell even supports token-based credit usage, depending on your plan. One generation deducts credits based on schema complexity.

What’s Inside the Generated Code?

Here’s what you get out-of-the-box:

• /models → ORM models aligned to your schema
• /controllers → Controller files with CRUD logic
• /routes → API routes wired to controllers
• /config → Database config files
• Main server file (e.g., app.js, server.java)

This isn’t stub code—it’s runnable, connected, and extendable. You can run npm install (or equivalent) and fire up the server.

What Happens Next?

Once your boilerplate is ready:

• Add custom business logic → Extend controllers with domain-specific functionality
• Integrate authentication & middleware
• Connect a frontend (React, Angular, mobile)
• Write additional test cases or use Codespell’s Test Script generation to automate them

You’re not locked into a proprietary system. The generated code is yours to modify, deploy, and scale.

Why Codespell’s Design to Code Stands Out

Unlike simple code generators, Codespell’s Design to Code combines AI assistance with structured automation:

• Works across multiple languages & frameworks
• Maps real-world entity relationships into code
• Gives developers full control with editable, extensible output

It’s designed for backend developers who want to skip boilerplate—not control.

Conclusion

Why spend hours setting up CRUD APIs when you can do it in 5 minutes? With Codespell’s Design to Code, you can import your schema, select your stack, and generate a complete backend scaffold with a click.

Whether you’re prototyping fast or laying the foundation for a production app, Codespell saves time without sacrificing quality.

Ready to try it? Start your free Codespell trial.