This chapter covers the core features and capabilities of Form API Builder.
/api/{form}/schema returns the form definitionhttp.server — zero external dependencies, Python 3.10+ stdlib only# Start the API server with a form config
python src/form_api_builder.py --config examples/api_config.json --port 8080
# Start with the built-in demo
python src/form_api_builder.py --demo
# Print the generated schema
python src/form_api_builder.py --config examples/api_config.json --schema| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--config FILE | JSON configuration file with form definitions |
--port N | Port to run the server on (default: 8000) |
--host HOST | Host to bind to (default: 0.0.0.0) |
--schema | Print the API schema and exit (don't start server) |
--demo | Start with a built-in demo configuration |
Follow this guide to get Form API Builder up and running in your environment.
For each form defined in your config, the following endpoints are generated:
| Method | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
GET | /api/{slug} | List all submissions (paginated) |
POST | /api/{slug} | Create a new submission |
GET | /api/{slug}/{id} | Get a specific submission |
PUT | /api/{slug}/{id} | Update a submission |
DELETE | /api/{slug}/{id} | Delete a submission |
GET | /api/{slug}/schema | Get the form schema definition |
GET /api/contacts?page=2&per_page=10Response includes pagination metadata:
{
"data": [...],
"pagination": {
"page": 2,
"per_page": 10,
"total": 45,
"total_pages": 5
}
}{
"server": {
"host": "0.0.0.0",
"port": 8000,
"cors_origins": ["*"]
},
"auth": {
"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
"header": "X-API-Key"
},
"storage": {
"dir": "./data"
},
"webhooks": [
{
"url": "https://api.example.com/webhooks/form-submit",
"events": ["create", "update", "delete"],
"secret": "YOUR_WEBHOOK_SECRET_HERE"
}
],
"forms": [
{
"slug": "contacts",
"title": "Contact Form",
"fields": [
{
"name": "name",
"type": "text",
"label": "Full Name",
"required": true
},
{
"name": "email",
"type": "email",
"label": "Email Address",
"required": true
},
{
"name": "message",
"type": "textarea",
"label": "Message",
"required": true,
"maxLength": 2000
}
]
}
]
}Webhook payloads include an X-Webhook-Signature header with an HMAC-SHA256 signature:
# Verify on the receiving end:
import hmac, hashlib
expected = hmac.new(
secret.encode(),
request_body,
hashlib.sha256
).hexdigest()
assert hmac.compare_digest(expected, received_signature)from form_api_builder import FormAPIServer, load_config
# Load config
config = load_config("examples/api_config.json")
# Start server
server = FormAPIServer(config)
server.start() # Blocks, serving on configured host:port
# Or use the data store directly
from form_api_builder import JSONStore
store = JSONStore("./data", "contacts")
entry_id = store.create({"name": "Jane Smith", "email": "jane@example.com"})
entry = store.get(entry_id)
store.update(entry_id, {"name": "Jane Doe"})
store.delete(entry_id)
# List with pagination
results = store.list(page=1, per_page=10)Get the full Form API Builder and unlock everything.
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