Reflective Backend

Reflective Backend is a zero-config, dynamic REST backend for any MySQL-compatible database. It lets you interact with your data instantly via standard HTTP requests, using real-time schema introspection.

Developed with support from OpenAI's GPT-4, guided by a reevy mindset.

Features

• Auto-generates endpoints for all tables
• Reflects schema using DESCRIBE – no hardcoded logic
• Supports full CRUD:
  • GET /api/:table (with where, orderby, limit)
  • POST /api/:table
  • PUT /api/:table/:id
  • DELETE /api/:table/:id
• Handles “dirty URLs” (non-standard query formats)
• Configurable via environment variables

Getting Started

1. Install

npm install reflective-backend

Or clone manually:

git clone https://github.com/Cruftcam/reflective-backend.git
cd reflective-backend
npm install

2. Configure your database connection

You can either edit directly in reflective-backend.js or use environment variables:

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_NAME=your_database

3. Run the server

node reflective-backend.js

The server will start at: http://localhost:5000

Example API Usage (with fetch)

You can use any table name from your MySQL database in the :table placeholder.

🔹 GET all records from a table

fetch("http://localhost:5000/api/film")
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

🔹 GET with WHERE + LIMIT

fetch("http://localhost:5000/api/film?where=rating='PG'&limit=5")
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

🔹 POST new record

fetch("http://localhost:5000/api/category", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Example Category",
    last_update: new Date().toISOString()
  })
});

🔹 PUT update a record

fetch("http://localhost:5000/api/category/2", {
  method: "PUT",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ name: "Updated Category" })
});

🔹 DELETE a record

fetch("http://localhost:5000/api/category/2", {
  method: "DELETE"
});

Notes

• Automatically determines the table’s primary key for updates and deletions.

• Designed for internal development use — use with care in production.

• Great for dashboards, editors, internal tools, or scaffolding apps

• Built with Express, MySQL2, CORS

License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This software is free to use for non-commercial projects. You must give credit to the original author. For commercial use, please contact the author.

Credits

This tool was developed using OpenAI's GPT-based assistant and published with appreciation for all contributors behind open source libraries like express, cors and mysql2.

Author

Developed with ❤️ & 🍺 in Bavaria by Stefan aka crufty from Cruftcam.com

❤️ Contributions

Contributions, issues and feedback welcome. If you improve it, fork it and send a pull request!