Introduction

In today's fast-paced development world, launching APIs quickly and efficiently is crucial. This guide aims to show you how to develop and deploy an API in just one minute by combining the powers of AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) and NestJS. Assuming you're familiar with NestJS and have an AWS profile and Node.js (version 20 or higher) ready, we'll walk through setting up a NestJS project, integrating NestCDK, verifying AWS configuration, deploying your API, and managing it post-launch. This streamlined approach is designed for developers looking to expedite their deployment process without sacrificing quality or scalability.

Setup NestJS Project

Initiating a NestJS project is straightforward. Simply open your terminal, navigate to your desired directory, and execute:

nest new app-name

Replace app-name with your project name. This command quickly scaffolds a new NestJS application, equipping you with a ready-to-develop project structure. With your NestJS project set up, you're now primed to integrate NestCDK for AWS deployment.

If this concise overview works for you, we can move on to detailing the NestCDK setup process.

Setup NestCDK into NestJS Project

Integrating NestCDK into your NestJS project is a crucial step for seamless deployment to AWS. NestCDK, a toolkit designed to work with AWS Cloud Development Kit, simplifies the infrastructure as code process, making it easier to manage AWS resources directly from your NestJS application. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Navigate to your project directory: Make sure you’re in your newly created NestJS project folder.
   

   cd app-name
   

   Replace app-name with the name of your NestJS project.

2. Install NestCDK and AWS CDK: You need to install the @nest-cdk/cli package along with aws-cdk globally using npm. Run the following command:
   

   npm install -g aws-cdk @nest-cdk/cli
   

3. Set up NestCDK: Inside your project directory, scaffold NestCDK by executing:
   

   npx nest-cdk init
   

   This command sets up AWS CDK within your project, linking it to your NestJS application. It creates an AWS CDK structure, enabling you to define your cloud infrastructure using familiar programming constructs.

The NestCDK initialization also supports monorepo projects, allowing you to run it in the root directory if necessary. With NestCDK now integrated into your project, you’ve laid the groundwork for deploying your API to AWS with ease.

Let’s proceed to verifying your AWS profile configuration, ensuring you’re ready for deployment.

AWS Profile Configuration

Before deploying, quickly verify your AWS profile is set up:

aws configure list-profiles

Run this in your terminal. If your profile appears, you’re ready. Otherwise, set it up by following the AWS CLI Configuration Guide.

Deploy Your API

To deploy your API, simply execute the deployment command from your project's root directory:

npm run deploy:all

This initiates the deployment process to AWS, provisioning necessary resources and making your NestJS application available as an API. It may take a few minutes to complete.

After deployment, the terminal will output an endpoint URL. If your application has a default GET / endpoint, visiting this URL should display a "Hello World" message, confirming your API is live and operational.

Your API is now hosted on AWS API Gateway. You can further manage and customize it via the AWS Management Console. To update your API, just re-run the deploy command.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully developed and deployed an API in record time using NestJS and AWS CDK. This process not only simplifies the initial setup but also streamlines future deployments, making your development workflow more efficient.

With your API now live on AWS API Gateway, you have a scalable and secure platform from which to serve your application. You can access the AWS console to customize your API gateway, set up custom domains, configure stages, and more. Remember, any updates or expansions to your API can be easily deployed with a simple command:

npm run deploy:all

This guide aimed to demystify the process of API development and deployment, showing you how accessible and quick it can be with the right tools. As you continue to develop your project, you'll find this approach saves you considerable time and effort, allowing you to focus on creating great features and user experiences.

We hope this guide has been helpful in getting your API up and running swiftly. Happy coding, and we look forward to seeing what you build!