Server plugin
Server plugin
Provides HTTP server capabilities with development and production modes.
Key features:
- Express server for REST APIs
- Vite dev server with hot module reload
- Static file serving for production
- Remote tunneling to deployed backends
The Server plugin uses the deferred initialization phase to access routes from other plugins.
What it does
- Starts an Express server (default
host=0.0.0.0,port=8000) - Mounts plugin routes under
/api/<pluginName>/... - Adds
/healthendpoint (returns{ status: "ok" }) - Serves frontend:
- Development (
NODE_ENV=development): runs a Vite dev server in middleware mode - Production: auto-detects static frontend directory (checks
dist,client/dist,build,public,out)
- Development (
Minimal server example
The smallest valid AppKit server:
// server/server.ts
import { createApp, server } from "@databricks/appkit";
await createApp({
plugins: [server()],
});Custom routes example
Use the onPluginsReady callback to extend Express with custom routes before the server starts:
import { createApp, server } from "@databricks/appkit";
await createApp({
plugins: [server()],
onPluginsReady(appkit) {
appkit.server.extend((app) => {
app.get("/custom", (_req, res) => res.json({ ok: true }));
});
},
});The onPluginsReady callback also supports async operations:
await createApp({
plugins: [server()],
async onPluginsReady(appkit) {
const pool = await initializeDatabase();
appkit.server.extend((app) => {
app.get("/data", async (_req, res) => {
const result = await pool.query("SELECT 1");
res.json(result);
});
});
},
});Configuration options
import { createApp, server } from "@databricks/appkit";
await createApp({
plugins: [
server({
port: 8000, // default: Number(process.env.DATABRICKS_APP_PORT) || 8000
host: "0.0.0.0", // default: process.env.FLASK_RUN_HOST || "0.0.0.0"
staticPath: "dist", // optional: force a specific static directory
}),
],
});