About Data API builder for Azure Databases

Exciting news! The Data API Builder for Azure Cosmos DB is now officially available! Say goodbye to developer headaches when accessing databases for client applications. Requiring no code, the Data API Builder provides secure, feature-rich GraphQL endpoints on Azure Cosmos DB. It’s developer-friendly, open-source, and free, even for on-prem databases. Access databases effortlessly and focus on building amazing applications! Whether you’re building a data clearinghouse, crafting a mobile app, or tinkering with an Azure database, Data API builder has your back. It seamlessly integrates with various backend stores, from NoSQL to relational databases, and effortlessly manages multiple databases at once.

GraphQL endpoints on Azure Cosmos DB with Data API builder

The Data API Builder for Azure Cosmos DB simplifies the process of exposing GraphQL endpoints on Azure Cosmos DB collections with minimal commands. It enables relational queries, filtering, and mutations, including patch operations. The Data API Builder empowers developers to effortlessly create GraphQL endpoints while maintaining granular and flexible security features.

Flexible Integration with Azure Databases

Whether you’re building a web app, crafting a mobile app, or tinkering with an Azure database, DAB has your back. It seamlessly integrates with various backend stores, from NoSQL to relational databases, and effortlessly manages multiple databases at once.

Container-based

DAB is a standard Docker-friendly container. It is completely stateless and scalable. You can run it in your own environment or in the cloud—it doesn’t matter. Run one or several containers against a single database or multiple databases. The approach is up to you.

Enterprise friendly

Enterprise customers demand features like Microsoft Entra Identity integration, Application Insights, and CI/CD support. They also require scaling and some complex topologies. DAB delivers with flexibility, as well as the scale and performance to meet every workload.

Seamless Integration

DAB with Azure Static Web Apps offers a seamless solution for integrating your database with front-end applications through its cutting-edge data connections feature, currently in preview. DAB seamlessly integrates with Azure Container Apps, Azure Container Instances, Azure Kubernetes Services, and Azure Web Apps for Containers. It also extends support to custom on-premises deployments.

Feature rich

Every endpoint in the Data API Builder comes equipped with essential features: retry policy, thorough logging, in-memory cache, field mapping, and filtering of results. Plus, it offers solid documentation, a standards-based interface, and dependable error handling.

Streamlined Development with DAB

DAB uses the techniques and technologies engineers love. It’s what you would build—you just don’t have to. DAB dramatically reduces the codebase, eliminates suites of tests, and shortens CI/CD pipelines. It introduces capabilities typically reserved for the largest teams yet remains incredibly simple.

Open source

Being open source means we operate transparently. Our code is accessible, and our discussions take place on GitHub. We welcome your contributions via pull requests. We hold monthly community standups on YouTube and collaborate with projects like HotChocolate and FusionCache.

Explore more about Data API builder.

Great documentation

The Data API builder team has put in a lot of time to make our docs complete and easy. We’re full of quick starts, tutorials, and conceptual articles meant to help you get started. Our reference docs are comprehensive and always evolving, you can find them here.

Command line

Our CLI is a cross-platform dotnet tool you install like this:

dotnet tool install Microsoft.DataApiBuilder --global

Then, in three lines, you can initialize, validate, and spin up an endpoint on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Immediately start consuming data and building client applications. This is a simple example, but a larger and more complicated database is just fine, too.

dab init --database-type cosmosdb_nosql  --graphql-schema schema.gql  --connection-string env('my-connection-string')"

dab add Book --source dbo.books --permissions "anonymous:*"

dab start

It’s worth noting that Data API builder deeply supports environment variables throughout its configuration file. This is the best way to pass secrets. We also support local ENV files for engineers wanting to limit the scope of local environment variables during development.

Getting Started and Contributions

To get started with Data API builder, explore our comprehensive documentation and step-by-step guides: Complete Getting Started Guide We look forward to your feedback and contributions. Join our GitHub Discussions, provide feedback, or start a conversation about our roadmap.

Final Thoughts

The journey from public preview to General Availability has been rewarding, and the Data API Builder is ready to help developers simplify database interactions, enabling them to spend more time focusing on creating outstanding user experiences and architectures. Customers across the spectrum, from startups to enterprises, are increasingly embracing DAB for Azure Cosmos DB.

Join our community here.

About Azure Cosmos DB

Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed and serverless distributed database for modern app development, with SLA-backed speed and availability, automatic and instant scalability, and support for open-source PostgreSQL, MongoDB and Apache Cassandra. Try Azure Cosmos DB for free here. To stay in the loop on Azure Cosmos DB updates, follow us on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

To quickly build your first database, watch our Get Started videos on YouTube and explore ways to dev/test free.