daloyjs-best-practices

name	daloyjs-best-practices
description	Best practices for building, testing, and hardening this DaloyJS REST API on Cloudflare Workers. Use when adding or changing HTTP routes, Zod/Standard Schema validation schemas, middleware, route metadata, or error handling; wiring Worker bindings (KV, D1, R2, Queues, env, secrets); running contract gates; or working on auth, rate limits, and security defaults.
license	MIT

SKILL.md — DaloyJS best practices (Cloudflare Workers)

Operational guidance and best practices for AI coding agents working in this DaloyJS Cloudflare Workers project. This is the project's single source of truth for how to add routes, write tests, ship secure defaults, and run the quality gates. Read this in full before making non-trivial changes.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Add, modify, or remove HTTP routes in this Worker.
• Adjust middleware, validation, or error handling.
• Change Worker bindings (KV, D1, R2, Queues, env vars) in wrangler.toml.
• Run tests/typecheck or deploy the Worker.
• Harden the API (auth, CORS, rate limits, secrets, dependency hygiene).

Do not use this skill for tasks unrelated to the API itself.

Core principles

DaloyJS is a contract-first framework. On Workers, additionally:

1. Stay on the Workers runtime. Only Web Standards APIs and Cloudflare-specific bindings. No node: modules unless the user explicitly adds nodejs_compat to wrangler.toml and opts in.
2. The route definition is the contract. Method, path, request schemas, and response schemas live in one place. Use the shorthand app.get(path, contract, handler) (app.post, app.put, app.patch, app.delete, app.head) for ordinary routes; use app.route({...}) for reusable defineRoute() contracts, metadata-heavy routes, or when composing many routes via registerRoutes().
3. Validation schemas protect every boundary. This template uses Zod, and Daloy accepts any Standard Schema-compatible library.
4. Preserve literal types. Return status: 200 as const.
5. Secure by default. requestId(), secureHeaders(), and rateLimit() are registered. Note: the in-memory rate limiter resets per isolate — for production traffic, prefer Cloudflare's native rate-limit binding.
6. Bindings flow through env. Read KV/D1/R2/secrets from the env argument to fetch, never from globals.
7. Contract gates are part of done. Keep operationId values stable, examples schema-valid, declared error responses accurate, and the generated OpenAPI contract in sync with the live route table.

Project shape

• src/index.ts — the Worker entrypoint. Builds the App, registers routes/middleware, and exports default toFetchHandler(app) from @daloyjs/core/cloudflare. Do not wrap the result in another { fetch }.
• wrangler.toml — Worker config (name, compatibility date, bindings, routes).
• tests/ — test files using Workers-compatible test runners (e.g. vitest + @cloudflare/vitest-pool-workers) or in-process app.request(...) for pure logic.

Commands cheat-sheet

pnpm dev          # wrangler dev on http://localhost:8787
pnpm typecheck    # tsc --noEmit
pnpm test         # run test suite
pnpm contract     # daloy inspect --check src/index.ts
pnpm deploy       # wrangler deploy
pnpm audit        # supply-chain audit

Always run pnpm typecheck and pnpm test before declaring a task done. pnpm test includes the contract gate; if you need a focused contract check, run pnpm contract.

OpenAPI & docs routes

This Worker starter sets docs: true in new App({...}), so three routes are auto-mounted off the spec generated from your route definitions. DaloyJS is dependency-free and the Scalar UI loads from a CDN, so the bundle cost is negligible; drop docs (and the openapi block) if you need the smallest possible Worker. The routes:

• GET /openapi.json — OpenAPI 3.1 spec as JSON.
• GET /openapi.yaml — OpenAPI 3.1 spec as YAML (served inline as text/yaml; charset=utf-8).
• GET /docs — Scalar API reference UI that loads the spec.

On Workers the Scalar UI adds the most weight; consider docs: { ui: "swagger" } or docs: "auto" (off in production), or pass docs: { openapiYamlPath: false } to drop the YAML route only. For hand-rolled mounting, openapiToYAML is exported from @daloyjs/core/openapi.

AI-ready contract metadata

Daloy can expose route metadata to OpenAPI and agent tooling. Add metadata when it helps consumers understand or safely automate the route:

• Use summary, description, and tags for concise human-facing docs.
• Use meta.examples for realistic happy-path and unhappy-path examples. Examples must match the declared schemas; the contract gate rejects drift.
• Use meta.extensions for stable x-* fields consumed by internal tools.
• Use deprecated and sunset when changing API lifecycle. Do not remove a route or response shape silently if generated clients may depend on it.

Workflow: add a new route

1. Open src/index.ts.
2. Design schemas first. Use z.object({...}).strict() for inputs.
3. Call app.get(path, contract, handler) (or the matching app.post/app.put/app.patch/app.delete/app.head shorthand) with a contract object holding operationId, tags, responses (plus request when accepting input). Add meta examples / descriptions when the route is user-facing or consumed by agents. Reach for the full app.route({...}) form instead when the contract is a reusable defineRoute() value, is metadata-heavy, or is being composed with many other routes via registerRoutes().
4. Return { status, body, headers? } with status: 200 as const.
5. Throw typed errors (NotFoundError, BadRequestError, etc.).
6. Add a test under tests/. Use app.request(...) for pure logic; use unstable_dev (Wrangler) or @cloudflare/vitest-pool-workers when you need bindings.
7. Run the contract gate: pnpm contract or pnpm test.
8. Run the quality gates: pnpm typecheck && pnpm test.

Example: a typed route with bindings

import { z } from "zod";
import { App, NotFoundError, rateLimit, requestId, secureHeaders } from "@daloyjs/core";
import { toFetchHandler } from "@daloyjs/core/cloudflare";

interface Env {
  BOOKS: KVNamespace;
  JWT_SECRET: string;
}

const Book = z.object({ id: z.string(), title: z.string() }).strict();

function buildApp(env: Env) {
  const app = new App({ bodyLimitBytes: 1024 * 1024, requestTimeoutMs: 5_000 });
  app.use(requestId());
  app.use(secureHeaders());
  app.use(rateLimit({ windowMs: 60_000, max: 120 }));

  app.get(
    "/books/:id",
    {
      operationId: "getBookById",
      tags: ["Books"],
      request: { params: z.object({ id: z.string().min(1) }).strict() },
      responses: {
        200: { description: "Found", body: Book },
        404: { description: "Not found" },
      },
    },
    async ({ params }) => {
      const raw = await env.BOOKS.get(params.id, "json");
      if (!raw) throw new NotFoundError(`Book ${params.id} not found`);
      return { status: 200 as const, body: Book.parse(raw) };
    }
  );

  return app;
}

export default {
  fetch: (req: Request, env: Env, ctx: ExecutionContext) =>
    toFetchHandler<Env>(buildApp(env)).fetch(req, env, ctx),
};

Validation & schema conventions

• Inputs: use .strict() on top-level object schemas.
• IDs: prefer z.string().min(1); use z.string().uuid() when applicable.
• Numbers from query strings: z.coerce.number().int().min(...).
• Optional vs nullable: differ in OpenAPI output.
• Pagination: standardize on { items, nextCursor } cursor pagination.
• Discriminated unions: z.discriminatedUnion("kind", [...]).
• Keep response examples close to the route definition and schema-valid. The contract test intentionally fails invalid examples.

Error handling

• Throw typed errors from @daloyjs/core — they serialize to RFC 9457 problem responses.
• Add a responses[code] entry for every error you throw.
• For unexpected errors, let them bubble. The framework's error middleware converts them to a 500 problem response.

Middleware

Register middleware before route definitions. Order matters.

Keep the secure baseline (requestId, secureHeaders, rateLimit). Add CORS only when needed, with an explicit origin allowlist.

Working with bindings

1. Add the binding ([[kv_namespaces]], [[d1_databases]], [vars], etc.) to wrangler.toml.
2. Type the binding in the Env interface inside src/index.ts.
3. Pass env into buildApp(env) so handlers receive bindings via closure or factory argument. Never read bindings via globals.
4. Store secrets via wrangler secret put — they appear on env but are not committed to wrangler.toml.

Testing best practices

Two patterns:

• In-process with app.request(...) for pure logic that does not need bindings.
• Workers-aware runners (@cloudflare/vitest-pool-workers or Wrangler unstable_dev) when KV/D1/etc. are involved.

Cover happy paths and unhappy paths for every route: valid input, validation failures (400), auth failures (401/403), not-found (404), conflict (409), rate limiting (429). For external services, inject an in-memory fake into buildApp(env) during tests. For user-owned or tenant-owned resources, use at least two principals and prove that Alice's valid token cannot list, read, update, or delete Bob's record. The shipped contract test should fail invalid examples, duplicate/missing operationId, or missing responses.

Aim for complete happy- and unhappy-path test coverage of the routes you add.

Security best practices

• Keep secureHeaders(), requestId(), and rateLimit() enabled. For high-traffic routes, attach Cloudflare's native rate-limit binding so limits are shared across isolates.
• Never make a failing test pass by deleting or weakening a security guard. If a guard blocks a legitimate route, add the narrowest per-route override or configuration knob and cover both the allowed and rejected paths in tests.
• Never log secrets — filter authorization, cookie, etc.
• Read secrets via wrangler secret put, never via plain [vars] in wrangler.toml.
• For auth, verify JWT signatures with the Web Crypto API (crypto.subtle). Never trust the alg header from the token.
• Authentication and scopes are not resource authorization. For every route that accepts a resource id, classify the resource as public, user-owned, tenant-owned, shared, or administrator-only.
• Scope user-owned and tenant-owned database reads and writes with both the caller-controlled id and the trusted owner / tenant from the verified principal. Do not fetch by id alone and rely on the UI or a later caller to remember the ownership check.
• Never accept ownerId, userId, tenantId, role, or another privileged ownership field from an ordinary request body. Derive it from the verified principal and reject the field with a strict request schema.
• Use an explicit, permissioned, audited path for administrator bypasses.
• Validate redirects against an allowlist.
• Set bodyLimitBytes and requestTimeoutMs on new App({...}) to mitigate DoS.
• For outbound HTTP, prefer fetchGuard() or a transport layered on top of it when URLs can be influenced by users or tenants. SSRF protections should fail closed for private ranges and cloud metadata endpoints.
• Workers have CPU and bundle-size limits; be cautious about adding heavy dependencies. Run wrangler deploy --dry-run --outdir=dist to inspect bundle size.
• Use ctx.waitUntil(...) for fire-and-forget work so the response returns promptly.
• Pin a compatibility_date in wrangler.toml and only bump it deliberately. New compat flags can change runtime semantics.

Logging & observability

• Use ctx.log — it carries the request id.
• console.log in Workers shows up in wrangler tail. Prefer structured logs through the framework logger.
• For tracing, the tracing() middleware emits OpenTelemetry-compatible spans; wire up a Workers-friendly exporter when needed.

Configuration & secrets

• Centralize env shape in an Env interface.
• Validate env via Zod once per request (cheap with Workers) or on first access via a memoized helper.
• Treat env as immutable during a request.

Pitfalls and guardrails

• Use toFetchHandler(app) from @daloyjs/core/cloudflare — never hand-roll a fetch(req, env, ctx) adapter.
• Do not import @daloyjs/core/node, @daloyjs/core/bun, etc. — only @daloyjs/core and @daloyjs/core/cloudflare.
• Do not hand-edit OpenAPI paths or client types. Fix the route definition, schema, or metadata and regenerate.
• Avoid Node-only APIs (Buffer, fs, process beyond process.env) unless nodejs_compat is enabled and required.
• Do not weaken response literal types (as const).
• Do not return errors as { status: 4xx, body }. Throw a typed error.
• Do not add runtime dependencies without checking the hardened .npmrc (installs wait 24h after publish by default).
• Long-running work belongs in ctx.waitUntil(...), not blocking the response.
• If a route intentionally returns a body the contract cannot describe (a raw Response, HTML, a proxied payload), set acknowledgeNoResponseBodySchema: true on that route — never silence the security.response.bodySchemaMissing boot warning by widening a schema to z.any().

Process expectations

• Every new feature ships with happy-path and unhappy-path tests.
• Bug fixes include a regression test.
• pnpm typecheck and pnpm test must pass before completion.
• When route metadata, examples, lifecycle flags, or operation IDs change, run the contract gate and inspect the relevant generated OpenAPI diff.
• For deploys, ask the user to run wrangler login first if needed — do not attempt to authenticate on their behalf.
• Keep README.md, this SKILL.md, and AGENTS.md consistent.

Exposing this API over MCP

@daloyjs/core ships a dependency-free Model Context Protocol (Streamable HTTP) server helper — also available from the @daloyjs/core/mcp subpath. To expose selected capabilities to MCP clients (AI agents), build a handler with createMcpHandler({ tools, resources, prompts }) and mount it with mcpRoutes("/mcp", handler). Throw McpToolError for caller-correctable tool failures. The handler ships protocol-level guards (body cap, UTF-8/JSON validation, Origin checks against DNS rebinding) and composes with the existing middleware chain — put bearerAuth() / rateLimit() in front of it like any other route. See https://daloyjs.dev/docs for the MCP guide.

More

• Framework docs: https://daloyjs.dev/docs
• Issues: https://github.com/daloyjs/daloy/issues