encore-frontend

name	encore-frontend
description	Connect a frontend application (React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, etc.) to an Encore.ts backend.
when_to_use	User wants to generate a TypeScript API client for the browser (`encore gen client`), call Encore endpoints from React/Next.js/Vue/Svelte/SvelteKit/Remix/Astro, configure CORS in `encore.app`, or wire authentication tokens through a generated client. Trigger phrases: "TypeScript client", "API client", "Next.js frontend", "React frontend", "encore gen client", "CORS", "browser fetch", "SPA", "frontend can call this backend".

Frontend Integration with Encore

Instructions

Encore provides tools to connect your frontend applications to your backend APIs.

Generate a TypeScript Client

# Generate client for local development
encore gen client --output=./frontend/src/client.ts --env=local

# Generate client for a deployed environment
encore gen client --output=./frontend/src/client.ts --env=staging

This generates a fully typed client based on your API definitions.

Using the Generated Client

// frontend/src/client.ts is auto-generated
import Client from "./client";

const client = new Client("http://localhost:4000");

// Fully typed API calls
const user = await client.user.getUser({ id: "123" });
console.log(user.email);

const newUser = await client.user.createUser({
  email: "[e-mail]",
  name: "New User",
});

React Example

// frontend/src/components/UserProfile.tsx
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import Client from "../client";

const client = new Client(import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL);

export function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const [user, setUser] = useState(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    client.user.getUser({ id: userId })
      .then(setUser)
      .catch(setError)
      .finally(() => setLoading(false));
  }, [userId]);

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;
  
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{user.name}</h1>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

React with TanStack Query

import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
import Client from "../client";

const client = new Client(import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL);

export function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data: user, isLoading, error } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ["user", userId],
    queryFn: () => client.user.getUser({ id: userId }),
  });

  if (isLoading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;
  
  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

export function CreateUserForm() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
  
  const mutation = useMutation({
    mutationFn: (data: { email: string; name: string }) => 
      client.user.createUser(data),
    onSuccess: () => {
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["users"] });
    },
  });

  const handleSubmit = (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const formData = new FormData(e.currentTarget);
    mutation.mutate({
      email: formData.get("email") as string,
      name: formData.get("name") as string,
    });
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input name="email" type="email" required />
      <input name="name" required />
      <button type="submit" disabled={mutation.isPending}>
        {mutation.isPending ? "Creating..." : "Create User"}
      </button>
    </form>
  );
}

Next.js Server Components

// app/users/[id]/page.tsx
import Client from "@/lib/client";

const client = new Client(process.env.API_URL);

export default async function UserPage({ params }: { params: { id: string } }) {
  const user = await client.user.getUser({ id: params.id });
  
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{user.name}</h1>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

CORS Configuration

Configure CORS in your encore.app file:

{
    "id": "my-app",
    "global_cors": {
        "allow_origins_with_credentials": [
            "http://localhost:3000",
            "https://myapp.com",
            "https://*.myapp.com"
        ]
    }
}

CORS Options

Option	Description
allow_origins_without_credentials	Origins allowed for non-credentialed requests (default: ["*"])
allow_origins_with_credentials	Origins allowed for credentialed requests (cookies, auth headers)
allow_headers	Additional request headers to allow
expose_headers	Additional response headers to expose
debug	Enable CORS debug logging

Authentication from Frontend

For authenticated requests, pass the Authorization header:

// Using fetch
const response = await fetch("http://localhost:4000/profile", {
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${token}`,
  },
});

// Or include credentials for cookie-based auth
const response = await fetch("http://localhost:4000/profile", {
  credentials: "include",
});

With TanStack Query, configure a default fetcher:

const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      queryFn: async ({ queryKey }) => {
        const response = await fetch(queryKey[0] as string, {
          headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${getToken()}` },
        });
        if (!response.ok) throw new Error("Request failed");
        return response.json();
      },
    },
  },
});

Using Plain Fetch

If you prefer not to use the generated client:

async function getUser(id: string) {
  const response = await fetch(`http://localhost:4000/users/${id}`);
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`HTTP error: ${response.status}`);
  }
  return response.json();
}

async function createUser(email: string, name: string) {
  const response = await fetch("http://localhost:4000/users", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ email, name }),
  });
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`HTTP error: ${response.status}`);
  }
  return response.json();
}

Environment Variables

# .env.local (Next.js)
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:4000

# .env (Vite)
VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:4000

Guidelines

• Use encore gen client to generate typed API clients
• Regenerate the client when your API changes
• Configure CORS in encore.app for production domains
• Use allow_origins_with_credentials for authenticated requests
• Include Authorization header for token-based auth
• Use credentials: "include" for cookie-based auth
• Use environment variables for API URLs (different per environment)
• The generated client handles errors and types automatically