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Introduction to flAPI

flAPI is a high-performance serving layer that transforms your enterprise data systems—like Snowflake, BigQuery, or SAP—into fast, secure, AI-ready APIs. It acts as powerful middleware that decouples slow, expensive backend systems from the high-throughput demands of modern applications and AI agents.

The Problem: Data Warehouses Aren't API Servers​

Traditional data warehouses and ERPs excel at analytical workloads but struggle with the demands of modern applications:

  • High Latency: Queries take seconds, not milliseconds
  • Expensive: Every query costs money; high-frequency access gets expensive fast
  • Not Designed for APIs: No built-in rate limiting, caching, or authentication
  • Poor Concurrency: Can't handle hundreds of simultaneous API requests
  • AI-Unfriendly: No structured tool interfaces for AI agents

Applications and AI agents need fast, frequent access to data. Querying warehouses directly is both slow and expensive.

The Solution: A High-Performance Serving Layer​

flAPI solves this by sitting between your slow backends and fast consumers:

How It Works​

  1. Connect: Point flAPI to your data sources (BigQuery, Snowflake, Parquet, etc.)
  2. Define: Write SQL templates and configure endpoints in simple YAML files
  3. Serve: flAPI materializes a fast, local cache using DuckDB and serves APIs at millisecond latency

The cache absorbs high-frequency queries, dramatically reducing warehouse costs while providing the speed modern applications demand.

Key Benefits​

🚀 Performance​

Millisecond API responses vs. seconds for direct warehouse queries. Your applications feel instant.

💰 Cost Reduction​

Reduce warehouse query costs by 90%+ by serving from cache. One expensive query refreshes data for thousands of API calls.

🤖 AI-Native​

Built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) support. Expose SQL templates as structured tools for AI agents—no duplicate work.

🛠️ Developer Experience​

Local-first development with powerful CLI (flapii) and VS Code integration. Test templates, validate configs, debug queries—all locally.

🔒 Enterprise Security​

JWT authentication, row-level security, rate limiting, and fine-grained access control out of the box.

📦 Simple Deployment​

Single binary, zero dependencies. Deploy anywhere: AWS Lambda, Cloud Run, Kubernetes, or on-premise.

Core Features​

Declarative API Configuration​

Define endpoints, parameters, and security rules in simple YAML files. No code required.

SQL as a Transformation Layer​

Use the full power of SQL to transform and shape data. flAPI makes it easy to perform significant transformations right in the template.

Dynamic Templates with Mustache​

Create flexible, reusable SQL queries with Mustache syntax—familiar to anyone who's used dbt.

DuckDB-Powered Caching​

Strategic caching that's not just for speed—it's for cost optimization. Materialize high-value data locally and refresh on your schedule.

MCP for AI Agents​

Automatically expose your SQL templates as tools that AI agents can call. One config creates both REST APIs and structured tools.

Automatic Documentation​

OpenAPI (Swagger) documentation generated automatically from your endpoint configs.

Who Is flAPI For?​

Data Engineers​

Build data APIs in minutes, not weeks. Focus on data transformation, not API boilerplate.

Backend Developers​

Decouple applications from slow data sources. Get the speed you need without rewriting queries.

AI/ML Teams​

Give your agents structured access to enterprise data through MCP. No custom integrations required.

Platform Teams​

Provide a standardized way for teams to expose data as APIs with built-in governance and security.

Real-World Use Cases​

  • Analytics APIs: Serve dashboards and reports without hammering your warehouse
  • AI Agent Tools: Let agents query enterprise data through structured interfaces
  • Customer-Facing APIs: Provide fast data access in customer applications
  • Internal Tools: Power internal apps with fresh data without warehouse costs
  • Real-Time Reporting: Cache frequently-accessed reports and refresh on schedule

Architecture Philosophy​

flAPI embraces the "small data" philosophy: most applications don't need all your data, just the right slice of it. By materializing a fast, local cache of high-value data, flAPI makes "big data" feel small and fast.

Local-First Development​

Modern hardware is powerful. Develop locally with the exact same software you ship to production. No cloud complexity during development.

Think Small, Ship Joyfully​

The entire workflow is optimized for rapid iteration. Define your API, run flapi, and test it instantly. This tight feedback loop makes development a joy.

Optimized for Serverless​

The same small footprint and millisecond startup time make flAPI perfect for cost-efficient serverless deployments.

Next Steps​

Ready to get started?

  1. Quickstart Guide: Build your first API in 5 minutes
  2. How It Works: Understand the 3-step process
  3. Architecture Deep Dive: Technical details and performance
  4. Configuration Guide: Learn all configuration options
  5. Connect Data Sources: BigQuery, PostgreSQL, Parquet, SAP
  6. Examples: Real-world implementations
  7. Deployment Guide: Deploy to production

Need help? Check out our GitHub Discussions or view our services page for enterprise support options.

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