Building a Client-Side, Zero-Trust Execution Engine for OpenAPI Chains
Most tools that let you chain API calls together (Postman, Insomnia, a pile of curl in a bash script) solve the problem by adding a script layer on top of your requests. You write pm.environment.set('token', ...) , manage an environment file, and now your test flow lives in a tool that knows nothing about your actual codebase or OpenAPI contract. We built Enlace to avoid that layer entirely: no…
Most tools for chaining API calls together, such as Postman, Insomnia, and bash scripts, solve the problem by adding a script layer on top of the requests. These tools manage environment files and have a script layer that is not aware of the actual codebase or OpenAPI contract. Enlace, however, aims to avoid this extra layer entirely by running the chain directly in the browser at the API.
The OpenAPI document becomes the canvas for the chain, and response fields can be wired into later request parameters. This allows for multi-step flows, such as creating a resource, obtaining an id or token from the response, and calling additional endpoints that require that value. Enlace keeps the contract as the source of truth and makes the chain a first-class object.
To get started with Enlace, you need to pick an adapter for your stack, which involves serving the UI bundle and serving the OpenAPI document. Most teams already generate the OpenAPI document from their framework, such as FastAPI, NestJS, Express, ASP.NET Core, or Spring Boot. Enlace serves as a thin wrapper that serves the UI and the OpenAPI document without any additional functionality.
To use Enlace with FastAPI, you install the enlace-fastapi package and add enlace(app=openapi()) to your FastAPI app after registering the routes. For NestJS, you install the @get-enlace/nest package and import EnlaceModule in your app.module.ts file. Similarly, for Express, you install @get-enlace/express and use enlace({ spec }) to serve the UI and OpenAPI document. The adapter simply serves the UI and the OpenAPI document, with no extra features.
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