ApiHelper

The @churchapps/apihelper package provides server-side utilities for all ChurchApps Express.js APIs. It includes the base controller class, JWT authentication, database utilities, and AWS integrations that every API project depends on.

Before You Begin

• Install Node.js and Git -- see Prerequisites
• Familiarize yourself with the Packages workspace setup and release flow
• This package depends on @churchapps/helpers (as a peer dependency) and re-exports it

What's Included

• CustomBaseController -- base class for API controllers, built on inversify-express-utils
• Auth -- JWT authentication via CustomAuthProvider, AuthenticatedUser, and Principal
• Database utilities -- DB.query / DB.queryOne and the Pool class for MySQL connection management, plus MySqlHelper and DBCreator for schema setup
• AWS integrations -- AwsHelper for S3 file storage and SSM Parameter Store reads
• Email -- EmailHelper supporting SES and SMTP transports
• Config loading -- EnvironmentBase reads connection strings and secrets from environment variables or Parameter Store
• Misc -- EncryptionHelper, FileStorageHelper, LoggingHelper, BasePermissions, SlugHelper

Setup for Local Development

This package lives in the Packages workspace alongside the other shared libraries:

1. Clone the workspace:

   git clone https://github.com/ChurchApps/Packages.git

2. Install dependencies at the workspace root:

   cd Packages && yarn install

3. Build (compiles TypeScript to dist/):

   yarn workspace @churchapps/apihelper build

   Or run yarn build at the root to build every package in dependency order.

To test changes inside a consuming API, use a temporary Yarn portal -- see Local Development Against a Consuming App.

Publishing

Releases go through changesets: run yarn changeset at the workspace root with every change, then yarn publish-all when ready to release. See the Shared Libraries Overview for the full flow.

tieto

This package is a dependency of every ChurchApps API -- the core Api, AskApi, and LessonsApi. When making changes, test against an API locally before publishing.

Related Articles

• Helpers -- The base utility package that this package depends on
• Module Structure -- How controllers and auth middleware are used in API modules
• Local API Setup -- Setting up the API for local development