Hello Xano Community!
I'm excited to share a new resource that I've been working on: The Xano Development Methodology (XDM).
Streamlined Steps to Build Powerful, Scalable & Low-Debt Backends With Xano
What is it?
XDM provides streamlined steps to build powerful, scalable & low-debt backends with Xano. It's a comprehensive set of guidelines and best practices that specifically addresses the challenges of creating backends that can grow with your business without accumulating technical debt. I created this after noticing that many no-code developers (including those with traditional coding experience) often struggle with organizing their Xano workspace in a way that remains maintainable as projects grow.
What's included?
The methodology covers:
Development Principles
The Framework approach to application design
Loose coupling and strong coherence principles
Implementation strategies
Naming Conventions
Clear standards for variables, functions, triggers, API endpoints, and database schemas
Prefixing conventions that improve readability and maintenance
Function Types
Detailed guidance on organizing functions by purpose:
Apicalls (API transport)
Helpers (utility functions)
DBs (database operations)
Validators (data validation)
Orchestrators (business logic)
Services (technical orchestration)
Errors (consistent error handling)
Design Patterns
Error handling strategies
Response consistency
Endpoint design patterns
Database Optimization
Table structure recommendations
Indexing best practices
Query performance techniques
Workspace Configuration
Branch management
Datasource organization
Why I created this
After years of developing with Xano and other platforms, I've found that having a consistent methodology dramatically improves team collaboration and reduces long-term maintenance headaches. I wanted to share these practices with the community to help everyone build better, more sustainable backends.
This is a community resource!
The XDM isn't meant to be a static document or the "one true way" to use Xano. Instead, I've published it as an open GitHub repository where everyone can contribute. I welcome your feedback, suggestions, and pull requests to make this methodology even better.
You can find the complete document here: https://github.com/gmaison/xdm
Questions for the community
I'd love to hear your thoughts:
What aspects of Xano development do you find most challenging to organize?
Do you currently follow any specific patterns or conventions in your Xano projects?
What additional topics would you like to see covered in the methodology?
Looking forward to your feedback and to evolving this resource together!
Guillaume