Introduction to Actionhero

Actionhero is a powerful, flexible, and high-performance Node.js API server framework that enables developers to build scalable and feature-rich applications. With its unique plugin architecture, Actionhero simplifies the development of APIs, WebSocket servers, and background tasks, making it an essential tool for modern web development.

Setting up Actionhero

  
    npm install --global actionhero
    actionhero generate
    npm install
    npm start
  

Creating Your First Action

Actions are the core of your Actionhero API. Here is an example of a simple action:

  
    const { Action } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = class HelloWorld extends Action {
      constructor() {
        super()
        this.name = 'helloWorld'
        this.description = 'Returns a greeting'
        this.outputExample = { greeting: 'Hello, World!' }
      }

      async run({ response }) {
        response.greeting = 'Hello, World!'
      }
    }
  

API Authentication

Secure your API endpoints with authentication:

  
    const { middleware } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = class AuthMiddleware extends middleware {
      constructor() {
        super()
        this.name = 'authMiddleware'
        this.global = true
        this.priority = 100
      }

      async run(data) {
        if (!data.connection.params.authToken) {
          throw new Error('Auth token required')
        }
        // Verify token logic here
      }
    }
  

WebSocket Integration

Leverage WebSockets for real-time communication:

  
    const { Initializer, api } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = class WebSocketInit extends Initializer {
      constructor() {
        super()
        this.name = 'webSocketInit'
      }

      async initialize() {
        api.wss.broadcast('Welcome to the WebSocket server!')
      }
    }
  

Background Tasks

Efficiently handle background jobs with Actionhero:

  
    const { Task } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = class SampleTask extends Task {
      constructor() {
        super()
        this.name = 'sampleTask'
        this.description = 'Description of your task'
        this.frequency = 0 // Run only once
        this.queue = 'default'
      }

      async run(params) {
        api.log('Running sample task...')
        // Task logic here
      }
    }
  

Example Application

Let’s create an example application that ties together the above concepts.

Step 1: Define Routes

  
    const { Route } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = new Route({
      path: '/api/hello',
      method: 'GET',
      action: 'helloWorld'
    })
  

Step 2: Integrate Middleware

  
    const { Middleware } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = new Middleware({
      name: 'authMiddleware',
      global: true,
      priority: 100
    })
  

Step 3: Start WebSocket Server

  
    const { Server } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = new Server({
      type: 'websocket',
      port: 8080
    })
  

Step 4: Schedule a Background Task

  
    const { Scheduler, Task } = require('actionhero')

    module.exports = class MyScheduler extends Scheduler {
      constructor() {
        super()
      }

      async start() {
        await this.api.tasks.enqueue('sampleTask', {}, 'default')
      }
    }

    module.exports = class SampleTask extends Task {
      constructor() {
        super()
        this.name = 'sampleTask'
        this.description = 'This is a sample task'
        this.frequency = 60000 // Run every minute
        this.queue = 'default'
      }

      async run(params) {
        console.log('Running sample task...')
      }
    }
  

By following these examples, you can create a robust, scalable, and maintainable application using Actionhero. With its extensive feature set and plugin architecture, Actionhero is an ideal framework for developing high-performance Node.js applications.

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