RESTful Inventory API

The RESTful Inventory API is a small, production-ready service for tracking computers and their attributes. Built with Node.js and Express, it stores data in MySQL and offers a clean REST interface secured with HTTP basic authentication. The project emphasises simplicity and best practices, making it easy to deploy and extend.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v14 or newer
• MySQL database

Installation

npm install

Configuration

Configuration values can be supplied via environment variables or by editing config/index.js.

Variable	Description	Default
DB_HOST	MySQL host	db
DB_USER	MySQL user	root
DB_PASSWORD	MySQL password	password
DB_NAME	Database name	inventory
AUTH_USER	Basic auth username	test
AUTH_PW	Basic auth password	test
PORT	Server port	3000
DEBUG	Enable verbose logging	false

Initialise the database using the SQL script in setup/db_setup.sql.

Running the server

npm start

The API will be available at http://localhost:3000 by default.

Docker

Run the API and a MySQL instance with a single command:

docker-compose up --build

The MySQL service initialises with setup/db_setup.sql. Stop the stack with Ctrl+C and remove containers using:

docker-compose down

API

All endpoints require HTTP basic authentication.

GET /v1/inventory

Return the full inventory sorted by id.

curl -u test:test http://localhost:3000/v1/inventory

GET /v1/inventory/:id

Retrieve a single inventory item by numeric id.

curl -u test:test http://localhost:3000/v1/inventory/1

GET /v1/inventory/hostname/:hostname

Retrieve a single inventory item by hostname.

curl -u test:test http://localhost:3000/v1/inventory/hostname/PC-01

POST /v1/inventory

Create a new inventory item. Example body:

{
  "hostname": "PC-01",
  "uuid": "deff0438-0776-4e75-b36d-da6eb2c0946e",
  "ip": "10.0.0.5",
  "os": "Windows 11",
  "version": "11.2022",
  "uptime": "42"
}

PUT /v1/inventory/:hostname

Update an existing inventory item.

DELETE /v1/inventory/:hostname

Delete an inventory item.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE.md for details.

Author

Marc-André Bombeck – @MBombeck