Skip to content
Balkan Tecnologia
AccessibilityGet in touch
Balkan Tecnologia

An API built for your app or website

We build the API your app or website consumes, agreed with your front-end team through an API contract; the interface stays with them.

A mint-green thread running underneath a blank white slab the size of a phone.

Who it's for

For companies with an app or front-end team that is waiting on the back-end to move forward.

What it solves

  • One screen needs several API calls and stitches everything together on the phone.
  • The back-end changes a field and the live app breaks.
  • The front-end team sits idle waiting for the API to be ready.
  • Old versions of the app are still installed and nobody knows what they still call.

What we do

API contract
Endpoints, fields and errors agreed with the front-end team before any code, in OpenAPI or GraphQL.
Mock server
The front-end team works against sample responses while the real API is being built.
Per-screen layer (BFF)
A layer that gathers several sources and returns only what each screen needs.
Generated types
Types for TypeScript, Kotlin or Swift generated from the contract, so the app never guesses formats.
Versioning
Breaking changes go into a new version; older app versions keep working for the agreed period.
Contract tests
Every release checks that the contract with the app still holds, through automated tests.

What you get

  • A versioned API contract, reviewed with your front-end team
  • A mock server so the front-end can work in parallel
  • An API in production, with authentication and usage limits
  • Types generated from the contract for your app's languages
  • Contract tests running on every release

How we do it

  1. Screens and flows

    We start from the screens and flows your team has already designed.

  2. Contract

    Endpoints, fields and errors written down and approved by both sides.

  3. Parallel development

    The front-end uses the mock server while the back-end implements the real contract.

  4. Integration

    The app swaps the mock server for the real API, in the sandbox.

  5. Go-live

    The API goes live together with the app version, with a way back.

Technology examples

  • OpenAPI
  • GraphQL
  • TypeScript
  • Node.js
  • Pact
  • Redis

Related services

FAQ

What if we do not have a front-end team yet?

Balkan does not build the interface or the app, nor publish to the app stores. In that case your company hires a team that does, and we work with them through the API contract from the start.

Why a separate layer just for the screens?

So that each screen makes a single call and gets only the data it needs. If the app is small and the current API already serves it, the extra layer may not pay off; that is decided in the contract.

Our app already exists and talks to another API. What now?

A new layer can sit in front of the current API and take over screen by screen, without forcing every user to update the app at once.

What do we need ready to start?

Screens or prototypes of the main flows, and someone from the front-end team to review the contract. The rest is settled during mapping.

Write to Balkan

Talk to us about your project