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Nx Plugin OpenAPI

Plugins Overview

Plugins Overview

Section titled “Plugins Overview”

The Nx Plugin OpenAPI ecosystem provides a modular plugin architecture, allowing you to choose the code generator that best fits your project’s needs.

Available Plugins

Section titled “Available Plugins”
PluginPackageGenerator ValueDescription
OpenAPI Generator@nx-plugin-openapi/plugin-openapiopenapi-toolsUses the battle-tested OpenAPI Generator
hey-api@nx-plugin-openapi/plugin-hey-apihey-apiUses hey-api/openapi-ts for modern TypeScript clients

Architecture

Section titled “Architecture”

The plugin system is built around a core package that provides:

  • The generate-api executor
  • Plugin loading and auto-installation
  • Common configuration handling
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   @nx-plugin-openapi/core                    │
│       Executor, Plugin Loader, Auto-Installation             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
          ┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
          ▼                   ▼                   ▼
┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│  plugin-openapi  │ │  plugin-hey-api  │ │  Custom Plugins  │
│  (OpenAPI Gen)   │ │  (hey-api)       │ │  (Your own!)     │
└──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘

Choosing a Plugin

Section titled “Choosing a Plugin”

OpenAPI Generator (openapi-tools)

Section titled “OpenAPI Generator (openapi-tools)”

Best for:

  • Angular applications needing injectable services
  • Projects requiring specific OpenAPI Generator templates
  • Teams familiar with the OpenAPI Generator ecosystem
  • Supporting multiple languages/frameworks from a single spec

Features:

  • 50+ language/framework generators
  • Extensive customization via templates
  • Mature, battle-tested tooling

hey-api (hey-api)

Section titled “hey-api (hey-api)”

Best for:

  • Modern TypeScript/JavaScript projects
  • Projects prioritizing type safety and tree-shaking
  • Fetch-based or Axios HTTP clients
  • Simpler, more lightweight generated code

Features:

  • TypeScript-first approach
  • Excellent type inference
  • Plugin-based architecture for customization
  • Modern ESM output

Using Multiple Generators

Section titled “Using Multiple Generators”

You can use different generators for different projects in your monorepo:

libs/angular-client/project.json
{
  "targets": {
    "generate-api": {
      "executor": "@nx-plugin-openapi/core:generate-api",
      "options": {
        "generator": "openapi-tools",
        "inputSpec": "specs/api.yaml",
        "outputPath": "libs/angular-client/src/generated"
      }
    }
  }
}
libs/ts-client/project.json
{
  "targets": {
    "generate-api": {
      "executor": "@nx-plugin-openapi/core:generate-api",
      "options": {
        "generator": "hey-api",
        "inputSpec": "specs/api.yaml",
        "outputPath": "libs/ts-client/src/generated"
      }
    }
  }
}

Creating Custom Plugins

Section titled “Creating Custom Plugins”

Need to integrate a different OpenAPI generator? The plugin architecture makes it easy to create custom plugins. See our Creating Custom Plugins guide for a complete walkthrough.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”