Skip to main content

Addons

Imagine an ecosystem of plug-and-play backend modules. Need Stripe? Install @pikku/stripe and call stripe:createCheckout. Need analytics? Install @pikku/posthog and call posthog:track. Each addon is a complete integration - tested, typed, and ready to use.

"Why not just use the official SDK?" Many services don't have one - they're HTTP APIs with docs and nothing else. And even services with SDKs still require you to instantiate clients, manage secrets, handle errors, and wire everything into your application. Addons handle all of that. You install, configure secrets, and call functions.

Why This Matters​

Drop-in functionality. Install an addon, add one line of config, and call rpc.invoke('stripe:createPayment', data). The addon author has already handled validation, error handling, and secret management.

Type-safe across boundaries. The CLI generates TypeScript definitions for all addon functions. Your IDE knows the exact input/output types for analytics:trackEvent even though that function lives in a separate npm package.

Namespace isolation. Each addon gets its own prefix. No naming collisions between auth:validateToken from one addon and auth:refreshSession from another.

Shared infrastructure. Addons reuse your existing logger, database connections, and services. No duplicate connections or configuration.

Secret mapping. Addons define what secrets they need. You control where those secrets come from in your infrastructure.

What Can Be Exported​

Addons can include:

  • Functions - Business logic callable via RPC
  • Routes - Pre-defined HTTP routes, CLI commands, and channel handlers
  • Middleware - Reusable request/response handlers
  • Permissions - Access control definitions
  • Secrets - Secret schemas (with override support)
  • Services - Singleton and wire services