Top 5 Hacks to Automate Boilerplate Code and Boost Productivity

For developers working on APIs, the level of frustration due to excessive boilerplate code is unmatched. Why? Well, API development involves a significant amount of repetitive tasks—setting up endpoints, defining models, integrating middleware, and writing tests—all of which can slow down progress and introduce errors.

The good news? Boilerplate code automation helps accelerate development, reduce effort, and improve consistency. With automation, you can focus on solving unique problems and delivering value—rather than getting stuck in repetitive tasks.

What is Boilerplate Code?

Boilerplate code is repetitive, standardized code that developers frequently write in multiple projects. It’s necessary for setting up key components like API endpoints, models, and middleware, but it can feel tedious and time-consuming. Think of it as the paperwork of coding—essential but not the most exciting part of development. Automating boilerplate code can save time and reduce errors, allowing developers to focus on more creative problem-solving.

Now, let’s explore the strategies in depth

1. Automate API Scaffolding

Setting up the initial structure is one of the most time-consuming parts of starting a new API development project. This includes creating directories, configuring routes, setting up middleware, and defining basic configurations. Doing this manually for each project not only wastes time but also increases the risk of inconsistencies.

Automating API scaffolding is the first step toward faster and more efficient development. Tools like Express Generator, NestJS CLI, or Fastify CLI can generate a fully functional project skeleton with just a few commands. These tools ensure that every new project adheres to a consistent structure, making it easier for teams to collaborate and maintain codebases.

For example, using NestJS CLI, you can generate a new project with a predefined folder structure, including modules, controllers, and services. This eliminates the need to manually create these files and ensures that your project follows best practices from the start.

Many scaffolding tools also offer customization, allowing you to tailor the generated structure to your team’s needs. This not only saves time but also reduces errors and inconsistencies, setting a solid foundation for your project. As a result, you can focus on building unique features rather than reinventing the wheel.

2. Generate Models and Endpoints from Specifications

API development often involves defining models, API endpoints, and API documentation—tasks that are both repetitive and prone to errors. Manually writing these components can be tedious, especially when working with complex APIs. Fortunately, automation tools can generate these elements directly from API specifications, such as OpenAPI/Swagger or GraphQL schemas.

For instance, you can automatically generate models, endpoints, and even documentation based on your API specification. Simply define your API’s structure in a YAML or JSON file, and the tool will generate the corresponding code in your preferred programming language.

The benefits of this approach can be mainly seen in:

• Time savings: Automating the generation of models and endpoints eliminates the need for manual coding, allowing you to focus on more complex tasks.
• Consistency: Generated code adheres to the Open API specification, ensuring consistency across your project.
• Reduced errors: By automating repetitive tasks, you minimize the risk of human error, such as typos or incorrect data types.

Moreover, this approach makes it easier to maintain and update your API. If your API specification changes, you can simply regenerate the code, ensuring that your implementation stays in sync with the latest requirements.

3. Reuse Middleware and Authentication Templates

Middleware and authentication are critical components of any API, but they often involve repetitive and boilerplate code. Tasks like request validation, error handling, logging, and authentication flows are necessary for building secure APIs, but writing them from scratch for every project is inefficient.

Automating the integration of common middleware and authentication templates can significantly simplify these tasks. For example, frameworks like Express.js and Fastify allow you to define reusable middleware functions that can be applied to multiple routes or projects.

Similarly, authentication libraries like Passport.js or Auth0 provide pre-built templates for implementing OAuth, JWT, or other authentication mechanisms. Not to mention, reusing middleware and authentication templates eliminates the need to write the same code repeatedly. At the same time, pre-built templates are often tested and optimized, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities or bugs.

Likewise, you could create a custom middleware template for request validation using a library like Joi or Zod. This template can then be reused across multiple projects, ensuring consistent validation logic without the need for manual coding.

4. Streamline Testing Automation

API Testing is a crucial part of API development, but writing boilerplate test cases can be time-consuming and monotonous. Manually creating tests for every endpoint and functionality not only slows down development but also increases the risk of incomplete or inconsistent test coverage.

Automating boilerplate test case creation helps address these challenges. Tools like Jest, Mocha, and Postman can generate test cases based on your API specification or existing code. If any changes occur, you can easily update the necessary data and adjust the boilerplate accordingly.

The benefits of test automation include:

• Comprehensive coverage: Automated tools can generate tests for every endpoint and functionality, even API mocking and debugging, ensuring that your API is thoroughly tested.
• Minimal manual effort: By automating test creation, you reduce the time and effort required to write and maintain test cases.
• Early bug detection: Automated tests can be integrated into your CI/CD pipeline, allowing you to catch bugs early in the development process.

Additionally, testing automation ensures that your tests are consistent and up-to-date. If your API changes, you can simply regenerate the test cases, ensuring that your tests reflect the latest implementation.

5. Automate API Deployment with Containerization and Orchestration

Deploying and scaling APIs can be a complex and error-prone process, especially when done manually. Automating API deployment using containerization and orchestration platforms can streamline this process, ensuring that your API is deployed consistently and efficiently. However, it’s still not possible to automate every aspect of API deployment. Still, we’re getting close.

Containerization tools like Docker allow you to package your API and its dependencies into a single, portable container. This ensures that your API runs consistently across different environments, from development to production. Orchestration platforms like Kubernetes or Docker Swarm take this a step further by automating the deployment, scaling, and management of your API containers.

For example, you can use Kubernetes to define a deployment configuration for your API, specifying the number of replicas, resource limits, and scaling rules. Once defined, Kubernetes will automatically deploy and manage your API, ensuring that it runs smoothly even under heavy load.

Still hesitant about automating API deployment? Here’s why it’s a game-changer:

• Consistency: Containerization ensures that your API runs identically across development, testing, and production environments, minimizing deployment issues.
• Scalability: Orchestration platforms dynamically adjust resources based on demand, preventing downtime and optimizing performance.
• Efficiency: Automation eliminates manual deployment bottlenecks, saving time and effort while reducing human errors.

Platforms like Blackbird further simplify this process by providing a unified interface for managing containerized applications. With Blackbird, you can automate the entire deployment pipeline, from building containers to deploying them in production.

Things to Consider Before Automating Boilerplate Code for Your API

Automating boilerplate code can save time and improve efficiency, but there are important risks and challenges to keep in mind:

1. Understanding the Generated Code: Developers may struggle to fully grasp the auto-generated code, making debugging and troubleshooting more difficult.
2. Security Risks: If the automation tool doesn’t follow best practices, it could introduce vulnerabilities, such as weak authentication or improper data validation.
3. Rigidity & Lack of Flexibility: Many code generators enforce strict structures that might not fit every project, forcing developers into workarounds that add complexity.
4. Performance Issues: Auto-generated code isn’t always optimized, potentially leading to inefficient APIs.
5. Debugging Challenges: When developers aren’t familiar with the underlying generated code, troubleshooting becomes harder.
6. Hidden Dependencies & Licensing Issues: Some automation tools introduce dependencies that may cause compatibility or legal issues down the line.
7. Technical Debt: Over-reliance on automation without proper oversight can lead to long-term maintenance challenges.

Need a boost in getting your effective API testing underway?

Blackbird simplifies API testing and development with powerful automation features. It enables quick creation of mock servers, allows you to run APIs in a hosted test environment, and supports collaborative debugging with public URLs. With automatic API endpoint mocking and intelligent code generation, Blackbird streamlines frontend and backend development. Plus, by testing against production-like data, it reduces the need for costly staging setups and minimizes deployment risks.