# hono-open-api-starter (w3cj)

A type-safe, fully documented JSON API starter built on Hono and OpenAPI

https://topboilerplates.com/hono-open-api-starter-w3cj

Framework: Hono | Pricing: Free | GitHub stars: 1000

## Verdict

Best for: Developers who want a type-safe, self-documenting JSON API backend as a foundation for any product, with OpenAPI docs generated automatically.

Skip if: You want a UI or dashboard included - this is a pure backend API starter with no frontend.

## Description

A free, open-source backend API starter for building fully type-safe JSON APIs with Hono, using Zod for schema validation and OpenAPI with Scalar for interactive documentation. It includes SQLite via Drizzle ORM as a single source of truth for the database schema, structured logging with Pino, a Vitest testing setup, and example task-management CRUD endpoints as a reference.

## Pros and cons

+ Well-established with 1,000+ GitHub stars and active community

+ End-to-end type safety with Zod schemas single-sourced into OpenAPI docs

+ Interactive API documentation via Scalar out of the box

+ Includes a real testing setup (Vitest) and example CRUD endpoints

- Backend/API only - no frontend, dashboard, auth, or payments included

- SQLite by default, so production Postgres/MySQL setup requires extra work

- Doesn't map cleanly to a single site category - it's infrastructure, not a product template

## Features

- typed-end-to-end
- api-routes
- unit-tests
- eslint-prettier

## Stack

- SQLite
- Drizzle
- TypeScript

## Links

- Website: https://topboilerplates.com/go/hono-open-api-starter-w3cj
- GitHub: https://github.com/w3cj/hono-open-api-starter

## Alternatives

- [IndieKit](https://topboilerplates.com/indiekit)
- [Carrot Seed](https://topboilerplates.com/carrot-seed)
- [ShipFast](https://topboilerplates.com/shipfast)