miton

In development. The beta will be a downloadable desktop app with automatic updates. Access is not open yet.Request an invitation.

Guide · 3 min read

Backend design loop

Done-when for designing a REST, FastAPI, or Axum API inside Miton: blueprint brief, Lyceum scaffold, and wiki suite pages without leaving the project.

Product stage
Pre-release development
Last reviewed
2026-07-31
Successful result
The change is visible in the active project.

What this accomplishes

Design a backend inside one Miton project — not a separate “API product” and not a hosted Miton database. A prompt like “REST API for X with Postgres” lands a blueprint architecture brief, forks the matching built-in template, and expands wiki suite pages when the tree looks like an API.

Frontend-only Canvas prompts stay on Canvas. See also blueprints and milestones and the maker canvas builder.

Current availability

This page documents behaviour verified in Miton development builds. Miton is still pre-release and is not publicly downloadable; invited beta users will receive a signed desktop build with automatic updates.

Before you start

  • A Miton development build and an active project (or a beginner prompt that creates one).
  • A connected model. Trust the project before allowing file writes.
  • Optional language hint in the prompt (fastapi, axum, or Node/TypeScript REST).

Done-when

Given a backend design prompt, Miton:

  1. Detects backend design intent.
  2. Opens Code for server-side work (Canvas does not implement server logic).
  3. Writes a ## Backend architecture section into .miton/blueprint.md before large implementation (API shape, data model, auth, deployment).
  4. Forks the matching built-in template into the project root:
    • Node / TypeScript → project-rest-api
    • Python → project-fastapi
    • Rust → project-axum-api
  5. Expands the project wiki suite with architecture and api-reference pages when the indexed tree looks like an API project.

How to exercise it

  1. Open or create a project.
  2. In Chat, ask for a backend (for example “build a REST API for todos with postgres”).
  3. Confirm .miton/blueprint.md contains ## Backend architecture.
  4. Confirm scaffold files from the built-in template landed under the project root.
  5. Generate or refresh the Wiki — API projects include architecture and API reference suite pages.

Boundaries

  • Hosted Canvas DB and Stripe billing are not this loop.
  • Canvas packaging stays Step 29a; developer binaries stay Step 29b.
  • Genesis and continuous wiki policy stay Step 42.

What success looks like

A backend prompt produces a reviewable architecture brief, a scaffolded API tree, and wiki suite pages — without leaving Miton and without stealing a pure UI Canvas prompt.

Common failures and recovery

  • No blueprint section — confirm the prompt mentions API/backend/database terms; re-send after the project is bound.
  • Wrong template language — include fastapi, axum, or “REST” / TypeScript in the prompt.
  • Frontend prompt opened Code — pure UI prompts must stay on Canvas; cancel the pending surface route if a countdown started incorrectly.

Continue with blueprints and milestones for drift and progress, or return to the canvas builder when the work is front-end-only.