next-api-analyzer

You know that feeling when you're staring at a 500 error in production at 2 AM, wondering which of your 47 API routes is the culprit? Yeah, I've been there. Too many times.

Last month in one of my projects, I had a security incident where an unauthenticated endpoint was accidentally exposed in production. The endpoint had been sitting there for weeks. That was my breaking point.

I spent the next few weekends building something I wish I had months ago: next-api-analyzer - a comprehensive tool that actually understands your Next.js API routes and tells you what's wrong with them.

The Problem with Manual API Reviews

• Missing authentication on sensitive endpoints
• Hardcoded secrets
• SQL injection vulnerabilities
• Performance bottlenecks
• Routes that are way too complex
• Missing input validation

But when you have dozens of routes, things slip through the cracks. I needed something that could scan everything automatically and give me actionable insights.

What I Built

The analyzer uses TypeScript's AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) to actually parse your code - not just regex matching like most tools. It understands the difference between:

// This is fine
const user = await db.user.findUnique({ where: { id } })

// This is a SQL injection waiting to happen
const user = await db.query(`SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ${id}`)

Here's what it catches:

Security Issues

• Authentication gaps: Finds POST/PUT/DELETE routes without auth
• Hardcoded secrets: Spots API keys and passwords in your code
• SQL injection patterns: Detects dangerous query construction
• CORS misconfigurations: Catches overly permissive CORS settings
• Path traversal vulnerabilities: Finds unsafe file operations

Performance Problems

• Blocking operations: Identifies synchronous file operations that kill performance
• Missing caching: Spots external API calls without caching
• High complexity routes: Calculates cyclomatic complexity
• Memory leaks: Detects patterns that cause memory issues
• Inefficient database queries: Finds N+1 problems and missing indexes

Code Quality Issues

• Large functions: Routes with too many lines of code
• Missing documentation: Routes without proper JSDoc comments
• Inconsistent error handling: Different error patterns across routes
• Missing input validation: Routes that don't validate request data

Real Example: What It Found in My Codebase

I ran it on a project I've been working on, and honestly, I was embarrassed by what it found:

🔐 Security Report
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Security Score: 73.2%
Secure Routes: 8/12
Risk Distribution:
  🔴 CRITICAL: 0 route
  🟠 HIGH: 2 routes  
  🟡 MEDIUM: 4 routes
  🟢 LOW: 6 routes

Top Security Issues:
  1. ⚠️ Missing Authentication (HIGH)
     Route: /api/comments/[id]
     Solution: Add authentication middleware

  2. ⚠️ SQL Injection Risk (HIGH)
     Route: /api/search
     Solution: Use parameterized queries

The missing auth on the comments route? That was supposed to be temporary during development.

How to Use It

Installation is straightforward:

npm install -g next-api-analyzer

Then run it in your Next.js project:

# Basic analysis
npx next-api-analyzer analyze

# Security-focused audit
npx next-api-analyzer security --fail-on-threshold

# Performance analysis with benchmarks
npx next-api-analyzer performance --benchmark

For CI/CD integration, it exports SARIF format for GitHub Security tab:

npx next-api-analyzer security --export-sarif

The CLI is Just the Beginning

The real power comes from the programmatic API. You can integrate it into your build process:

import { NextApiAnalyzer } from 'next-api-analyzer'

const analyzer = new NextApiAnalyzer({
  thresholds: {
    security: 90,
    performance: 80,
    maintainability: 75
  }
})

const analysis = await analyzer.analyzeRoutes()

if (analysis.summary.securityScore < 90) {
  throw new Error('Security threshold not met')
}

I've also built a plugin system. Want to check for your company's specific patterns? Write a plugin:

export class CustomSecurityPlugin implements AnalyzerPlugin {
  async analyze(route, content, context) {
    if (this.hasCustomVulnerability(content)) {
      return {
        recommendations: [{
          type: 'SECURITY',
          severity: 'HIGH',
          title: 'Custom Security Issue',
          solution: 'Fix this specific pattern'
        }]
      }
    }
  }
}

What's Next

I'm working on a few more features:

• OpenAPI generation: Auto-generate docs from your routes
• More integrations: GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, etc.

The tool is open source and available on npm.

Try It Out

If you're dealing with similar API maintenance headaches, give it a shot:

npx next-api-analyzer analyze

It takes about 10 seconds to analyze a typical Next.js project, and I guarantee it'll find something you didn't know was there.

The worst that happens? You confirm your APIs are actually as secure and performant as you thought. The best case? You catch a critical security issue before your users do.

You can find the full source code and documentation on GitHub. If you find any bugs or have feature requests, please open an issue - I'm actively maintaining this and would love your feedback.