Building a CRUD API with Claude Code + Raindrop MCP

Building a CRUD API with Claude Code + Raindrop MCP lets you go from idea to deployed, production-ready API in a single conversation. Instead of setting up databases, configuring authentication, or managing deployment infrastructure, you describe what you want and let the guided workflow handle everything automatically.

This tutorial shows you how to build a complete API without any frontend - perfect for mobile apps, third-party integrations, or microservices that need to be consumed by other applications.

What You’ll Build

We’ll create a Task Management API that includes:

User management with authentication and profiles
Project CRUD operations (create, read, update, delete)
Task management with assignments, due dates, and status tracking
Comments system for task collaboration
File attachments for tasks
Authentication with JWT tokens
Live deployment with public API endpoints

Step 1: Start the Raindrop MCP Workflow

Begin a new Claude Code session and use this prompt:

I want to build a Task Management CRUD API using the Raindrop MCP. Please call the liquidmetal-staging:login MCP tool to start a new application development session, then continue with the workflow.

Step 2: PRD Creation and Approval

When Claude asks you to describe your application for the PRD, provide this input:

I want to build a comprehensive task management API that includes:

Core Entities:
- Users (registration, authentication, profiles)
- Projects (create, update, delete, list, with user ownership)
- Tasks (full CRUD, assigned to users, belong to projects, with due dates, priority, status)
- Comments (users can comment on tasks)
- File attachments (users can attach files to tasks)

API Requirements:
- RESTful endpoints for all CRUD operations
- JWT-based authentication
- Proper authorization (users can only access their own projects/tasks)
- Input validation and error handling
- Pagination for list endpoints
- File upload support
- Database relationships between all entities

Please create a detailed PRD based on these requirements.

Claude may ask additional clarifying questions about specific features. Answer based on your needs, or approve the defaults if they work for your use case.

Step 3: Automated Backend Development

Once the PRD is approved, continue with this prompt:

Perfect! Please continue with the Raindrop MCP workflow to implement the complete API infrastructure. Make sure to include proper API documentation and example requests/responses for each endpoint.

The Raindrop MCP workflow will automatically:

Design database schemas with proper relationships between users, projects, tasks, comments, and files
Generate API endpoints for all CRUD operations with proper HTTP methods and status codes
Implement authentication with JWT tokens and password hashing
Set up authorization ensuring users can only access their own data
Configure file upload handling with secure storage
Add input validation and comprehensive error handling
Deploy to live infrastructure with public API URLs
Run automated testing and validation by calling each endpoint and checking outputs and logs
Auto-fix any issues found during testing to ensure everything works correctly

Step 4: API Testing and Documentation

After deployment, use this prompt to get your API details:

Great! Now please provide me with:
1. The base URL for my deployed API
2. A complete list of all available endpoints
3. Example curl commands for each major operation (register, login, create project, create task, etc.)
4. The database schema that was created
5. Any API keys or authentication details I need

Step 5: Test Your API

You can now test your API using tools like:

curl commands (provided by Claude)
Postman or Insomnia for visual API testing
Your mobile app or frontend application
Other services that need to integrate with your API

Key Benefits

Building a CRUD API with Claude Code + Raindrop MCP eliminates all the setup complexity typically involved in backend development. You get production-ready infrastructure including databases, authentication, file storage, and deployment without writing boilerplate code or configuring servers. The guided workflow ensures your API follows best practices for security, validation, and REST conventions.

Next Steps

Once your API is deployed, you can:

Build a frontend using the Frontend-First Development tutorial to create a UI for your API
Integrate with mobile apps by using the provided endpoints and authentication
Add more features using the Update Existing Application workflow
Connect to third-party services through webhooks or API integrations
Handle increased traffic as your API automatically scales with demand

Your API is production-ready and can handle real users and data immediately after deployment.