z8ter 0.1.5

Minimal Starlette-powered app framework with pages, APIs, and a DX-first CLI.

Z8ter.py

Z8ter is a lightweight, Laravel-inspired full-stack Python web framework built on [Starlette], designed for rapid development with tight integration between backend logic and frontend templates—plus small client-side “islands” where they make sense.

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✨ Features (Current)

1) File-Based Views (SSR)

• Files under views/ become routes automatically.
• Each view pairs Python logic with a Jinja template in templates/.
• A stable page_id (derived from views/ path) is injected into templates and used by the frontend loader to hydrate per-page JS.

2) Jinja2 Templating

• Template inheritance with {% extends %} / {% block %}.
• Templates live in templates/ (default extension: .jinja).

3) Small CSR “Islands”

• A tiny client router lazy-loads /static/js/pages/<page_id>.js and runs its default export.
• Great for interactive bits (theme toggles, pings, clipboard, etc.) without going full SPA.

4) Decorator-Driven APIs

• Classes under api/ subclass API and register endpoints with a decorator.
• Each class mounts under /api/<id> (derived from module path).

Example shape (conceptual):

api/hello.py      →  /api/hello
views/about.py    →  /about
templates/about.jinja + static/js/pages/about.js (island)

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ and pip
• Node 18+ and npm

Install & Run (dev)

# 1) Python deps (in a venv)
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate        # Windows: .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt  # or: pip install -e .

# 2) Frontend deps
npm install

# 3) Dev server(s)
npm run dev

npm run dev runs the dev workflow (backend + assets). Check the terminal for the local URL.

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📁 Project Structure

.
├─ api/                     # API classes (@API.endpoint)
│  └─ hello.py
├─ views/                   # File-based pages (SSR)
│  └─ index.py
├─ templates/               # Jinja templates
│  ├─ base.jinja
│  └─ index.jinja
├─ static/
│  └─ js/
│     └─ pages/             # Per-page islands: about.js, app/home.js, ...
│        └─ common.js
├─ z8ter/                   # Framework core (Page, API, router)
└─ main.py                  # App entrypoint

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🧩 Usage Examples

View + Template (SSR)

{# templates/index.jinja #}
{% extends "base.jinja" %}
{% block content %}
  <h1>{{ title }}</h1>
  <div id="api-response"></div>
{% endblock %}

Client Island (runs when page_id matches)

// static/js/pages/common.ts (or a specific page module)
export default async function init() {
  // hydrate interactive bits, fetch data, etc.
}

Minimal API Class

# api/hello.py
from z8ter.api import API

class Hello(API):
    @API.endpoint("GET", "/hello")
    async def hello(self, request):
        return {"ok": True, "message": "Hello from Z8ter"}

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🛣️ Planned

• CLI scaffolding: z8 new, z8 dev, z8 create_page <name>
• Auth scaffolding: login/register/logout + session helpers
• Stripe integration: pricing page, checkout routes, webhooks
• DB adapters: SQLite default, Postgres option
• HTMX + Tailwind/DaisyUI polish out of the box

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🧠 Philosophy

• Conventions over configuration
• SSR-first with tiny CSR islands
• Small surface area; sharp, pragmatic tools