What is Llana?

Llana is a lightweight, open-source API wrapper built with NestJS that automatically generates a REST API for your database. Connect MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, MongoDB, Airtable, and other data sources, then configure access roles and permissions. It includes JWT and API key authentication, role-based access control, in-memory and Redis caching, webhooks, WebSockets for real-time sync, OpenAPI 3.1 documentation, and soft delete support. Deploy via Docker (juicyllama/llana), Docker Compose, or run directly with Node.js. The project is actively developed with version 1.32.0 released.

Should you self-host Llana?

Llana scores 48/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #16 of 19 in API Management. It has 207 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is BSD-4-Clause-licensed and written mostly in Typescript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Kong (81/100, 44 314 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Llana vs Kong side by side.

Features

API Key Authentication
Host allowlisting
In-memory caching
Manual relations
OpenAPI 3.1 documentation
Public tables
REST API generation
Role-based Access Control
Soft delete support
Table/request caching
Webhooks
WebSockets

How to configure Llana

ADMIN_EMAILtest@test.comAdmin email address
Admin email address
AUTH_COOKIES_DOMAINDomain for authentication cookies
Domain for authentication cookies
AUTH_USER_API_KEY_FIELDUserApiKey.apiKeyColumn of user's API key in identity table
Column of user's API key in identity table
AUTH_USER_API_KEY_LOCATIONHEADERLocation of API key in requests
Location of API key in requests
values: HEADER, QUERY, BODY
AUTH_USER_API_KEY_NAMEx-api-keyKey name for API key header/query/body
Key name for API key header/query/body
AUTH_USER_IDENTITY_COLUMNColumn containing user identity key
Column containing user identity key
AUTH_USER_TABLE_NAMEUserMain identity table containing user identity
Main identity table containing user identity
AUTH_USER_TABLE_PASSWORD_ENCRYPTIONBCRYPTPassword encryption method
Password encryption method
values: BCRYPT, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512, MD5, ARGON2
AUTH_USER_TABLE_PASSWORD_FIELDpasswordPassword field in user identity table
Password field in user identity table
AUTH_USER_TABLE_PASSWORD_SALT10Salt for password encryption
Salt for password encryption
AUTH_USER_TABLE_USERNAME_FIELDemailUsername field in user identity table
Username field in user identity table
BASE_URL_APIBase URL for the Llana backend API
Base URL for the Llana backend API
BASE_URL_APPBase URL for the frontend application
Base URL for the frontend application
CACHE_IDENTITY_DATA_TTL60000Identity data cache TTL in milliseconds
Identity data cache TTL in milliseconds
CACHE_TABLE_SCHEMA_TTL3600000Table schema cache TTL in milliseconds
Table schema cache TTL in milliseconds
CRON_EXPRESSION_CACHE_CHECKCron expression for cache check frequency
Cron expression for cache check frequency
DATABASE_URIDatabase connection string
Database connection string
DOCS_TITLEAPI DocumentationTitle for API documentation
Title for API documentation
HOSTSComma-separated list of allowed IP addresses
Comma-separated list of allowed IP addresses
JWT_EXPIRES_IN15mJWT access token expiration
JWT access token expiration
JWT_KEYSecret key for signing JWT access tokens
Secret key for signing JWT access tokens
JWT_REFRESH_EXPIRES_IN14dJWT refresh token expiration
JWT refresh token expiration
JWT_REFRESH_KEYSecret key for signing JWT refresh tokens
Secret key for signing JWT refresh tokens
LOG_LEVELSerror,warn,log,debug,verboseLogging levels to enable
Logging levels to enable
PORT3000Port the application listens on
Port the application listens on
REDIS_HOSTRedis server hostname or IP
Redis server hostname or IP
REDIS_PASSRedis password (optional)
Redis password (optional)
REDIS_PORTRedis server port
Redis server port
REDIS_USERRedis username (optional)
Redis username (optional)
ROLE_LOCATION_USER_TABLE_IDENTITY_COLUMNundefinedColumn containing user identity key in roles table
Column containing user identity key in roles table
ROLE_LOCATION_USER_TABLE_NAME$AUTH_USER_TABLE_NAMETable containing user roles
Table containing user roles
ROLE_LOCATION_USER_TABLE_ROLE_FIELDroleColumn containing user role type
Column containing user role type
SKIP_AUTHSkip authentication to make all endpoints public
Skip authentication to make all endpoints public
values: true
SKIP_DOCSDisable OpenAPI documentation
Disable OpenAPI documentation
values: true
SOFT_DELETE_COLUMNColumn name for soft delete (e.g., deletedAt)
Column name for soft delete (e.g., deletedAt)
TZTimezone for the application
Timezone for the application
USE_DATA_CACHINGEnable table/request caching (READ, WRITE, or both)
Enable table/request caching (READ, WRITE, or both)
values: READ, WRITE