Node.js / Express
Learn how to deploy an Express API with Ink using a simple prompt.
Create an Ink account and connect Ink
Make sure you have an Ink account and have set up Ink for your agent. Use the CLI, the Ink Skill, or MCP. For MCP auth, choose:
- OAuth — authenticate through a browser flow, no keys to manage
- Token — create an API key at deployink.com/account/api-keys
See Quick Start for full setup instructions.
Verify the connection
Once Ink is connected, confirm your agent can reach it by asking it to check.
Do you have Ink connected?
Create an Express API
Ask your agent to scaffold a new Express project. If you already have a Node.js app in the current directory, skip this step and go straight to deploying.
Build a REST API with Express.js that has CRUD endpoints for a "tasks" resource. Use in-memory storage and include input validation.
Deploy with Ink
Tell your agent to deploy. The agent will create a git repository on Ink's internal git (or your connected GitHub), push the code, and call service_create to trigger a build.
Ink auto-detects Node.js and runs your app with node index.js on port 3000.
Deploy with Ink
repo_create(
"name": "tasks-api"
)service_create(
"name": "tasks-api",
"repo": "ink/tasks-api",
"build_pack": "railpack",
"ports": {
"0": "[object Object]"
}
)Visit your API
Ink returns a live URL once the build completes. Hit your endpoints to confirm everything is working.
Check logs and metrics (optional)
Ask your agent to pull build logs, runtime logs, or metrics for your deployed service.
Check metrics and logs
service_get(
"name": "tasks-api",
"deploy_log_lines": "50",
"runtime_log_lines": "50"
)That's it — your Express API is deployed and live. From here you can add a custom domain, set up environment variables, or explore more examples.