Backend customization: An examples cookbook using FoodAdvisor
The content of this page might not be fully up-to-date with Strapi 5 yet.
The present section of the documentation is intended for developers who would like to get a deeper understanding of the Strapi back end customization possibilities.
The section is a collection of examples that demonstrate how the core components of the back-end server of Strapi can be used in a real-world project. Front-end code that interacts with the back end may also be part of some examples, but displayed in collapsed blocks by default since front-end code examples are not the main focus of this cookbook.
Examples are meant to extend the features of FoodAdvisor, the official Strapi demo application. FoodAdvisor builds a ready-made restaurants directory powered by a Strapi back end (included in the /api folder) and renders a Next.js-powered front-end website (included in the /client folder).
- 👀 You have read the Quick Start Guide and/or understood that Strapi is a headless CMS that helps you create a content structure with the Content-Type Builder and add some content through the Content Manager, then exposes the content through APIs.
- 👀 You have read the back-end customization introduction to get a general understanding of what routes, policies, middlewares, controllers, and services are in Strapi.
- 👷 If you want to test and play with the code examples by yourself, ensure you have cloned the FoodAdvisor repository, setup the project, and started both the front-end and back-end servers. The Strapi admin panel should be accessible from `localhost:1337/admin` and the Next.js-based FoodAdvisor front-end website should be running on `localhost:3000`.
This section can be read from start to finish, or you might want to jump directly to a specific page to understand how a given core element from the Strapi back end can be used to solve a real-world use case example:
| I want to understand… | Dedicated page |
|---|---|
| How to authenticate my queries | Authentication flow with JWT |
| How and when to use custom controllers and services | Custom controllers and services examples |
| How to use custom policies and send custom errors | Custom policies examples |
| How to configure and use custom routes | Custom routes examples |
| How and when to use custom global middlewares | Custom middleware example |