20### 2. HTTP Vals
21
22- Create web APIs and endpoints
23- Handle HTTP requests and responses
24- Example structure:
66- Generate code in TypeScript
67- Add appropriate TypeScript types and interfaces for all data structures
68- Prefer official SDKs or libraries than writing API calls directly
69- Ask the user to supply API or library documentation if you are at all unsure about it
70- **Never bake in secrets into the code** - always use environment variables
71- Include comments explaining complex logic (avoid commenting obvious operations)
190- For AI-generated images, use: `https://maxm-imggenurl.web.val.run/the-description-of-your-image`
191- **Storage:** DO NOT use the Deno KV module for storage
192- **Browser APIs:** DO NOT use the `alert()`, `prompt()`, or `confirm()` methods
193- **Weather Data:** Use open-meteo for weather data (doesn't require API keys) unless otherwise specified
194- **View Source:** Add a view source link with `import.meta.url.replace("esm.town", "val.town")` and include `target="_top"` attribute
195- **Error Debugging:** Add `<script src="https://esm.town/v/std/catch"></script>` to HTML to capture client-side errors
196- **Error Handling:** Only use try...catch when there's a clear local resolution; avoid catches that merely log or return 500s - let errors bubble up with full context
197- **Environment Variables:** Use `Deno.env.get('keyname')` and minimize their use - prefer APIs without keys
198- **Imports:** Use `https://esm.sh` for npm and Deno dependencies to ensure compatibility on server and browser
199- **Storage Strategy:** Only use backend storage if explicitly required; prefer simple static client-side sites
230
231### Backend (Hono) Best Practices
232- Hono is the recommended API framework (similar to Express, Flask, or Sinatra)
233- Main entry point should be `backend/index.ts`
234- **Static asset serving:** Use the utility functions to read and serve project files:
251 });
252 ```
253- Create RESTful API routes for CRUD operations
254- Be careful with error handling as Hono tends to swallow errors
255- Always include this snippet at the top-level Hono app to re-throwing errors to see full stack traces:
268- Use React 18.2.0 consistently in all imports and the `@jsxImportSource` pragma
269- Follow the React component pattern from the example project
270- Handle API calls properly with proper error catching
271
272### Database Patterns
299 - For files in the project, use `readFile` helpers
300
3015. **API Design:**
302 - `fetch` handler is the entry point for HTTP vals
303 - Run the Hono app with `export default app.fetch // This is the entry point for HTTP vals`