/sails

Sails.js Skill

A comprehensive skill for building server-side applications with Sails.js in The Boring JavaScript Stack. This skill gives any AI agent a deep understanding of Sails 1.0 -- from app anatomy and request lifecycle to production deployment.

Installation

npx skills add sailscastshq/boring-stack/skills/sails

What's Included

Getting Started

• Getting Started - App anatomy, project structure, file conventions, naming patterns, .sailsrc, globals

Core Concepts

• Actions - The actions2 format with inputs, exits, response types, and the four action patterns
• Helpers - Reusable server-side functions with the machine specification
• Routes - Route configuration, dynamic parameters, wildcards, and targets
• Policies - Request-level guards for authentication and authorization
• Hooks - App-level hooks for shared data, middleware, and initialization

Request Pipeline

• Request Lifecycle - How HTTP requests flow through the entire Sails pipeline
• Middleware - HTTP middleware configuration, Express integration, custom middleware

Configuration & Infrastructure

• Configuration - Config files, environment variables, and custom settings
• Responses - Custom response types including Inertia-specific responses
• Security - CORS, CSRF protection, sessions, and security patterns
• Deployment - Production configuration, Redis sessions, scaling, Docker

Framework Reference

• Sails Object - The global sails object: config, helpers, models, hooks, log, inertia
• File Uploads - File upload patterns with Skipper and cloud storage
• Shell Scripts - Background tasks, data migrations, and maintenance scripts
• Blueprints - Auto-generated REST API and when to use or disable it
• Generators - Scaffolding new files with sails generate and custom generators

Usage

This skill teaches Sails.js patterns as used in The Boring JavaScript Stack, where Sails serves as the backend for Inertia.js-powered frontends (React, Vue, or Svelte).

Example Action (actions2)

// api/controllers/dashboard/view-dashboard.js
module.exports = {
  exits: {
    success: { responseType: 'inertia' }
  },
  fn: async function () {
    const stats = await sails.helpers.dashboard.getStats()
    return {
      page: 'dashboard/index',
      props: { stats }
    }
  }
}

Example Helper

// api/helpers/format-currency.js
module.exports = {
  inputs: {
    amount: { type: 'number', required: true }
  },
  fn: async function ({ amount }) {
    return new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
      style: 'currency',
      currency: 'USD'
    }).format(amount / 100)
  }
}

Example Policy

// api/policies/is-authenticated.js
module.exports = async function (req, res, proceed) {
  if (req.session.userId) {
    return proceed()
  }
  await sails.helpers.returnUrl.set(req)
  return res.redirect('/login')
}

Example Route Configuration

// config/routes.js
module.exports.routes = {
  'GET /': { action: 'home/view-home' },
  'GET /dashboard': { action: 'dashboard/view-dashboard' },
  'POST /login': { action: 'auth/login' },
  'GET /settings/profile': { action: 'setting/view-profile' },
  'PATCH /settings/profile': { action: 'setting/update-profile' },
  'GET /team/:id': { action: 'team/view-team' }
}

Related Skills

• waterline - Database ORM for models, queries, and associations
• inertia - Client-server bridge connecting Sails to React/Vue/Svelte