Introducing Symulate: Stop Waiting for Backend APIs

If you've ever worked as a frontend developer, you know the drill. The designs are ready, the mockups look perfect, and you're excited to start building. But then reality hits: the backend API isn't ready yet.

So you wait. Or you write mock data by hand. Or you build against a half-finished API that keeps changing. None of these options are ideal.

The Problem We're Solving

After talking to hundreds of frontend developers, we identified three major pain points:

1. Backend Bottlenecks

Frontend teams spend 20-30% of their time waiting for backend APIs to be ready. This creates unnecessary dependencies and slows down the entire development process.

2. Manual Mock Data is Tedious

Writing mock data by hand is boring and time-consuming. You end up with generic placeholder text like "Test User 123" instead of realistic data that actually helps you spot design issues.

3. Tight Coupling

Most mock solutions tightly couple your code to the mocking library. When it's time to switch to real APIs, you have to refactor significant portions of your codebase.

Introducing Symulate

Symulate is an AI-powered mock API platform that solves all three problems:

import { defineEndpoint, m, type Infer, configureSymulate } from '@symulate/sdk'

// Configure Symulate
configureSymulate({
  environment: 'development',
  symulateApiKey: process.env.SYMULATE_API_KEY,
  projectId: process.env.SYMULATE_PROJECT_ID,
  generateMode: 'ai' // Uses AI for realistic data
})

// Define your schema with semantic types
const UserSchema = m.object({
  id: m.uuid(),
  name: m.person.fullName(),
  email: m.email(),
  department: m.string(),
  salary: m.number()
})

// Infer TypeScript type
type User = Infer<typeof UserSchema>

// Define endpoint with AI-powered mock generation
export const getUsers = defineEndpoint({
  path: '/api/users',
  method: 'GET',
  schema: UserSchema,
  mock: {
    count: 10,
    instruction: 'Generate users with German names working in tech company departments'
  }
})

That's it. You now have a fully functional mock API that returns realistic, AI-generated data.

What Makes It Different?

AI-Generated Data

Unlike traditional mock tools that generate random strings, Symulate uses AI to create contextually relevant data. When you ask for "German names", you get actual German names. When you ask for "tech company departments", you get realistic department names like "Engineering", "Product", "Design" - not "Department 1", "Department 2".

Type-Safe by Default

Full TypeScript support with IntelliSense means you catch errors before they reach production. Your IDE knows exactly what shape your data will be.

Zero Lock-In

When your backend is ready, switching from mocks to production is just a configuration change:

// Development - uses mocks
configureSymulate({
  environment: 'development',
  symulateApiKey: process.env.SYMULATE_API_KEY,
  projectId: process.env.SYMULATE_PROJECT_ID,
  generateMode: 'ai'
})

// Production - uses real backend
configureSymulate({
  environment: 'production',
  backendBaseUrl: 'https://api.yourapp.com'
})

No refactoring needed. All your defineEndpoint calls automatically switch to the real backend. Your entire frontend code stays the same.

Generous Free Tier

We believe good tools should be accessible. That's why we offer:

• 20,000 AI tokens one-time - enough for trying out the platform
• Unlimited Faker mode - free forever for CI/CD and unlimited mock generation

Use Cases

1. Parallel Development

Backend and frontend teams can work simultaneously. Frontend doesn't wait for APIs, backend doesn't feel rushed.

2. Prototyping

Build fully interactive prototypes with realistic data in minutes. Perfect for stakeholder demos and user testing.

3. CI/CD Testing

Use Faker mode (unlimited and free) in your test suites. No API rate limits, no test data pollution.

4. Agency Work

Deliver client projects faster by starting frontend work immediately. Switch to their real APIs when they're ready.

Try It Today

Symulate is live and ready to use. Sign up at symulate.dev and get 20K free AI tokens (plus unlimited Faker mode) to start.

We'd love to hear your feedback. Join our Discord community or reach out on Twitter.

Happy coding! 🚀