Build a REST API With Just 2 Classes in Java and Quarkus

Developers often look for ways to build RESTful APIs with minimal effort while maintaining clean and maintainable code. Quarkus enables a fully functional CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) API using just two classes.

With Hibernate ORM with Panache, Quarkus simplifies entity management, and REST Data with Panache automatically exposes a complete set of RESTful endpoints. This approach reduces the time spent on boilerplate code, allowing developers to focus on business logic rather than infrastructure.

This article demonstrates building a developer management API in Java using Quarkus. We will also cover how to interact with the API using cURL commands, showcasing the efficiency of this approach.

Why Quarkus?

Quarkus is a lightweight, cloud-native Java framework for performance and developer productivity. It reduces boilerplate code while maintaining the power of Java and Jakarta EE.

We can simplify entity management with Hibernate ORM with Panache, and with REST Data with Panache, we can expose a full CRUD API without writing a controller class!

Why Use Quarkus for REST APIs?

Quarkus is designed for efficiency, productivity, and performance. It provides:

• Minimal code. Automatic REST API generation reduces the need for controllers.
• Fast development. Live coding  quarkus:dev allows instant feedback.
• Optimized for cloud. Lower memory footprint and faster startup times.
• Seamless integration. Works effortlessly with microservices and cloud-native architectures.

With these advantages, developers can quickly build and deploy high-performance applications with minimal effort.

Step 1: Create the Entity

Our API will manage developers with basic attributes like name, email, language, and city.

We define the entity using PanacheEntity, which automatically provides an id field and simplifies data access.

package expert.os.videos.quarkus;

import io.quarkus.hibernate.orm.panache.PanacheEntity;
import jakarta.persistence.Column;
import jakarta.persistence.Entity;

@Entity
public class Developer extends PanacheEntity {

    @Column
    public String name;

    @Column
    public String email;

    @Column
    public String language;

    @Column
    public String city;
}

How It Works

• The @Entity annotation marks this class as a JPA entity.
• Extending PanacheEntity automatically provides an id and built-in CRUD operations.
• Each field is mapped to a database column with @Column.

Since Quarkus manages the database interactions, no additional repository classes are required.

Step 2: Create the REST API in One Line

Instead of writing a full controller class, we can expose a REST API by creating an interface that extends PanacheEntityResource.

package expert.os.videos.quarkus;

import io.quarkus.hibernate.orm.rest.data.panache.PanacheEntityResource;

public interface DevelopersResource extends PanacheEntityResource<Developer, Long> {
}

How It Works

By extending PanacheEntityResource<Developer, Long>, Quarkus automatically generates endpoints for:

• GET/developers → Retrieve all developers
• GET/developers/{id} → Retrieve a specific developer
• POST/developers → Create a new developer
• PUT/developers/{id} → Update an existing developer
• DELETE/developers/{id} → Delete a developer

With just two classes, a complete CRUD API is available.

Step 3: Run the Application

Make sure you have Quarkus installed and set up in your project.

Start the Quarkus application with:

./mvnw compile quarkus:dev

Step 4: Test the API With cURL

Once the application is running, we can interact with the API using cURL.

Create a developer (POST request):

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/developers \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
           "name": "Alice",
           "email": "[email protected]",
           "language": "Java",
           "city": "Lisbon"
         }'

Get all developers (GET request):

curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/developers

Get a single developer by ID (GET request):

curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/developers/1

Conclusion

Quarkus significantly simplifies building REST APIs in Java, reducing the need for extensive boilerplate code while maintaining flexibility and performance. Using Hibernate ORM with Panache and REST Data with Panache, we could expose a fully functional CRUD API using just two classes — a domain entity and a resource interface.

This approach eliminates the need for manually implementing repository classes or defining explicit REST controllers, allowing developers to focus on business logic rather than infrastructure. The result is a more concise, maintainable, and efficient API that integrates seamlessly with modern cloud-native architectures.

For teams and developers looking to accelerate application development while maintaining the robustness of Java, Quarkus presents a compelling solution. Organizations can reduce complexity and improve productivity without sacrificing scalability by adopting its developer-friendly approach and efficient runtime.