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StageAssist

StageAssist is SureStage's AI-powered assistant that helps you design, configure, and optimize mock APIs. It provides conversational guidance, generates implementation plans, and analyzes your simulations for consistency and quality.

Opening StageAssist​

Access StageAssist from the simulation editor:

  1. Open any simulation
  2. Click the StageAssist icon in the top bar (or press Cmd+K)
  3. The assistant panel opens on the right side

The panel remains open as you work, providing context-aware suggestions.

Chat Interface​

Asking Questions​

Type questions in natural language. StageAssist understands:

  • Mock strategy - "How should I mock a payment API with retries?"
  • Route configuration - "Add a user login endpoint with validation"
  • Response design - "Generate realistic product data for an e-commerce API"
  • Debugging - "Why isn't my route matching?"
  • Best practices - "What's the right way to mock OAuth flows?"

StageAssist responds with explanations, code examples, and actionable suggestions.

Conversation History​

Your chat history is saved per simulation. Return to previous conversations to:

  • Review past suggestions
  • Track changes you've made
  • Continue where you left off

Clear history anytime via the chat menu.

AI-Generated Plans​

StageAssist can create complete implementation plans for complex mocking scenarios.

Creating a Plan​

  1. Describe your goal in the chat (e.g., "Mock a RESTful user management API with CRUD operations")
  2. StageAssist analyzes the request
  3. A Plan Card appears with proposed routes, responses, and configuration
  4. Review the plan details

Plan Review​

Each plan includes:

  • Routes - Endpoints with methods and paths
  • Responses - Status codes, bodies, and headers
  • Validation rules - Request validation logic
  • State management - Stateful behavior if needed
  • Test scenarios - Suggested test cases

Accepting a Plan​

  1. Review the plan in the Plan Review Modal
  2. Adjust routes or responses if needed
  3. Click Apply Plan
  4. StageAssist creates all routes and responses in your simulation

Plans are non-destructive. Existing routes are preserved unless you explicitly replace them.

Consistency Reports​

Analyze your simulation for issues and inconsistencies.

Running a Consistency Report​

  1. Open StageAssist
  2. Click Analyze Consistency in the chat menu
  3. StageAssist scans your simulation for:
    • Duplicate routes or conflicting paths
    • Inconsistent response formats across similar endpoints
    • Missing error responses (4xx, 5xx)
    • Overly permissive wildcard routes
    • Unused or unreachable routes

Reviewing Results​

The Consistency Report Panel shows findings categorized by severity:

  • Critical - Issues that will cause runtime errors
  • Warning - Potential problems or bad patterns
  • Info - Suggestions for improvement

Click any finding to jump to the relevant route.

Applying Fixes​

StageAssist suggests fixes for most issues. Click Fix to automatically apply corrections.

Dataset Import​

Provide StageAssist with example data to generate realistic responses.

Importing a Dataset​

  1. Open StageAssist
  2. Click Import Dataset in the chat menu
  3. Upload a file (CSV, JSON, or Excel)
  4. Map columns to response fields
  5. Click Import

StageAssist uses the dataset to:

  • Generate responses with real data
  • Maintain consistent IDs and relationships
  • Populate environments and lists with varied entries

Dataset Usage​

Once imported, reference the dataset in chat:

  • "Use the customer dataset to populate the /users endpoint"
  • "Generate 10 product responses from the catalog dataset"

Corpus Import​

Import documentation or API specifications to teach StageAssist about your APIs.

Importing a Corpus​

  1. Open StageAssist
  2. Click Import Corpus in the chat menu
  3. Choose source:
    • OpenAPI spec - Swagger or OpenAPI 3.x file
    • Markdown docs - API documentation
    • Postman collection - Existing API tests
    • Text file - Custom documentation
  4. Upload and import

StageAssist indexes the corpus and uses it to:

  • Understand your API's structure and conventions
  • Generate responses that match your spec
  • Suggest routes based on documented endpoints
  • Answer questions about your API design

Linked Blueprints​

Connect related blueprints to give StageAssist context about API dependencies.

Linking Blueprints​

  1. Open the Linked Blueprints Panel in StageAssist
  2. Click Add Link
  3. Select a blueprint (e.g., link a User API simulation to an Auth API simulation)
  4. Describe the relationship (e.g., "Auth API issues tokens used by User API")
  5. Save

Cross-Blueprint Intelligence​

With linked blueprints, StageAssist can:

  • Generate consistent data - IDs and tokens match across linked simulations
  • Suggest dependencies - "Your Auth API should return a user ID that matches the User API"
  • Detect conflicts - "The User API expects a different token format than Auth API returns"

Linked blueprints are especially powerful for microservices architectures.

Save as Template​

Convert StageAssist-generated configurations into reusable templates.

Saving a Template​

  1. Generate a route or response with StageAssist
  2. Review the result
  3. Click Save as Template in the response card
  4. Name and categorize the template
  5. Save to your template library

Templates appear in the Response Templates library for quick reuse across simulations.

Keyboard Shortcuts​

ShortcutAction
Cmd+KOpen/close StageAssist panel
Cmd+EnterSend chat message
EscClose current modal
Cmd+/Show all shortcuts

Best Practices​

Be specific - Instead of "create an API", say "create a RESTful API for managing book library inventory with CRUD operations".

Iterate - Start with a basic plan, test it, then ask StageAssist to refine or extend it.

Provide context - Upload datasets and documentation so StageAssist understands your domain.

Link blueprints - Connect related simulations for better cross-API intelligence.

Review before applying - Always review AI-generated plans. StageAssist is smart but not infallible.

Privacy and Data​

  • Conversations are stored encrypted per simulation
  • Imported datasets remain in your tenant and are not shared
  • StageAssist does not send your data to external AI services without your consent
  • You can clear chat history and datasets anytime

Next Steps​