XRM is an extensible relationship management platform. Instead of a fixed CRM schema, you define your own entities, fields, and relationships — then manage records through a generated UI.
When you open XRM, the demo data seeder automatically loads a CRM-style schema with sample records on first run.
The screenshots in this guide show the built-in demo data: Companies, Contacts, Products, Activities, Orders, and Order Lines. Your own schemas will look different but work the same way.
Everything is stored in a single xrm.db SQLite file. To back up, copy the file.
To start fresh, delete it and restart the app.
Note: Code changes (bug fixes, new features) do not affect the database. Only EF model changes (adding columns, changing relationships) require either deleting
xrm.dbor running EF migrations.
The Schema Designer is where you define the structure of your data. Access it via the Entities and Relationships links in the side navigation.
An entity is a type of thing you want to track — Companies, Contacts, Products, Players, Matches, or anything else. Each entity gets its own record list and detail form in the runtime UI.
To create an entity:
- Click + New Entity
- Enter a Name (identifier, e.g.
Company), Display Name (e.g.Company), and Plural Name (e.g.Companies) - Click Save
The entity immediately appears in the side navigation. You can mark one entity as Home — its record list will show on the start-up screen.
Each entity has fields that define what data it holds. Click Fields on an entity card to manage them.
Field properties:
- Name — identifier used in the JSON data store
- Display Name — label shown in the UI
- Data Type — Text, Number, Decimal, Boolean, Date, DateTime, Choice, MultiChoice, AutoNumber, RichText, Email, Phone, URL
- Required — marked with a red asterisk (*) in the form; validated on save
- Constraints — max length, min/max value, regex pattern
- Options — for Choice/MultiChoice fields, a list of allowed values (e.g.
["Low","Medium","High"]) - Sort Order — controls the display order of fields in the form and grid
Fields are enforced at runtime: required fields must have a value, text respects max length, numbers respect min/max, and choice fields only accept defined options.
Relationships link two entities together. They are logical (metadata + link records), not database foreign keys.
To create a relationship:
- Click + New Relationship on the Relationships page
- Select a Parent Entity (the "one" side) and Child Entity (the "many" side)
- Choose a Name (e.g.
Company → Contacts) - Currently supported: OneToMany relationship type, with None or RemoveLink on delete
In the runtime UI, relationships appear as:
- A dropdown on the child's detail form (to select the parent)
- A child grid on the parent's detail form (to see/manage children)
All entities are listed in the left sidebar, grouped by domain with collapsible headings. Click one to see its record list.
Administrators also see a Settings group at the bottom with links to:
- Entities — schema designer
- Relationships — relationship designer
- Security — user and role management
The record grid shows all records of a given entity in a table. Features:
- Filter — type in the filter box to search across all field values
- Sort — click a column header to sort ascending; click again for descending
- Pagination — navigate pages at the bottom; shows total record count
- Multi-select — check records for bulk operations
- Record navigation — prev/next buttons on the detail page carry your filter/sort context
- Delete — click ✕ to delete individual records (writers only)
- New — click + New to create a record (writers only)
Note: Users with Reader role see the grid in read-only mode — no New, Edit, or Delete actions.
A single form is used for both creating and editing records. Fields are rendered based on their data type:
| Data Type | UI Control |
|---|---|
| Text, Email, Phone, URL | Text input |
| Number, Decimal | Number input |
| Boolean | Checkbox |
| Date, DateTime | Date/time picker |
| Choice | Dropdown with defined options |
| MultiChoice | Checkbox group (multiple selections stored as JSON array) |
| AutoNumber | Read-only auto-generated value (see autonumber.md) |
| RichText | Textarea |
Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*) and validated on save.
When a record has a parent relationship (e.g. a Contact belongs to a Company), a dropdown appears at the bottom of the form showing the parent entity's records. Select a parent and click Save to link them.
The ↗ button next to the dropdown navigates directly to the parent record.
Below the parent's form, child records are displayed in a full grid. In the example above, Contoso Ltd shows its linked Contacts and Orders.
Actions available on the child grid:
- + Add — opens an inline form to create a new child record (automatically linked to the parent)
- ✎ Edit — opens the inline form pre-populated with existing data
- ✕ Delete — removes the child record and its link
All child operations happen inline — no need to navigate away from the parent.
This example shows editing an Activity record. Note the "Contact → Activities" parent dropdown showing "Donna" as the linked contact, with the ↗ navigation button.
XRM exposes a REST API for external integrations. When running in development mode, Swagger UI is available at /swagger.
Key endpoints:
| Method | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/entities |
List all entities |
| POST | /api/entities |
Create an entity |
| GET | /api/entities/{id} |
Get entity with fields |
| PUT | /api/entities/{id} |
Update an entity |
| DELETE | /api/entities/{id} |
Delete an entity |
| GET | /api/entities/{id}/fields |
List fields |
| POST | /api/entities/{id}/fields |
Create a field |
| GET | /api/entities/{id}/records |
List records (paginated) |
| POST | /api/entities/{id}/records |
Create a record |
| PUT | /api/entities/{id}/records/{rid} |
Update a record |
| DELETE | /api/entities/{id}/records/{rid} |
Delete a record |
Query parameters for record listing: page, pageSize, sortField, sortDir, filter.
The app ships with a CRM-style demo schema inspired by AdventureWorksLT:
| Entity | Sample Records |
|---|---|
| Company | Contoso Ltd, Fabricam Inc, Adventure Works, Northwind Traders, Litware Corp |
| Contact | 7 contacts across companies |
| Product | Mountain-100, Road-250, Touring-1000, HL Headset, Sport Helmet, Chain |
| Activity | 3 activities (email, meeting, call) |
| Order | 3 orders linked to companies |
| Order Line | 5 order lines linking orders to products |
Demo data can be modified or deleted like any user-created content.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Backend | C# / .NET 10 (ASP.NET Core) |
| Frontend | Blazor Server (interactive SSR) |
| Database | SQLite via EF Core |
| Data model | Fixed meta-schema with JSON field values |
| Tests | xUnit + WebApplicationFactory (104 tests) |
| API docs | Swagger / OpenAPI |
Entities can be assigned a Domain (e.g. "Sales", "Catalog", "Orders") in the Entity Designer. The side navigation groups entities by domain with collapsible headings. Entities without a domain appear ungrouped.
Set Domain Sort Order to control the order of groups in the nav menu.
All record changes (create, update, delete) are automatically logged. On the record detail screen, expand the History section to see a timeline of changes with:
- Timestamp and action type
- Who made the change (user ID)
- Field-level before → after values for updates
No configuration needed — audit is always on.
Consumer applications can hook into record create/update/delete events to run business logic. See lifecycle-hooks.md for the full guide.
Post-save hooks return warnings (not failures) via SaveResult. See lifecycle-hooks.md for details.
Choice fields can optionally define allowed state transitions via TransitionsJson on FieldDefinition. The UI filters the dropdown and the server rejects invalid transitions on save. See state-machines.md for configuration examples.
Entities can define declarative rules that validate relationships between fields (e.g., end date > start date, conditional required fields). See cross-field-validation.md for rule types and examples.
Fields of type Computed evaluate an expression on every read. Supports arithmetic (UnitPrice + ShippingCost), literals (Subtotal * 1.21), and aggregates (COUNT(Order), SUM(OrderLine.Amount)). See computed-fields.md for syntax and examples.
Date, number, and boolean values are formatted for display using CultureInfo.CurrentCulture. The host controls the locale — XRM respects it automatically. See locale-formatting.md for setup options.
In addition to the UI history panel, audit entries are available via the REST API:
GET /api/entities/{entityId}/records/{id}/history?limit=50
Returns the change log with timestamps, old/new values, and action type.
XRM provides domain-based access control. Entities are scoped to domains; users get Reader/Writer/SystemAdmin roles per domain. See docs/authorization.md for full setup.
Key points:
- Call
AddXrmAuthorization()afterAddXrmCore()to enable - Configure any OIDC provider (Entra ID, Google, etc.) — XRM is provider-agnostic
- Admin UI at
/admin/usersfor role management - Without
AddXrmAuthorization(), all access is permitted (dev mode)