SurrealDB Client & Zod Schema Generator

SurrealDB Schema Generator is a handy tool that simplifies the process of generating zod schemas and TypeScript clients for SurrealDB based on your provided database schema. Its primary purpose is to offer a fundamental starting point, not to replace a full-blown automated ORM.

Features

• Generate zod schemas and TypeScript clients for SurrealDB.
• Utilize your existing database schema created with excellent tools like surrealist.app.
• Benefit from a user-friendly Designer in Surrealist to craft your data model effortlessly.
• Export your schema from Surrealist and use it with this tool.
• Choose to generate only zod schemas or include a basic TypeScript client.
• Utilize zod schemas for CIRQL if needed.

Documentation

• User and maintainer docs: docs/
• Contribution guide: CONTRIBUTING.md

🚨 Warning Version 2.x

Version 2 has breaking changes!
The tool now uses surrealdb instead of surrealdb.node for interacting with a SurrealDB instance.

The change was made, because it seems that surrealdb is closer to the SurrealDB development process and more up to date in general.

This means, the option "memory" for connections is no longer available, and you need to run against a real running SurrealDB instance (use docker).

Compatibility Notes

• Internal dependency was upgraded to zod@4.
• Generated schema snippets are intentionally kept within APIs that are compatible with both Zod 3 and Zod 4 (for consumers who still validate with Zod 3 in their own projects).
• For IP assertions, Zod v4 removed z.string().ip() (see Zod v4 changelog).
• The generator therefore emits refine-based IP validation for cross-version compatibility (Zod 3 and Zod 4).
• If the project moves to Zod 4-only output in the future, this can be switched to native ipv4/ipv6 schemas.

How It Works

1. If you provide a surql schema file:

• An in-memory SurrealDB instance is automatically created.
• The schema is loaded into this temporary instance.
• Docker is required to run the temporary instance.

2. If no schema file is provided:

• SurrealDB Schema Generator connects to your specified database.

3. The generator extracts the DEFINE information from the connected database (either in-memory or external).
4. Based on the definitions found in the database, the zod schemas are generated.

Enjoy using SurrealDB Schema Generator to streamline your schema generation process for SurrealDB and zod. It's designed to make your life easier when working with these powerful technologies.

Installation

You can directly execute the generation:

npx surql-gen

Or you can install the generator as dependency into your project.

npm i -D @sebastianwessel/surql-gen

In case you install the generator as dependency or you installed it globally, you can call directly surql-gen

How to Use

Configuring options for this tool is flexible and convenient. You have two main methods to choose from:

1. Config JSON File: You can easily set your options through a simple config JSON file.

2. Command Line Interface (CLI): Alternatively, you can configure the options directly via the command line.

And the best part? You can use both methods simultaneously if it suits your needs. In such cases, the tool intelligently merges the parameters, giving priority to the ones provided through the CLI. This means you have complete control over your configuration, adapting it to your preferences effortlessly.

Usage: surql-gen [options]

Generate zod schema and typescript client code from running Surreal database

Options:
  -V, --version         output the version number
  -f, --schemaFile      a SurrealQL file containing the definitions (default: myschema.surql)
  -c, --config           config file (default: surql-gen.json)
  -s, --surreal         SurrealDB connection url (default: http://localhost:8000)
  -u, --username        auth username (default: root)
  -p, --password        auth password (default: root)
  -n, --ns              the namspace (default: test)
  -d, --db              the database (default: test)
  -o, --outputFolder    output folder (default: client_generated)
  -g, --generateClient  generate client (default: true)
  --no-generateClient   no client generation
  -i, --surrealImage    SurrealDB docker image (default: surrealdb/surrealdb:latest)
  
  -h, --help            display help for command

Config file

You can provide the configuration via a config file. The config file is using same paramaters as the cli.

Example:

{
  "schemaFile": "schema.surql",
  "surreal": "memory",
  "username": "root",
  "password": "secret_password",
  "ns": "my_namespace",
  "db": "my_database",
  "outputFolder": "./out",
  "generateClient": true,
  "lib": "surrealdb",
  "surrealImage": "surrealdb/surrealdb:latest"
  
}

Using a Schema File or Directory

NOTE: Docker is required to run SurrealDB in memory.

To use a schema file either provide the -f flag:

surql-gen -f ./path/to/your/schema.surql

or you can specify the path in the config file:

{
  "schemaFile": "./path/to/your/schema.surql"
}

You can also provide a directory path. The generator will recursively load all .surql and .surrealql files from that directory.

Example:

surql-gen -f ./db/schema

When using a directory, you can exclude files or folders with a .ignore file placed in that directory. Each line is a glob-like pattern relative to the schema directory.

Example .ignore:

# Ignore migration snapshots
migrations/**

# Ignore a specific file
legacy.surql

using a schema file utilises a temporary in-memory SurrealDB instance to generate the zod schemas; this instance runs in a docker container. If you want to use a different image, you can specify it in the config file:

{
  "surrealImage": "surrealdb/surrealdb:latest"
}

If your environment can only pull container images from a private registry, configure Testcontainers in ~/.testcontainers.properties:

ryuk.container.image=yourregistry.com/testcontainers/ryuk:0.3.3

Reference: Testcontainers configuration

Connecting to an Existing SurrealDB Instance

To connect to an existing SurrealDB instance, simply omit the -f option, or omit the schemaFile in the config file.

In this case, you need to provide the connection information for your running instance.

Releasing

This repository provides a manual GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/release-manual.yml to publish new versions.

• Trigger: workflow_dispatch on the main branch
• Inputs: publish_jsr and required docs confirmation (confirm_docs_updated=true)
• Version source: version is taken from committed code (package.json and jsr.json) and must already be in sync
• npm publish: uses npm Trusted Publishing with id-token: write
• optional JSR publish: uses GitHub Actions OIDC flow (JSR docs)
• Git tag: created and pushed as v<package.json.version> after successful publish
• GitHub Release: created automatically from the new tag with generated release notes

To use Trusted Publishing, configure this GitHub repository as a trusted publisher in npm for @sebastianwessel/surql-gen.

Note: this repository currently has no separate website docs pipeline configured in .github/workflows. The README.md is the primary published documentation source for releases.

Code Generation Structure

The generated code is organized into two distinct parts for your convenience:

_generated Subfolder

In this subfolder, you'll find schema information and other generated code that may be overwritten during subsequent runs of the tool. Here's how it works:

• Table Definition Overwrite: If the tool detects a table definition and an existing _generated folder, it replaces the old folder with a new one. This ensures that you're always working with the latest generated code.

• Folder Retention: If there's a folder for a table that no longer exists in the current run, it won't be automatically deleted. This approach gives you the flexibility to manage your codebase and project structure according to your preferences, allowing you to keep your work organized.

Other Generated Subfolders

Apart from the _generated folder, additional subfolders are created during the initial execution of the tool. These subfolders are not overwritten or modified in subsequent runs. They serve as safe spaces for your customizations, changes, and enhancements:

Customization Freedom: You can confidently make modifications and enhancements in these subfolders without worrying about them being altered by future executions of the tool. This design allows you to tailor the generated code to your project's specific requirements, ensuring a seamless development experience.

Mapping

Basic Type

SurrealQL	Zod (input)	Zod (output)
TYPE number	z.number()	z.number()
TYPE option<number>	z.number().optional()	z.number().optional()
TYPE string	z.string()	z.string()
TYPE option<string>	z.string().optional()	z.string().optional()
TYPE datetime	z.union([z.string().datetime(), z.date()]).transform((value) => value instanceof Date ? value : new Date(value))	z.string().datetime()
TYPE option<datetime>	z.union([z.string().datetime(), z.date()]).transform((value) => value instanceof Date ? value : new Date(value)).optional()	z.string().datetime().optional()
TYPE bool	z.boolean()	z.boolean()
TYPE option<bool>	z.boolean().optional()	z.boolean().optional()
TYPE object	z.object({})	z.object({})
TYPE option<object>	z.object({}).optional()	z.object({}).optional()
TYPE array	z.array()	z.array(z.any())
TYPE option<array>	z.array(z.any()).optional()	z.array(z.any()).optional()
TYPE array<string>	z.array()	z.array(z.string())
TYPE option<array<string>>	z.array(z.string()).optional()	z.array(z.string()).optional()
TYPE array<number>	z.array()	z.array(z.number())
TYPE option<array<number>>	z.array(z.number()).optional()	z.array(z.number()).optional()
TYPE array<bool>	z.array()	z.array(z.boolean())
TYPE option<array<bool>>	z.array(z.boolean()).optional()	z.array(z.boolean()).optional()
TYPE record	z.any()	z.any()
TYPE option<record>	z.any()	z.any()

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If you like this tool, I please you, to give a star ⭐️ on github: 👉 https://github.com/sebastianwessel/surrealdb-client-generator

If you run into an issue, please let me know so it can get fixed. 👉 https://github.com/sebastianwessel/surrealdb-client-generator/issues

Good luck with your project. 👋 Cheers, and happy coding!