Generic CRUD

The crud package is one of the most important user-facing layers in VEF. It turns typed models and typed request structs into reusable API operations with built-in transactions, validation, data permissions, file promotion, and result formatting.

The Basic Pattern

You usually embed CRUD providers into a resource struct:

type UserResource struct {
	api.Resource

	crud.FindPage[User, UserSearch]
	crud.Create[User, UserParams]
	crud.Update[User, UserParams]
	crud.Delete[User]
}

func NewUserResource() api.Resource {
	return &UserResource{
		Resource: api.NewRPCResource("sys/user"),
		FindPage: crud.NewFindPage[User, UserSearch]().PermToken("sys:user:query"),
		Create:   crud.NewCreate[User, UserParams]().PermToken("sys:user:create"),
		Update:   crud.NewUpdate[User, UserParams]().PermToken("sys:user:update"),
		Delete:   crud.NewDelete[User]().PermToken("sys:user:delete"),
	}
}

The framework collects embedded CRUD builders automatically because they implement api.OperationsProvider.

Generic Parameter Meanings

Most CRUD builders only use one of these generic shapes:

Generic	Meaning	Typical type
TModel	persistence model loaded from or written to the database	User, Role, Flow
TParams	write-side params decoded from Request.Params	UserParams, CreateUserParams
TSearch	read-side search params decoded from Request.Params	UserSearch, RoleSearch

Operation families use them like this:

Builder family	Generic shape	Meaning
single-record write builders	Create[TModel, TParams], Update[TModel, TParams]	params are copied into a model before persistence
batch write builders	CreateMany[TModel, TParams], UpdateMany[TModel, TParams]	framework wraps TParams into batch params types
read builders	FindOne[TModel, TSearch], FindPage[TModel, TSearch], and similar	model defines the query target, search defines filters
delete builders	Delete[TModel], DeleteMany[TModel]	deletion works from primary-key payloads, so no extra TParams type is needed
export builder	Export[TModel, TSearch]	export runs a read query and then renders the result into a file
import builder	Import[TModel]	imported rows are decoded directly into models

Prebuilt Builder Matrix

Builder	Default RPC action	Default REST action	Input contract	Output contract	Typical use
NewCreate[TModel, TParams]	create	post /	TParams from params	primary-key map	create one record
NewUpdate[TModel, TParams]	update	put /:id	TParams from params, including PK fields	success result	update one record
NewDelete[TModel]	delete	delete /:id	raw PK values from params	success result	delete one record
NewCreateMany[TModel, TParams]	create_many	post /many	CreateManyParams[TParams] with list	list of primary-key maps	batch create
NewUpdateMany[TModel, TParams]	update_many	put /many	UpdateManyParams[TParams] with list	success result	batch update
NewDeleteMany[TModel]	delete_many	delete /many	DeleteManyParams with pks	success result	batch delete
NewFindOne[TModel, TSearch]	find_one	get /:id	TSearch from params	one model	single-record query
NewFindAll[TModel, TSearch]	find_all	get /	TSearch from params	[]TModel	filtered list without paging metadata
NewFindPage[TModel, TSearch]	find_page	get /page	TSearch from params + page.Pageable from meta	page.Page[T]	admin list screen
NewFindOptions[TModel, TSearch]	find_options	get /options	TSearch from params + DataOptionConfig from meta	[]DataOption	dropdown options
NewFindTree[TModel, TSearch](treeBuilder)	find_tree	get /tree	TSearch from params	hierarchical []TModel	tree-structured data
NewFindTreeOptions[TModel, TSearch]	find_tree_options	get /tree/options	TSearch from params + DataOptionConfig from meta	[]TreeDataOption	tree options
NewExport[TModel, TSearch]	export	get /export	TSearch from params + export format from meta	file download	Excel or CSV export
NewImport[TModel]	import	post /import	multipart file upload + import format from meta	{total: n}	Excel or CSV import

Shared Builder Controls

Every CRUD builder inherits the common controls from Builder[T]:

Method	Effect
ResourceKind(kind)	switches the builder between RPC and REST naming/validation rules
Action(action)	overrides the default action name
Public()	marks the operation as unauthenticated
PermToken(token)	requires a permission token for access
Timeout(duration)	sets the request timeout
EnableAudit()	enables audit logging for the operation
RateLimit(max, period)	applies per-operation rate limiting

Important detail:

• Action(...) is validated according to the current ResourceKind(...)
• if you are overriding a REST action, set ResourceKind(api.KindREST) first

Shared Find Controls

All read-oriented builders are built on top of Find[...], so they share a richer set of query-shaping options:

Method	Purpose
WithProcessor(...)	post-processes the query result before response serialization
WithOptions(...)	appends reusable low-level FindOperationOption values
WithSelect(column)	adds a column to the select list
WithSelectAs(column, alias)	adds a selected column with an alias
WithDefaultSort(...)	sets fallback sorting when no dynamic sort is provided
WithCondition(...)	adds a WHERE condition using orm.ConditionBuilder
DisableDataPerm()	disables automatic data-permission filtering
WithRelation(...)	adds relation joins through orm.RelationSpec
WithAuditUserNames(userModel, nameColumn...)	joins audit user information to populate creator/updater names
WithQueryApplier(...)	applies arbitrary query modifications with typed access to TSearch

Runtime defaults for most find-style builders:

• search tags from TSearch are applied automatically
• data permission filtering is enabled by default
• sort defaults to primary key descending when the model has a single PK
• if no single PK exists, the fallback sort is created_at DESC when available

Query Parts For Tree Builders

Tree builders use recursive CTEs, so some options can target different query stages:

Query part	Meaning
QueryRoot	the final outer query
QueryBase	the starting query inside the recursive CTE
QueryRecursive	the recursive branch of the CTE
QueryAll	all query parts

For FindTree and FindTreeOptions, several methods intentionally change their defaults:

• WithCondition(...) defaults to QueryBase
• WithQueryApplier(...) defaults to QueryBase
• WithSelect(...), WithSelectAs(...), and WithRelation(...) default to both QueryBase and QueryRecursive

Read Builders

FindOne[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindOne when the resource should return one record.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the query target model, TSearch defines filters
Input	TSearch from params, raw api.Meta from meta
Output	one TModel value after optional WithProcessor(...) transformation
Default behavior	runs a select with model columns and LIMIT 1
Common configuration	shared find controls such as WithCondition, WithRelation, WithQueryApplier, WithAuditUserNames

Use this when the read still behaves like a query instead of a fixed metadata fetch.

FindAll[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindAll when you need a filtered list without paging metadata.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the result model, TSearch defines filters
Input	TSearch from params, api.Meta from meta
Output	[]TModel or the processed slice returned by WithProcessor(...)
Default behavior	applies a safety limit (maxQueryLimit) and returns an empty slice instead of nil
Common configuration	shared find controls, especially WithDefaultSort, WithCondition, WithRelation, WithQueryApplier

FindPage[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindPage for most admin-style list screens.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the item model, TSearch defines query filters
Input	TSearch from params, page.Pageable from meta, plus any extra api.Meta
Output	page.Page[T]
Default behavior	paginates, counts total rows, and normalizes page settings
Special configuration	WithDefaultPageSize(size) sets the fallback page size

Use this when the caller needs total, page number, page size, and item list together.

FindOptions[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindOptions for lightweight option lists such as select boxes.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the source model, TSearch defines filters
Input	TSearch from params, DataOptionConfig from meta
Output	[]DataOption
Default behavior	maps data into label, value, description, and optional meta
Special configuration	WithDefaultColumnMapping(mapping) sets fallback label/value/description/meta column mapping

DataOptionConfig comes from meta and can override:

Field	Meaning
labelColumn	source column for label
valueColumn	source column for value
descriptionColumn	optional source column for description
metaColumns	additional columns to include in the option meta object

Defaults:

• label column defaults to name
• value column defaults to id

FindTree[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindTree when the domain is hierarchical and the response should contain nested model records.

Constructor shape:

crud.NewFindTree[Category, CategorySearch](tree.Build)

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the tree node model, TSearch defines filters
Input	TSearch from params, api.Meta from meta
Output	hierarchical []TModel
Default behavior	builds a recursive CTE, loads flat rows, then runs the provided treeBuilder function
Special configuration	WithIDColumn(name) and WithParentIDColumn(name) customize the tree columns

Defaults:

• node ID column defaults to id
• parent ID column defaults to parent_id

FindTreeOptions[TModel, TSearch]

Use FindTreeOptions when you need a hierarchical option tree instead of full model records.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the source model, TSearch defines filters
Input	TSearch from params, DataOptionConfig from meta
Output	[]TreeDataOption
Default behavior	builds a recursive CTE and converts the result into nested TreeDataOption values
Special configuration	WithDefaultColumnMapping(...), WithIDColumn(...), WithParentIDColumn(...)

Use this when the client needs label/value plus children, not the full persistence model.

Write Builders

Create[TModel, TParams]

Use Create for single-record creation.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the persistence model, TParams is the write params type
Input	TParams from params
Output	primary-key map for the created record
Default behavior	copies params into a new model, promotes storage references, runs inside a transaction, inserts the record
Special configuration	WithPreCreate(...), WithPostCreate(...)

Hook responsibilities:

Method	Runs when	Typical use
WithPreCreate	before insert, inside the same transaction	normalization, validation, derived fields, extra query shaping
WithPostCreate	after insert, inside the same transaction	side effects that belong to the same transaction

Update[TModel, TParams]

Use Update for single-record update.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the persistence model, TParams is the write params type
Input	TParams from params, including primary-key fields
Output	success result
Default behavior	copies params into a temporary model, validates PK presence, loads the old model, applies data permissions, merges non-empty fields, updates in a transaction
Special configuration	WithPreUpdate(...), WithPostUpdate(...), DisableDataPerm()

Important detail:

• Update uses copier.WithIgnoreEmpty() when merging the incoming model into the loaded model

Delete[TModel]

Use Delete for single-record deletion.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the persistence model
Input	primary-key values from raw api.Params
Output	success result
Default behavior	validates PK input, loads the model, applies data permissions, deletes in a transaction, then cleans up promoted files
Special configuration	WithPreDelete(...), WithPostDelete(...), DisableDataPerm()

Batch Builders

CreateMany[TModel, TParams]

Aspect	Details
Input contract	CreateManyParams[TParams] with a list field
Output	list of primary-key maps
Special configuration	WithPreCreateMany(...), WithPostCreateMany(...)
Behavior	copies each params item into a model, inserts all models in one transaction

UpdateMany[TModel, TParams]

Aspect	Details
Input contract	UpdateManyParams[TParams] with a list field
Output	success result
Special configuration	WithPreUpdateMany(...), WithPostUpdateMany(...), DisableDataPerm()
Behavior	validates PKs for every item, loads all old models, merges updates, and executes a bulk update in one transaction

DeleteMany[TModel]

Aspect	Details
Input contract	DeleteManyParams with a pks field
Output	success result
Special configuration	WithPreDeleteMany(...), WithPostDeleteMany(...), DisableDataPerm()
Behavior	supports single-PK payloads as scalar values and composite-PK payloads as maps

DeleteManyParams.pks rules:

Model PK shape	Accepted payload shape
single primary key	["id1", "id2"]
composite primary key	[{"user_id":"u1","role_id":"r1"}]

Export And Import Builders

Export[TModel, TSearch]

Use Export when the caller should download a query result as an Excel or CSV file.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the exported row model, TSearch defines query filters
Input	TSearch from params, format from meta
Output	file download
Default behavior	runs a find-style query, applies optional pre-export processing, and writes Excel or CSV to the response
Special configuration	WithDefaultFormat(...), WithExcelOptions(...), WithCsvOptions(...), WithPreExport(...), WithFilenameBuilder(...)

format values:

Format	Value
Excel	excel
CSV	csv

Defaults:

• export format defaults to excel
• default filenames are data.xlsx and data.csv

Import[TModel]

Use Import when the caller uploads a CSV or Excel file that should be decoded into models and inserted.

Aspect	Details
Generics	TModel is the model type imported from the file
Input	multipart file upload in params.file, plus optional format in meta
Output	{total: n} on success
Default behavior	requires multipart input, parses rows into models, validates imported rows, inserts them in a transaction
Special configuration	WithDefaultFormat(...), WithExcelOptions(...), WithCsvOptions(...), WithPreImport(...), WithPostImport(...)

Important details:

• JSON requests are rejected for import
• if row-level import validation fails, the response contains an errors payload instead of partial persistence
• import format defaults to excel

Practical Advice

• start with FindPage + Create + Update + Delete for admin resources
• keep write params and search params separate
• add permissions at the builder level
• rely on default data permissions unless you have a specific reason to disable them
• use FindOptions or FindTreeOptions for UI option payloads instead of overloading full model endpoints
• prefer the standard CRUD vocabulary unless your business action has a stronger domain verb
• it is normal for one resource to combine CRUD builders with a few custom actions when the UI needs both

Next Step

Read Custom Handlers when a resource needs operations that do not fit the generic CRUD model.