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UpsertBuilder is a tool for efficiently saving complex relational data within transactions.

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UpsertBuilder Overview

Transaction Required

Always used within transactions Guarantees data consistency

UBRef References

Automatic foreign key resolution Define relationships without IDs

Sequential Saving

Save in dependency order Satisfy foreign key constraints

Type Safety

Compile-time validation Table schema verification

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Basic Concept

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Problems with Regular INSERT

// ❌ Problem: Cannot know foreign key values in advance
await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  // 1. Create Company
  const [companyId] = await trx.table("companies").insert({ name: "Tech Corp" }).returning("id");

  // 2. Create Department (needs company_id)
  const [deptId] = await trx
    .table("departments")
    .insert({
      name: "Engineering",
      company_id: companyId, // ← Use ID from above
    })
    .returning("id");

  // 3. Create User
  const [userId] = await trx
    .table("users")
    .insert({
      email: "john@test.com",
      username: "john",
      password: "pass",
      role: "normal",
    })
    .returning("id");

  // 4. Create Employee (needs user_id, department_id)
  await trx.table("employees").insert({
    user_id: userId, // ← ID from above
    department_id: deptId, // ← ID from above
    employee_number: "E001",
  });
});

// Code is long and complex
// Need to track IDs every time

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UpsertBuilder Solution

// ✅ Solution: Define relationships with UBRef
await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  // 1. Register data (get UBRef)
  const companyRef = trx.ubRegister("companies", {
    name: "Tech Corp",
  });

  const deptRef = trx.ubRegister("departments", {
    name: "Engineering",
    company_id: companyRef, // ← Use UBRef
  });

  const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", {
    email: "john@test.com",
    username: "john",
    password: "pass",
    role: "normal",
  });

  trx.ubRegister("employees", {
    user_id: userRef, // ← Use UBRef
    department_id: deptRef, // ← Use UBRef
    employee_number: "E001",
  });

  // 2. Save in order
  await trx.ubUpsert("companies");
  await trx.ubUpsert("departments");
  await trx.ubUpsert("users");
  await trx.ubUpsert("employees");
});

// Clean and clear
// No ID tracking needed

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ubRegister - Data Registration

ubRegister registers data to save and returns a UBRef.

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Basic Usage

await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  // Specify table and data
  const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", {
    email: "john@test.com",
    username: "john",
    password: "hashed_password",
    role: "normal",
  });

  // userRef is UBRef type
  // A reference object, not an actual ID
});

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Type Safety

// ✅ OK: Correct fields
trx.ubRegister("users", {
  email: "john@test.com",
  username: "john",
  password: "pass",
  role: "normal",
});

// ❌ Type Error: Invalid field
trx.ubRegister("users", {
  email: "john@test.com",
  invalid_field: "value", // Property 'invalid_field' does not exist
});

// ❌ Type Error: Missing required field
trx.ubRegister("users", {
  email: "john@test.com",
  // username missing → Type Error
});

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ubUpsert - Actual Save

ubUpsert actually saves registered data to the DB.

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Basic Usage

await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  trx.ubRegister("users", {
    email: "john@test.com",
    username: "john",
    password: "pass",
    role: "normal",
  });

  // Save to DB and return array of created IDs
  const userIds = await trx.ubUpsert("users");

  console.log(userIds); // [1]
});

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Return Value

// Single record
const [userId] = await trx.ubUpsert("users");
console.log(userId); // 1

// Multiple records
const userIds = await trx.ubUpsert("users");
console.log(userIds); // [1, 2, 3]

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Save Order

await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  // Registration (order doesn't matter)
  const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", { ... });
  const companyRef = trx.ubRegister("companies", { ... });
  const deptRef = trx.ubRegister("departments", {
    company_id: companyRef,
  });
  const empRef = trx.ubRegister("employees", {
    user_id: userRef,
    department_id: deptRef,
  });

  // Save (dependency order required)
  await trx.ubUpsert("companies");   // 1. No dependencies
  await trx.ubUpsert("departments"); // 2. Needs company_id
  await trx.ubUpsert("users");       // 3. No dependencies
  await trx.ubUpsert("employees");   // 4. Needs user_id, department_id
});
Save Order Matters!Tables referenced by foreign keys must be saved first. Wrong order will cause foreign key constraint violation errors.

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Practical Examples

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User Registration

async createUser(data: {
  email: string;
  username: string;
  password: string;
}) {
  return await this.getPuri("w").transaction(async (trx) => {
    // Register User
    trx.ubRegister("users", {
      email: data.email,
      username: data.username,
      password: data.password,
      role: "normal",
      is_verified: false,
    });

    // Save
    const [userId] = await trx.ubUpsert("users");

    return userId;
  });
}

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Create Company + Department

async createCompanyWithDepartment(data: {
  companyName: string;
  departmentName: string;
}) {
  return await this.getPuri("w").transaction(async (trx) => {
    // 1. Register Company
    const companyRef = trx.ubRegister("companies", {
      name: data.companyName,
    });

    // 2. Register Department (references Company)
    trx.ubRegister("departments", {
      name: data.departmentName,
      company_id: companyRef,
    });

    // 3. Save in order
    const [companyId] = await trx.ubUpsert("companies");
    const [departmentId] = await trx.ubUpsert("departments");

    return { companyId, departmentId };
  });
}

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Create Employee (User + Employee)

async createEmployee(data: {
  email: string;
  username: string;
  password: string;
  departmentId: number;
  employeeNumber: string;
  salary: string;
}) {
  return await this.getPuri("w").transaction(async (trx) => {
    // 1. Register User
    const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", {
      email: data.email,
      username: data.username,
      password: data.password,
      role: "normal",
    });

    // 2. Register Employee
    trx.ubRegister("employees", {
      user_id: userRef,
      department_id: data.departmentId, // Use existing ID
      employee_number: data.employeeNumber,
      salary: data.salary,
    });

    // 3. Save
    const [userId] = await trx.ubUpsert("users");
    const [employeeId] = await trx.ubUpsert("employees");

    return { userId, employeeId };
  });
}

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UBRef Type

UBRef is a reference object, not an actual ID: 
// UBRef type
type UBRef = {
  _type: "UBRef";
  table: string;
  index: number;
};

// Usage example
const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", { ... });
console.log(userRef);
// { _type: "UBRef", table: "users", index: 0 }

// ❌ Cannot use directly
const userId = userRef; // Type Error
await db.table("posts").insert({
  user_id: userRef, // ❌ Runtime Error
});

// ✅ Only usable within UpsertBuilder
trx.ubRegister("employees", {
  user_id: userRef, // ✅ OK
});

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Error Handling

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Transaction Rollback

try {
  await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
    trx.ubRegister("users", { ... });
    trx.ubRegister("employees", { ... });

    await trx.ubUpsert("users");

    // Auto rollback on error
    throw new Error("Something went wrong");
  });
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Transaction failed:", error);
  // users insert also rolled back
}

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Foreign Key Constraint Violation

await db.transaction(async (trx) => {
  const userRef = trx.ubRegister("users", { ... });
  trx.ubRegister("employees", {
    user_id: userRef,
    department_id: 999, // Non-existent ID
  });

  await trx.ubUpsert("users");

  // ❌ Foreign key constraint violation error
  await trx.ubUpsert("employees");
  // Error: FOREIGN KEY constraint failed
});

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Next Steps

Relational Data

Handle complex relationships with UBRef

Batch Operations

Bulk data registration

Advanced Patterns

Complex data structures

Transactions

Transaction detailed guide