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The NestJS CRUD framework (@nestjsx/crud) is a microframework for building full-featured RESTful APIs with minimal boilerplate. It provides a declarative approach to creating CRUD endpoints with powerful query capabilities, validation, and database integration.

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Three-layer architecture

The framework follows a clean three-layer architecture that separates concerns and keeps your code maintainable:

Controllers

Define API endpoints using the @Crud() decorator

Services

Handle business logic and database operations

Requests

Parse and validate query parameters

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Key features

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Automatic endpoint generation

The @Crud() decorator automatically generates up to 8 RESTful endpoints:
  • GET /resource - Get many resources with filtering, pagination, and sorting
  • GET /resource/:id - Get one resource by ID
  • POST /resource - Create one resource
  • POST /resource/bulk - Create many resources
  • PATCH /resource/:id - Update one resource (partial)
  • PUT /resource/:id - Replace one resource (full)
  • DELETE /resource/:id - Delete one resource
  • PATCH /resource/:id/recover - Recover soft-deleted resource
The recoverOneBase endpoint is only available when softDelete: true is enabled in query options.

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Rich query capabilities

Clients can use powerful query parameters to control responses: 
# Select specific fields
GET /companies?fields=name,domain

# Filter with operators
GET /companies?filter=name||$cont||Tech

# Join relations
GET /companies?join=users&join=projects

# Sort results
GET /companies?sort=name,ASC

# Paginate
GET /companies?page=1&limit=10

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Built-in validation

The framework integrates with class-validator and class-transformer to validate incoming data using validation groups: 
import { CrudValidationGroups } from '@nestjsx/crud';
import { IsString, IsNotEmpty, IsOptional } from 'class-validator';

const { CREATE, UPDATE } = CrudValidationGroups;

@Entity('companies')
export class Company {
  @IsOptional({ groups: [UPDATE] })
  @IsNotEmpty({ groups: [CREATE] })
  @IsString({ always: true })
  @Column()
  name: string;
}

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Database agnostic

While @nestjsx/crud-typeorm provides TypeORM integration, the core framework is database agnostic. You can extend the base CrudService class to work with any database or ORM.

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Packages

The framework consists of three main packages:

@nestjsx/crud

Core package with decorators, interfaces, and route generation

@nestjsx/crud-typeorm

TypeORM integration with TypeOrmCrudService

@nestjsx/crud-request

Request parsing and query building utilities

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Quick example

Here’s a minimal example showing all three layers: 
// company.entity.ts
import { Entity, Column, PrimaryGeneratedColumn } from 'typeorm';

@Entity('companies')
export class Company {
  @PrimaryGeneratedColumn()
  id: number;

  @Column()
  name: string;

  @Column()
  domain: string;
}

// companies.service.ts
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { InjectRepository } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
import { TypeOrmCrudService } from '@nestjsx/crud-typeorm';
import { Company } from './company.entity';

@Injectable()
export class CompaniesService extends TypeOrmCrudService<Company> {
  constructor(@InjectRepository(Company) repo) {
    super(repo);
  }
}

// companies.controller.ts
import { Controller } from '@nestjs/common';
import { Crud } from '@nestjsx/crud';
import { Company } from './company.entity';
import { CompaniesService } from './companies.service';

@Crud({
  model: { type: Company },
  query: {
    alwaysPaginate: false,
  },
})
@Controller('companies')
export class CompaniesController {
  constructor(public service: CompaniesService) {}
}
The service must be a public property named service for the framework to automatically wire up the CRUD operations.
With just these three files, you get a fully functional REST API with filtering, sorting, pagination, validation, and Swagger documentation!

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Next steps

Controllers

Learn how to configure CRUD controllers

Services

Understand CRUD services and database operations

Requests

Master query parameters and filtering

Quick start

Get started with a complete example

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