Schema as Code

The Core Idea

In Rebase, your TypeScript collection definitions are the single source of truth. From one set of TypeScript objects, Rebase generates:

• PostgreSQL tables via Drizzle ORM schema generation
• CRUD UI — forms, tables, validation, field types
• REST API endpoints with filtering, sorting, and pagination
• Client SDK — type-safe data operations
• RLS policies — Row Level Security in Postgres

This means your schema is:

• Version controlled — every change is a git commit
• Type-safe — TypeScript catches errors at compile time
• Reviewable — schema changes go through pull requests
• Portable — the same definition works across frontend, backend, and CLI

Visual Editing with AST Manipulation

Rebase also provides a visual collection editor in Studio mode. When a non-developer uses the visual editor to add a field:

1. The Studio does not directly modify the database
2. Instead, it uses ts-morph to parse your TypeScript source file as an AST
3. It inserts the new property definition precisely into the properties block
4. All existing code, callbacks, and custom logic are preserved untouched
5. The file is saved, triggering hot reload

This “UI as Code Generator” approach means visual edits produce the same clean TypeScript a developer would write by hand.

Schema Generation Pipeline

TypeScript Collections
        │
        ▼
  rebase schema generate
        │
        ▼
  Drizzle Schema (schema.generated.ts)
        │
        ▼
  rebase db generate
        │
        ▼
  SQL Migration Files
        │
        ▼
  rebase db migrate
        │
        ▼
  PostgreSQL Tables

Example

Given this collection:

const productsCollection: EntityCollection = {
    slug: "products",
    dbPath: "products",
    properties: {
        name: { type: "string", name: "Name", validation: { required: true } },
        price: { type: "number", name: "Price", columnType: "numeric" },
        active: { type: "boolean", name: "Active", defaultValue: true },
        created_at: { type: "date", name: "Created", autoValue: "on_create" }
    }
};

Rebase generates this Drizzle schema:

// schema.generated.ts
import { pgTable, varchar, numeric, boolean, timestamp } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";

export const products = pgTable("products", {
    id: serial("id").primaryKey(),
    name: varchar("name").notNull(),
    price: numeric("price"),
    active: boolean("active").default(true),
    created_at: timestamp("created_at").defaultNow()
});

Which produces this SQL:

CREATE TABLE products (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR NOT NULL,
    price NUMERIC,
    active BOOLEAN DEFAULT true,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

Next Steps

• Collections — Full collection configuration reference
• Drizzle Schema Generation — Detailed column type mappings