TerminusDB Rust Client

A Rust client library for TerminusDB, a document and graph database built for the web age.

Overview

This repository contains multiple crates that provide comprehensive Rust support for TerminusDB:

terminusdb-client - High-level client for interacting with TerminusDB
terminusdb-schema - Schema definitions and validation for TerminusDB
terminusdb-schema-derive - Derive macros for TerminusDB schema types
terminusdb-woql - WOQL (Web Object Query Language) support
terminusdb-woql2 - Enhanced WOQL functionality
terminusdb-woql-builder - Builder pattern for constructing WOQL queries

Installation

Add this to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
terminusdb-client = "0.1.0"

Quick Start

use terminusdb_client::*;
use terminusdb_schema_derive::TerminusDBModel;
use serde::{Serialize, Deserialize};

// Define your data model
#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Person {
    name: String,
    age: i32,
    email: Option<String>,
}

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
    // Connect to TerminusDB
    let client = TerminusDBHttpClient::local_node().await?;
    
    // Create database
    let db_name = "my_app";
    client.ensure_database(db_name).await?;
    
    // Insert schema
    let branch = BranchSpec::from(db_name);
    let args = DocumentInsertArgs::from(branch.clone());
    client.schema::<Person>(args.clone()).await?;
    
    // Create and insert data
    let person = Person {
        name: "Alice".to_string(),
        age: 30,
        email: Some("[email protected]".to_string()),
    };
    
    client.insert(&person, args).await?;
    
    Ok(())
}

Working with TerminusDB Models

Creating TDB Models

Define your data structures using the #[derive(TerminusDBModel)] attribute:

use terminusdb_schema_derive::TerminusDBModel;
use serde::{Serialize, Deserialize};

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct User {
    name: String,
    age: i32,
    active: bool,
}

Model Attributes

The #[tdb] attribute system provides powerful customization options:

Struct-Level Attributes

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(
    class_name = "CustomUser",           // Custom class name in database
    base = "http://example.org/",        // Base URI for the schema
    key = "hash",                        // Key type: "hash", "random", or "lexical"
    doc = "User profile information",    // Documentation string
    id_field = "user_id"                // Use specific field as ID (see ID Fields section)
)]
struct User {
    user_id: String,  // When using id_field, this becomes the document ID
    name: String,
    age: i32,
}

Field-Level Attributes

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Person {
    #[tdb(name = "fullName")]                    // Custom property name
    name: String,
    
    #[tdb(name = "userAge", doc = "Age in years")]  // Custom name + documentation
    age: i32,
    
    #[tdb(subdocument = true)]                   // Embed as nested document
    address: Address,
    
    #[tdb(name = "emailAddress", class = "xsd:string")]  // Custom property name + type
    email: Option<String>,
}

Enum Attributes

// Simple enum (becomes TerminusDB Enum)
#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(doc = "User status enumeration")]
enum UserStatus {
    Active,
    Inactive,
    Suspended,
}

// Tagged union (becomes TerminusDB TaggedUnion)
#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(unfoldable = true)]  // Enable unfoldable tagged union
enum ContactInfo {
    Email(String),
    Phone(String),
    Address { street: String, city: String },
}

ID Field Configuration

The id_field attribute specifies which field holds the document's ID. The field type you use depends on your key strategy:

Key Strategy and ID Field Types

Key Strategy	ID Field Type	Description
`random`	`EntityIDFor<Self>` or `String`	Client provides or generates ID
`lexical`	`ServerIDFor<Self>`	Server computes ID from `key_fields`
`hash`	`ServerIDFor<Self>`	Server computes hash-based ID
`value_hash`	`ServerIDFor<Self>`	Server computes content hash ID

ServerIDFor (Server-Assigned IDs)

Use ServerIDFor<Self> when the server computes the ID (lexical, hash, value_hash keys):

use terminusdb_schema::ServerIDFor;

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(key = "lexical", key_fields = "email", id_field = "id")]
struct User {
    id: ServerIDFor<Self>,  // Empty until server assigns
    email: String,
    name: String,
}

// Create with empty ID placeholder
let user = User {
    id: ServerIDFor::new(),
    email: "[email protected]".to_string(),
    name: "Alice".to_string(),
};

// After insertion, retrieve to get the server-assigned ID
let (saved_user, _) = client.insert_instance_and_retrieve(&user, args).await?;
println!("Server-assigned ID: {}", saved_user.id.as_ref().unwrap().id());

EntityIDFor (Client-Provided IDs)

Use EntityIDFor<Self> when you want to control the ID (typically with random keys):

use terminusdb_schema::EntityIDFor;

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(key = "random", id_field = "id")]
struct Document {
    id: EntityIDFor<Self>,
    title: String,
    content: String,
}

// Create with custom ID
let doc = Document {
    id: EntityIDFor::new("my-custom-id")?,
    title: "My Document".to_string(),
    content: "Content here".to_string(),
};

// Or generate a random UUID-based ID
let doc_random = Document {
    id: EntityIDFor::random(),
    title: "Random Doc".to_string(),
    content: "Content".to_string(),
};

Using String for Simple Cases

For random keys only, you can use a plain String:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(key = "random", id_field = "id")]
struct SimpleDoc {
    id: String,
    content: String,
}

let doc = SimpleDoc {
    id: "my-id".to_string(),
    content: "Hello".to_string(),
};

Entity IDs (`EntityIDFor<T>`)

EntityIDFor<T> is a strongly-typed ID wrapper that ensures type-safe references between models. It validates that IDs match the expected type at runtime.

Creating IDs

use terminusdb_schema::EntityIDFor;

// From a simple ID (auto-prefixes with type name)
let id = EntityIDFor::<Person>::new("123")?;  // → "Person/123"

// Generate random UUID-based ID
let id = EntityIDFor::<Person>::random();  // → "Person/550e8400-e29b-..."

// From full typed path
let id = EntityIDFor::<Person>::new("Person/123")?;

// From full IRI (for advanced use)
let id = EntityIDFor::<Person>::new_unchecked("terminusdb://data#Person/123")?;

Cross-Model References

Reference other models type-safely:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct User {
    name: String,
    email: String,
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Post {
    title: String,
    content: String,
    author_id: EntityIDFor<User>,  // Type-safe reference to User
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Comment {
    text: String,
    post_id: EntityIDFor<Post>,      // Reference to Post
    author_id: EntityIDFor<User>,    // Reference to User
}

// Usage
let comment = Comment {
    text: "Great post!".to_string(),
    post_id: EntityIDFor::new("post-123")?,
    author_id: EntityIDFor::new("user-456")?,
};

TaggedUnion IDs

For tagged unions, use new_variant() to specify the concrete variant type:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
enum PaymentMethod {
    CreditCard { card_number: String, cvv: String },
    BankTransfer { account: String, routing: String },
}

// Create ID for a specific variant
let id: EntityIDFor<PaymentMethod> =
    EntityIDFor::new_variant::<PaymentMethodCreditCard>("cc_123")?;
// Result: "PaymentMethodCreditCard/cc_123"

ID Accessors

let id = EntityIDFor::<Person>::new("terminusdb://data#Person/123")?;

id.id()            // "123" - just the ID part
id.typed()         // "Person/123" - type-prefixed
id.iri()           // "terminusdb://data#Person/123" - full IRI
id.get_type_name() // "Person" - type name only
id.get_base_uri()  // Some("terminusdb://data") - base URI if present

Lazy Loading (`TdbLazy<T>`)

TdbLazy<T> provides lazy-loading for relationships, storing either an ID reference or the loaded data. Unlike EntityIDFor<T>, it creates actual document links in the schema.

When to Use Each

Type	Schema Link	Lazy Loading	Use Case
`EntityIDFor<T>`	No	Manual	Lightweight foreign key references
`TdbLazy<T>`	Yes	Built-in	Full relationships with auto-loading

Basic Usage

use terminusdb_schema::TdbLazy;

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Writer {
    name: String,
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct BlogPost {
    title: String,
    writer: TdbLazy<Writer>,  // Lazy-loaded relationship
}

// Create with ID reference only (not loaded)
let post = BlogPost {
    title: "My Post".to_string(),
    writer: TdbLazy::new_id("writer-123")?,
};

// Or create with loaded data
let writer = Writer { name: "Alice".to_string() };
let post = BlogPost {
    title: "My Post".to_string(),
    writer: TdbLazy::from(writer),
};

Key Methods

// Check if data is loaded
if lazy_ref.is_loaded() {
    let data = lazy_ref.get_expect();  // Get loaded data (panics if not loaded)
}

// Get the ID reference
let id: &EntityIDFor<Writer> = lazy_ref.id();

// Lazy-load from database
let data = lazy_ref.get(&client)?;  // Fetches if not already loaded

// Convert to reference-only (discard loaded data)
lazy_ref.make_ref();  // Useful to avoid re-saving nested documents

Serialization Behavior

When loaded: Serializes as the full nested object
When ID-only: Serializes as just the ID string

// ID-only serializes as: "Writer/writer-123"
// Loaded serializes as: { "name": "Alice", ... }

Subdocuments

Subdocuments are embedded documents without independent identity—they exist only within their parent document and are stored inline.

When to Use Subdocuments

Value objects: Addresses, coordinates, configuration blocks
Tightly coupled data: Data that has no meaning outside its parent
Performance: Avoid separate database lookups for related data

Struct-Level Subdocument

Mark an entire type to always be embedded:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(subdocument = true, key = "value_hash")]
struct Address {
    street: String,
    city: String,
    country: String,
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Person {
    name: String,
    home_address: Address,  // Always embedded (Address is a subdocument type)
}

Field-Level Subdocument

Mark specific fields to be embedded, even if the type isn't always a subdocument:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Person {
    name: String,
    #[tdb(subdocument = true)]
    home_address: Address,     // Embedded subdocument
    employer: Company,         // Regular document reference (separate entity)
}

Subdocument Collections

Embed collections of subdocuments:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(subdocument = true)]
struct LineItem {
    product: String,
    quantity: i32,
    price: f64,
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Order {
    order_number: String,
    #[tdb(subdocument = true)]
    items: Vec<LineItem>,  // Vec of embedded subdocuments
}

TaggedUnion Subdocuments

When a tagged union is marked as subdocument, all its variants are also embedded:

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
#[tdb(subdocument = true)]
enum ContactMethod {
    Email { address: String, verified: bool },
    Phone { number: String, country_code: String },
    Address { street: String, city: String },
}

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct Person {
    name: String,
    #[tdb(subdocument = true)]
    contacts: Vec<ContactMethod>,  // All variants are embedded
}

Subdocuments vs Regular Documents

Aspect	Subdocuments	Regular Documents
Identity	Path-based (Parent/123/field/Child/456)	Own ID (Child/456)
Storage	Embedded in parent JSON	Separate document
Queries	Must query through parent	Directly queryable
Flattening	Never flattened to references	Flattened when serializing
Use Case	Value objects, embedded data	Standalone entities

Schema vs Instance vs Document

Understanding the terminology is crucial:

Schema: The structural definition of your data model. Created using client.schema::<T>() or client.insert_entity_schema::<T>().
Instance: A strongly-typed Rust struct that implements TerminusDBModel. Use *_instance methods like client.insert(), client.get(), client.has().
Document: An untyped JSON-like structure (serde_json::Value). Use *_document methods for working with raw JSON data.

Schema Insertion Workflow

Before inserting data, you must insert the schema:

// 1. Connect to database
let client = TerminusDBHttpClient::local_node().await?;
let db_name = "my_database";
client.ensure_database(db_name).await?;

// 2. Insert schema for your models
let branch = BranchSpec::from(db_name);
let args = DocumentInsertArgs::from(branch.clone());

client.schema::<User>(args.clone()).await?;  // Insert User schema
client.schema::<Address>(args.clone()).await?;  // Insert related schemas

// 3. Now you can insert instances
let user = User { /* ... */ };
client.insert(&user, args).await?;

Model Insertion and Retrieval

// Insert a model instance
let user = User {
    name: "Alice".to_string(),
    age: 30,
    active: true,
};

let result = client.insert(&user, args.clone()).await?;
println!("Inserted with ID: {:?}", result);

// Check if an instance exists
let exists = client.has::<User>("user_id", &branch).await?;

// Retrieve an instance
let retrieved_user = client.get::<User>("user_id", &branch).await?;

// Insert multiple instances
let users = vec![user1, user2, user3];
client.insert_many(&users, args).await?;

Query Construction

Use WOQL (Web Object Query Language) for advanced queries:

use terminusdb_woql_builder::prelude::*;

// Build a query using the WOQL builder
let v_id = vars!("id");
let v_name = vars!("name");

let query = WoqlBuilder::new()
    .triple(v_id.clone(), "name", v_name.clone())
    .isa(v_id.clone(), node("User"))
    .select(vec![v_name.clone()])
    .finalize();

// Execute the query
let response = client.query::<HashMap<String, String>>(
    Some(branch), 
    query
).await?;

for binding in response.bindings {
    println!("Found user: {}", binding.get("name").unwrap());
}

Error Handling and Troubleshooting

Schema Failures

// If you get schema failures, reset the database:
client.reset_database(db_name).await?;

// Schema failures typically occur when:
// 1. Model structure changed after inserting schema
// 2. Field types don't match previously inserted schema
// 3. Required fields are missing

Common Patterns

// Always ensure database exists before operations
client.ensure_database(db_name).await?;

// Insert schemas before inserting data
client.schema::<MyModel>(args.clone()).await?;

// Use the commit tracking for version control
let result = client.insert_instance_with_commit_id(&model, args).await?;
println!("Data version: {}", result.commit_id);

Special Types Support

TerminusDB-rs supports various Rust types:

use uuid::Uuid;
use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
use std::collections::HashMap;

#[derive(TerminusDBModel, Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
struct AdvancedModel {
    id: Uuid,                                    // UUID -> xsd:string
    created_at: DateTime<Utc>,                   // DateTime -> xsd:dateTime
    metadata: HashMap<String, serde_json::Value>, // HashMap -> sys:JSON
    tags: Vec<String>,                           // Vec -> List type
    data: serde_json::Value,                     // JSON -> sys:JSON
}

Features

Async/await support - Built with tokio for modern async Rust
Type-safe queries - Compile-time query validation with WOQL
Schema validation - Strong typing for TerminusDB documents
Cross-platform - Supports both native and WASM targets
Version tracking - Built-in commit ID tracking with headers
Flexible modeling - Support for enums, tagged unions, and nested structures

Development

This is a Cargo workspace. To build all crates:

cargo build

To run tests:

cargo test

License

Licensed under either of

Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

at your option.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Future Development

JavaScript Client Reference

For future development and feature parity, developers should reference the official JavaScript client:

Repository: https://github.com/terminusdb/terminusdb-client-js
Key files to study:
- lib/woqlClient.js - Main client implementation
- lib/connectionConfig.js - URL construction patterns
- lib/query/ - Query building functionality

Features to port from JS client:

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 305 Commits
.claude/commands		.claude/commands
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
.run		.run
.tasks		.tasks
crates		crates
docker		docker
docs		docs
examples		examples
plugins		plugins
tasks		tasks
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
.mcp.json		.mcp.json
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
README.md		README.md

ParapluOU/terminusdb-rs

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