@seedcompany/data-loader

Yet another DataLoader for NestJS

As most were, this is inspired by TreeMan360/nestjs-graphql-dataloader

This one offers several differences over that and other forks:

• It works with any ExecutionContext, not just GraphQL
• It supports access inside guards not just interceptors & resolvers
• DataLoader instances are created separately from the strategy logic. Others handle this abstraction via extending a library provided class.
• Default configuration options can be given when the module is registered. Such as customizing error messages or setting a default max batch size.
• Like others, this library handles sorting the results to match the order of the keys. How the key is derived from the item is configurable via propertyKey.
• Errors can be returned from loadMany batch calls, but in a different shape compared to other libraries and raw dataloaders.

  { key: Key, error: Error }

  This allows us to match the error to the appropriate key without enforcing errors to contain them.
• Type aliases are provided to prevent having to duplicate Item & Key types at call site. Since parameter types have no enforceable correlation to their decorators, it's easy to mess up the item/key types when explicitly providing them. With this library the usage just references the loader strategy which declares the item/key types.

  @Loader(UsersById) users: LoaderOf<UsersById>

• The @Loader() decorator is durable against referencing a strategy that nodejs hasn't loaded yet. Helpful errors are thrown in this case and we provide an alternative syntax to defer the reference (just like @nestjs/graphql)

  @Loader(() => UsersById)

Usage

Import the module in your app.

DataLoaderModule.register({
  // Any default options for all loaders
})

Create a strategy class that implements DataLoaderStrategy<Item, Key>

@Injectable({ scope: Scope.REQUEST })
class UsersById implements DataLoaderStrategy<User, string> {
  constructor(
    private readonly usersService: UsersService,
  ) {}

  async loadMany(ids: string[]) {
    return this.usersService.findByIds(ids);
  }
}

Be sure to register the strategy as a provider in your module.

Inject the loader in your resolver and use it.

class Resolver {
  @Query()
  user(
    @Args('id') id: string,
    @Loader(UsersById) users: LoaderOf<UsersById>,
  ) {
    return users.load(id);
  }
}

Advanced Usage

It's possible to grab a loader instance outside a resolver, but an ExecutionContext is needed.

@Injectable()
class Thing {
  constructor(private dataLoaderContext: DataLoaderContext) {}

  something(context: ExecutionContext) {
    const users = this.dataLoaderContext.attachToExecutionContext(context).getLoader(UsersById);
    const user = users.load('id');
  }
}