Orionjs supports a variety of data types for schema definitions. This guide explains all available types and how to use them.

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Basic Types

The most common types are directly mapped from JavaScript/TypeScript types:

import {schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'

export const BasicTypesExample = schemaWithName('BasicTypesExample', {
  stringField: {type: String},        // Text values
  
  numberField: {type: Number},        // Numeric values (integers or floats)
  
  booleanField: {type: Boolean},      // true/false values
  
  dateField: {type: Date}             // Date and time values
})

export type BasicTypesExampleType = InferSchemaType<typeof BasicTypesExample>

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Special Types

Orionjs supports special types for common use cases:

export const SpecialTypesExample = schemaWithName('SpecialTypesExample', {
  idField: {type: 'ID'},        // String or number ID (typically for database IDs)
  
  emailField: {type: 'email'},  // Email with automatic format validation
  
  integerField: {type: 'integer'},   // Ensures whole numbers only
  
  blackboxField: {type: 'blackbox'}  // Any object without specific schema
})

export type SpecialTypesExampleType = InferSchemaType<typeof SpecialTypesExample>

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Array Types

Define arrays using TypeScript array syntax or the type option:

export const ArrayExample = schemaWithName('ArrayExample', {
  stringArray: {type: [String]},      // Array of strings
  
  numberArray: {type: [Number]},    // Alternative syntax
  
  limitedArray: {
    type: [String],
    minLength: 1,            // Minimum array length
    maxLength: 10            // Maximum array length
  }
})

export type ArrayExampleType = InferSchemaType<typeof ArrayExample>

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Nested Schema Types

You can use other schemas as types for nested structures:

import {schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'

export const AddressSchema = schemaWithName('AddressSchema', {
  street: {type: String},
  city: {type: String}
})

export type AddressType = InferSchemaType<typeof AddressSchema>

export const UserSchema = schemaWithName('UserSchema', {
  name: {type: String},
  
  // Nested schema
  address: {type: AddressSchema},
  
  // Array of schemas
  alternateAddresses: {type: [AddressSchema]}
})

export type UserType = InferSchemaType<typeof UserSchema>

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Enum Types

For fields with a limited set of allowed values, use the createEnum function:

import {createEnum, schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'

// Create a type-safe enum
export const StatusEnum = createEnum('StatusEnum', [
  'pending',
  'active',
  'completed'
] as const)

// Create a numeric enum
export const FibonacciEnum = createEnum('FibonacciEnum', [1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13] as const)

export const EnumExample = schemaWithName('EnumExample', {
  status: {type: StatusEnum},
  level: {type: FibonacciEnum}
})

export type EnumExampleType = InferSchemaType<typeof EnumExample>

Using createEnum provides type safety throughout your application:

  1. TypeScript knows exactly which values are allowed
  2. The schema validation ensures only valid enum values are accepted
  3. GraphQL will expose the enum as a proper GraphQL enum type

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Custom Types

You can create custom types by extending existing ones:

import {createType, schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'

// Custom type for phone numbers
const PhoneNumber = createType({
  name: 'phoneNumber',
  validate(value) {
    const regex = /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/
    if (!regex.test(value)) {
      return 'invalid-phone-number'
    }
  },
  clean(value) {
    // Remove spaces and dashes
    return value.replace(/[\s-]/g, '')
  }
})

export const ContactSchema = schemaWithName('ContactSchema', {
  phone: {type: PhoneNumber}
})

export type ContactType = InferSchemaType<typeof ContactSchema>

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Optional Types

Make any field optional using the optional parameter:

export const OptionalExample = schemaWithName('OptionalExample', {
  optionalField: {type: String, optional: true}    // Explicit definition
})

export type OptionalExampleType = InferSchemaType<typeof OptionalExample>

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