How to generate types from Supabase schema?

 

Step 1: Set Up Supabase

 

• Make sure you have a Supabase project set up. If not, you can start by creating an account at Supabase and setting up your database.

• Get your API URL and the Anon key from your Supabase project dashboard. These will be used to connect your application to the Supabase instance.

 

Step 2: Install Supabase CLI

 

• Supabase CLI is required for generating types. To install it, you should have Node.js installed on your system. Use the following command to install the Supabase CLI globally:

  npm install -g supabase

 

Step 3: Generate Types via Supabase CLI

 

• Once the Supabase CLI is installed, navigate to your project directory in the terminal.

• Use the following command to authenticate your CLI session with Supabase:

  supabase login

• Fetch the database schema from your Supabase project. Use this command to output the current schema to the console:

  supabase db dump

• To generate TypeScript types from the Supabase schema, run:

  supabase gen types typescript --db-url="your_database_url"

  Replace your_database_url with the connection URL of your Supabase project.

 

Step 4: Use the Generated Types in Your Project

 

• After generating the types, they are typically saved in the supabase/types directory within your project. Inspect this folder to confirm the TypeScript files.

• Import the generated types in your project files where you need to use them. For example:

  import { YourTableType } from './supabase/types';

• Use these types in your application to ensure type safety when dealing with data from your Supabase database.

 

Step 5: Automate Type Generation

 

• Consider creating a script in your package.json to automate this type generation process, especially if your database schema changes often. Here's an example of how to set it up:

  In your package.json, add:

  "scripts": {
    "generate:types": "supabase gen types typescript --db-url='your_database_url'"
  }

• Now, you can run this command anytime to update the types:

  npm run generate:types

 

Step 6: Incorporate Types with Supabase Client

 

• If you're using the Supabase client in your application, you can enhance it with the generated types to leverage TypeScript's type checking features:

  
  import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
  import { Database } from "./supabase/types"; // Adjust the path as needed
  
  const supabase = createClient("your_supabase_url", "your_anon_key");
  

• This will ensure that all your interactions with the database through the Supabase client are type-checked against your defined schema.

 

Step 7: Monitor for Schema Changes

 

• Regularly check and regenerate your types, especially when there are changes to your database schema. This keeps your codebase aligned with the actual data structure, improving reliability and reducing bugs.

 

Conclusion

 

• Generating types from your Supabase schema helps maintain type safety across your application, making it easier to manage database interactions and reduce runtime errors.