Glossary

Every framework term used in these docs, in one place. Links point to the page where each term is defined in depth.

A

Action. A custom endpoint registered with server.Action(...). Runs a trimmed pipeline (Auth → action middleware → handler → Response); the Deserialize, Validate, Service, and DB steps are skipped. See Custom Endpoints.

Adapter. An implementation of the maniflex.DBAdapter interface. Two ship: db/sqlite and db/postgres. Custom backends implement the same interface. See Database Backends.

After (position). A middleware position that places the function after the step’s default handler. The middleware sees the result of the default (ctx.DBResult, ctx.Response). See Writing Middleware.

AuditRecord. The structured record produced by db.AuditLog — fields include Timestamp, Model, Operation, ResourceID, Actor, TenantID, RequestID, TraceID, ServiceName, and optionally a per-field Changes diff. See Audit Logging.

AuthInfo. The struct populated by Auth middleware and stored on ctx.Auth. Carries UserID, Roles, Claims, TenantID, IdentityType, Scopes, SessionID, AuthMethod. See ServerContext.

AutoMigrate. The startup phase that creates and alters tables to match registered models. Enabled by default via Config.AutoMigrate. See Database Backends.

B

BaseModel. The struct every registered model must embed. Contributes id (UUID, framework-assigned), created_at, and updated_at. See Models & BaseModel.

Batch. Multiple inserts or updates inside a single request, usually through a custom action that opens one transaction. See Batch Operations & Sagas.

Before (position). The default middleware position; the function runs before the step’s default handler. See Writing Middleware.

BelongsTo. A relation where this model carries the foreign key. Declared either by convention (UserID field → User) or explicitly with mfx:"relation:Name" plus a companion field of the target type. See Relations.

C

Cache (CacheStore). The generic key/value cache interface used by several middlewares (idempotency, rate limit, response cache). maniflex ships MemoryCache; satellite modules provide Redis-backed implementations. See cache.go.

Catalogue. The set of ready-made middleware shipping under maniflex/middleware/. See Middleware Catalogue.

ServerContext. The single per-request struct threaded through every pipeline step. Fields include Request, Writer, Ctx, Model, Operation, ResourceID, RawBody, ParsedBody, Query, DBResult, Response, Auth, Tx. See ServerContext.

Companion field. On an explicit BelongsTo relation, the struct field of the target type that accompanies the FK column. Required by mfx:"relation:Name"; the field is named Name and typed as the target model. See Relations.

Config (maniflex.Config). The single struct passed to maniflex.New. Every field has a sensible default. See Configuration.

D

DBAdapter. The interface implemented by every database backend. Methods: FindByID, FindMany, Create, Update, Delete, BeginTx, Raw, Ping. See Database Backends.

Diff (versioning). The per-field {old, new} map written into the diff column of a history row. Hidden, writeonly, and encrypted fields are excluded. See Versioning & History.

E

Embed. A BaseModel, WithDeletedAt, or WithIsDeleted value included in a model struct as an anonymous field. Embeds contribute columns and turn on framework behaviour. See Models & BaseModel and Soft Delete.

Envelope (storage). The binary blob produced by KeyProvider.Encrypt, stored in the database as enc:<base64(envelope)>. The envelope embeds its keyID so Decrypt can route to the right key. See Encryption at Rest.

Envelope (response). The JSON shape {"data": ...} (success) or {"error": {...}} (failure). Customisable via response.Envelope. See Response Envelope.

F

FieldMeta. The framework’s per-field metadata, derived from a struct field’s json / db / mfx tags by parseFieldTags. Stored on ModelMeta.Fields. See Models & BaseModel.

FileStorage. The interface for file backends. maniflex/storage ships LocalStorage; custom implementations cover S3, R2, GCS. See File Fields & Uploads.

Filter / FilterExpr. A parsed ?filter= expression. A slice of these on ctx.Query.Filters becomes the SQL WHERE clause. See Querying.

G

Generate (OpenAPI step). The middle step of the OpenAPI pipeline that builds the *OpenAPISpec from the registry. After-position middleware customises the spec. See OpenAPI Spec.

H

Handler (action). The func(ctx *maniflex.ServerContext) error registered with server.Action(...) as an action’s body. See Custom Endpoints.

HasMany. A relation declared as a slice field of the related struct. No column on this table; the related table carries the FK. See Relations.

HMAC column. A {field}_hmac companion column auto-created for mfx:"encrypted,unique" fields, storing a keyed digest so uniqueness can be enforced without comparing ciphertexts. See Encryption at Rest.

History table. The {model}_history sibling table created for a maniflex.ModelConfig{Versioned: true} model. Receives one row per write to the source model. See Versioning & History.

I

Idempotency-Key. The HTTP header consumed by middleware/idempotency to deduplicate retries. The first request runs; subsequent requests with the same key replay the cached response. See Idempotency.

IdentityType. The AuthInfo field classifying the principal — Human, ServiceAccount, or Anonymous. See ServerContext.

Immutable (tag). A mfx: directive that accepts a value on create but strips it on update. See Field Tags Reference.

Include. The ?include=relationKey,... query parameter that populates related rows inline in the response. See Relations and Querying.

Index (IndexSpec). A declared database index, created during AutoMigrate. Declared in ModelConfig.Indices or auto-generated for mfx:"scheduled" columns. See model.go.

J

Junction (model). The third model in a many-to-many relation, carrying the two FKs. Named via mfx:"through:JunctionModel" on both sides. See Relations.

K

KeyProvider. The interface that the encryption subsystem uses to encrypt, decrypt, and HMAC field values. Implementations: EnvKeyProvider, VaultKeyProvider. See Encryption at Rest.

L

LockForUpdate. A *ServerContext method that acquires a row-level write lock inside an active transaction. SELECT ... FOR UPDATE on Postgres; transaction-level lock on SQLite. See Transactions.

M

MiddlewareFunc. The signature every pipeline middleware must satisfy: func(ctx *maniflex.ServerContext, next func() error) error. See Writing Middleware.

ModelAccessor. The CRUD helper returned by ctx.GetModel(name). Exposes List, Read, Create, Update, Delete for any registered model, routed through ctx.Tx when set. See ServerContext.

ModelConfig. The per-model options passed alongside a struct in MustRegister. Fields: TableName, SoftDelete, Middleware, Versioned, VersionedDiffOnly, Indices. See Models & BaseModel.

ModelMeta. The framework’s runtime description of a registered model. Carries Name, TableName, Fields, Relations, SoftDelete, Config, Indices, and resolved scheduled specs.

O

OnDelete. The referential action attached to a foreign key — cascade, setNull, restrict, or unset. See Relations.

Operation (maniflex.Operation). The CRUD verb identifying a request: OpList, OpRead, OpCreate, OpUpdate, OpDelete, OpHead, OpOptions, OpAction. See Pipeline Overview.

Outbox. The transactional outbox pattern: a row written in the same transaction as the primary write, consumed by a background worker for external side effects (emails, webhooks, events). See Batch Operations & Sagas.

P

Pipeline. The six-step request pipeline (Auth → Deserialize → Validate → Service → DB → Response) and its sibling OpenAPI pipeline. See Pipeline Overview.

Position. Where in a step’s chain a middleware sits — Before (default), After, or Replace. See Writing Middleware.

Q

Query model. A read-only model registered with a SQL body (ModelConfig.QueryModel) instead of a table. Generates filterable, sortable list endpoints from a custom SELECT. See Raw Queries & Query Models.

QueryParams. The parsed ?page=&limit=&filter=&sort=&include= of a request, stored on ctx.Query. See Querying.

R

Registry. The in-memory map of every registered *ModelMeta. Built by MustRegister, consumed by the adapter and the router. See Architecture.

Relation. A connection between two models — BelongsTo, HasMany, or ManyToMany. See Relations.

Replace (position). A middleware position that substitutes the step’s default handler entirely. The last matching Replace middleware wins. See Writing Middleware.

S

Saga. A multi-step workflow composed of forward steps and compensating undos, usually implemented via a transactional outbox and a worker. See Batch Operations & Sagas.

Scheduled (tag / runner). mfx:"scheduled;..." declares a time-driven transition on a *time.Time column. The scheduled.Runner sweeps the rows and applies the transition. See Scheduled Fields.

Service name. Config.ServiceName. Identifies the service in logs, audit records, and the X-Service-Name response header. See Configuration.

Soft delete. Marking a row as deleted instead of removing it. Opt in via maniflex.WithDeletedAt (timestamp) or maniflex.WithIsDeleted (boolean). See Soft Delete.

Step (StepRegistry). One of the six pipeline steps. Exposes Register(fn, opts...) to attach middleware. See Pipeline Overview.

T

Tag (mfx: directive). A comma-separated list in a struct field’s mfx tag declaring per-field behaviour. See Field Tags Reference.

TenantID. The AuthInfo field that scopes a principal to one tenant. Populated by JWT auth (TenantClaim) or by custom Auth middleware. See Auth Middleware.

Through (tag). mfx:"through:JunctionModel" declares a many-to-many relation via a named junction model. See Relations.

Trace (PipelineTrace). Debug-level pipeline tracing controlled by Config.Trace. Sub-flags: Steps, Timings, Aborts, Bodies, Skips. See Configuration.

Tx. A transaction handle returned by ctx.BeginTx (or the underlying adapter). Stored on ctx.Tx; the default DB step routes through it automatically. See Transactions.

V

Versioned (config). ModelConfig.Versioned = true writes a row to the sibling {model}_history table on every change to the source model. See Versioning & History.

W

WithTransaction. The catalogue middleware that wraps the DB step in a transaction, committing on success and rolling back on error. See Transactions.

writeonly. A tag directive that accepts the field on input but strips it from responses. Standard choice for passwords. See Field Tags Reference.