Georm

A simple, type-safe SQLx ORM for PostgreSQL

Overview

Georm is a lightweight, opinionated Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) library built on top of SQLx for PostgreSQL. It provides a clean, type-safe interface for common database operations while leveraging SQLx's compile-time query verification.

Key Features

• Type Safety: Compile-time verified SQL queries using SQLx macros
• Zero Runtime Cost: No reflection or runtime query building
• Simple API: Intuitive derive macros for common operations
• Relationship Support: One-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships
• Composite Primary Keys: Support for multi-field primary keys
• Defaultable Fields: Easy entity creation with database defaults and auto-generated values
• PostgreSQL Native: Optimized for PostgreSQL features and data types

Quick Start

Installation

Add Georm and SQLx to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
sqlx = { version = "0.8.6", features = ["runtime-tokio-rustls", "postgres", "macros"] }
georm = "0.1"

Basic Usage

1. Define your database schema:

CREATE TABLE authors (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE posts (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    title VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL,
    content TEXT NOT NULL,
    published BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
    author_id INT NOT NULL REFERENCES authors(id),
    created_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

2. Define your Rust entities:

use georm::Georm;

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "authors")]
pub struct Author {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub name: String,
    pub email: String,
}

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "posts")]
pub struct Post {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub title: String,
    pub content: String,
    pub published: bool,
    #[georm(relation = {
        entity = Author,
        table = "authors",
        name = "author"
    })]
    pub author_id: i32,
    pub created_at: chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>,
}

3. Use the generated methods:

use sqlx::PgPool;

async fn example(pool: &PgPool) -> sqlx::Result<()> {
    // Create an author
    let author = Author {
        id: 0, // Will be auto-generated
        name: "Jane Doe".to_string(),
        email: "jane@example.com".to_string(),
    };
    let author = author.create(pool).await?;

    // Create a post
    let post = Post {
        id: 0,
        title: "Hello, Georm!".to_string(),
        content: "This is my first post using Georm.".to_string(),
        published: false,
        author_id: author.id,
        created_at: chrono::Utc::now(),
    };
    let post = post.create(pool).await?;

    // Find all posts
    let all_posts = Post::find_all(pool).await?;

    // Get the post's author
    let post_author = post.get_author(pool).await?;

    println!("Post '{}' by {}", post.title, post_author.name);

    Ok(())
}

Advanced Features

Composite Primary Keys

Georm supports composite primary keys by marking multiple fields with #[georm(id)]:

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "user_roles")]
pub struct UserRole {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub user_id: i32,
    #[georm(id)]
    pub role_id: i32,
    pub assigned_at: chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>,
}

This automatically generates a composite ID struct:

// Generated automatically
pub struct UserRoleId {
    pub user_id: i32,
    pub role_id: i32,
}

// Usage
let id = UserRoleId { user_id: 1, role_id: 2 };
let user_role = UserRole::find(pool, &id).await?;

Note: Relationships are not yet supported for entities with composite primary keys.

Defaultable Fields

For fields with database defaults or auto-generated values, use the defaultable attribute:

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "posts")]
pub struct Post {
    #[georm(id, defaultable)]
    pub id: i32,                    // Auto-generated serial
    pub title: String,
    #[georm(defaultable)]
    pub published: bool,            // Has database default (false)
    #[georm(defaultable)]
    pub created_at: chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>, // DEFAULT NOW()
    pub author_id: i32,
}

This generates a PostDefault struct for easier creation:

use georm::Defaultable;

let post_default = PostDefault {
    id: None,                       // Let database auto-generate
    title: "My Post".to_string(),
    published: None,                // Use database default
    created_at: None,               // Use database default (NOW())
    author_id: 42,
};

let created_post = post_default.create(pool).await?;

Relationships

Georm supports comprehensive relationship modeling with two approaches: field-level relationships for foreign keys and struct-level relationships for reverse lookups.

Field-Level Relationships (Foreign Keys)

Use the relation attribute on foreign key fields to generate lookup methods:

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "posts")]
pub struct Post {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub title: String,
    #[georm(relation = {
        entity = Author,        // Target entity type
        table = "authors",      // Target table name
        name = "author",        // Method name (generates get_author)
        remote_id = "id",       // Target table's key column (default: "id")
        nullable = false        // Whether relationship can be null (default: false)
    })]
    pub author_id: i32,
}

Generated method: post.get_author(pool).await? -> Author

For nullable relationships:

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(table = "posts")]
pub struct Post {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub title: String,
    #[georm(relation = {
        entity = Category,
        table = "categories",
        name = "category",
        nullable = true         // Allows NULL values
    })]
    pub category_id: Option<i32>,
}

Generated method: post.get_category(pool).await? -> Option<Category>

Struct-Level Relationships (Reverse Lookups)

Define relationships at the struct level to query related entities that reference this entity:

One-to-One Relationships

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(
    table = "users",
    one_to_one = [{
        entity = Profile,       // Related entity type
        name = "profile",       // Method name (generates get_profile)
        table = "profiles",     // Related table name
        remote_id = "user_id",  // Foreign key in related table
    }]
)]
pub struct User {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub username: String,
}

Generated method: user.get_profile(pool).await? -> Option<Profile>

One-to-Many Relationships

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(
    table = "authors",
    one_to_many = [{
        entity = Post,          // Related entity type
        name = "posts",         // Method name (generates get_posts)
        table = "posts",        // Related table name
        remote_id = "author_id" // Foreign key in related table
    }, {
        entity = Comment,       // Multiple relationships allowed
        name = "comments",
        table = "comments",
        remote_id = "author_id"
    }]
)]
pub struct Author {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub name: String,
}

Generated methods:

• author.get_posts(pool).await? -> Vec<Post>
• author.get_comments(pool).await? -> Vec<Comment>

Many-to-Many Relationships

For many-to-many relationships, specify the link table that connects the entities:

-- Example schema for books and genres
CREATE TABLE books (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    title VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE genres (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE book_genres (
    book_id INT NOT NULL REFERENCES books(id),
    genre_id INT NOT NULL REFERENCES genres(id),
    PRIMARY KEY (book_id, genre_id)
);

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(
    table = "books",
    many_to_many = [{
        entity = Genre,         // Related entity type
        name = "genres",        // Method name (generates get_genres)
        table = "genres",       // Related table name
        remote_id = "id",       // Primary key in related table (default: "id")
        link = {                // Link table configuration
            table = "book_genres",  // Join table name
            from = "book_id",       // Column referencing this entity
            to = "genre_id"         // Column referencing related entity
        }
    }]
)]
pub struct Book {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub title: String,
}

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(
    table = "genres",
    many_to_many = [{
        entity = Book,
        name = "books",
        table = "books",
        link = {
            table = "book_genres",
            from = "genre_id",      // Note: reversed perspective
            to = "book_id"
        }
    }]
)]
pub struct Genre {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub name: String,
}

Generated methods:

• book.get_genres(pool).await? -> Vec<Genre>
• genre.get_books(pool).await? -> Vec<Book>

Relationship Attribute Reference

Attribute	Description	Required	Default
entity	Target entity type	Yes	N/A
name	Method name (generates get_{name})	Yes	N/A
table	Target table name	Yes	N/A
remote_id	Target table's key column	No	"id"
nullable	Whether relationship can be null (field-level only)	No	false
link.table	Join table name (many-to-many only)	Yes*	N/A
link.from	Column referencing this entity (many-to-many only)	Yes*	N/A
link.to	Column referencing target entity (many-to-many only)	Yes*	N/A

*Required for many-to-many relationships

Complex Relationship Example

Here's a comprehensive example showing multiple relationship types:

#[derive(Georm)]
#[georm(
    table = "posts",
    one_to_many = [{
        entity = Comment,
        name = "comments",
        table = "comments",
        remote_id = "post_id"
    }],
    many_to_many = [{
        entity = Tag,
        name = "tags",
        table = "tags",
        link = {
            table = "post_tags",
            from = "post_id",
            to = "tag_id"
        }
    }]
)]
pub struct Post {
    #[georm(id)]
    pub id: i32,
    pub title: String,
    pub content: String,

    // Field-level relationship (foreign key)
    #[georm(relation = {
        entity = Author,
        table = "authors",
        name = "author"
    })]
    pub author_id: i32,

    // Nullable field-level relationship
    #[georm(relation = {
        entity = Category,
        table = "categories",
        name = "category",
        nullable = true
    })]
    pub category_id: Option<i32>,
}

Generated methods:

• post.get_author(pool).await? -> Author (from field relation)
• post.get_category(pool).await? -> Option<Category> (nullable field relation)
• post.get_comments(pool).await? -> Vec<Comment> (one-to-many)
• post.get_tags(pool).await? -> Vec<Tag> (many-to-many)

API Reference

Core Operations

All entities implementing Georm<Id> get these methods:

// Query operations
Post::find_all(pool).await?;              // Find all posts
Post::find(pool, &post_id).await?;        // Find by ID

// Mutation operations
post.create(pool).await?;                 // Insert new record
post.update(pool).await?;                 // Update existing record
post.create_or_update(pool).await?;       // Upsert operation
post.delete(pool).await?;                 // Delete this record
Post::delete_by_id(pool, &post_id).await?; // Delete by ID

// Utility
post.get_id();                            // Get entity ID

Defaultable Operations

Entities with defaultable fields get a companion <Entity>Default struct:

// Create with defaults
post_default.create(pool).await?;

Configuration

Attributes Reference

Struct-level attributes

#[georm(
    table = "table_name",                   // Required: database table name
    one_to_one = [{ /* ... */ }],           // Optional: one-to-one relationships
    one_to_many = [{ /* ... */ }],          // Optional: one-to-many relationships
    many_to_many = [{ /* ... */ }]          // Optional: many-to-many relationships
)]

Field-level attributes

#[georm(id)]                               // Mark as primary key
#[georm(defaultable)]                      // Mark as defaultable field
#[georm(relation = { /* ... */ })]         // Define relationship

Performance

Georm is designed for zero runtime overhead:

• Compile-time queries: All SQL is verified at compile time
• No reflection: Direct field access, no runtime introspection
• Minimal allocations: Efficient use of owned vs borrowed data
• SQLx integration: Leverages SQLx's optimized PostgreSQL driver

Examples

Comprehensive Example

For an example showcasing user management, comments, and follower relationships, see the example in examples/postgres/users-comments-and-followers/. This example demonstrates:

• User management and profile management
• Comment system with user associations
• Follower/following relationships (many-to-many)
• Interactive CLI interface with CRUD operations
• Database migrations and schema setup

To run the example:

# Set up your database
export DATABASE_URL="postgres://username:password@localhost/georm_example"

# Run migrations
cargo sqlx migrate run

# Run the example
cd examples/postgres/users-comments-and-followers
cargo run help # For a list of all available actions

Comparison

Feature	Georm	SeaORM	Diesel
Compile-time safety	✅	✅	✅
Relationship support	✅	✅	✅
Async support	✅	✅	⚠️
Learning curve	Low	Medium	High
Macro simplicity	✅	❌	❌
Advanced queries	❌	✅	✅

Roadmap

High Priority

• Transaction Support: Comprehensive transaction handling with atomic operations

Medium Priority

• Composite Key Relationships: Add relationship support (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many) for entities with composite primary keys
• Multi-Database Support: MySQL and SQLite support with feature flags
• Field-Based Queries: Generate find_by_{field_name} methods that return Vec<T> for regular fields or Option<T> for unique fields
• Relationship Optimization: Eager loading and N+1 query prevention
• Soft Delete: Optional soft delete with deleted_at timestamps

Lower Priority

• Migration Support: Schema generation and evolution utilities
• Enhanced Error Handling: Custom error types with better context

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.86+: Georm uses modern Rust features and follows the MSRV specified in rust-toolchain.toml
• PostgreSQL 12+: Required for running tests and development
• Git: For version control
• Jujutsu: For version control (alternative to Git)

Required Tools

The following tools are used in the development workflow:

• just: Task runner for common development commands
• cargo-deny: License and security auditing
• sqlx-cli: Database migrations and management
• bacon: Background code checker (optional but recommended)

Install these tools:

# Install just (task runner)
cargo install just

# Install cargo-deny (for auditing)
cargo install cargo-deny

# Install sqlx-cli (for database management)
cargo install sqlx-cli --no-default-features --features native-tls,postgres

# Install bacon (optional, for live feedback)
cargo install bacon

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Phundrak/georm.git
cd georm

# Set up your PostgreSQL database and set DATABASE_URL
export DATABASE_URL="postgres://username:password@localhost/georm_test"

# Run migrations
just migrate

# Run all tests
just test

# Run linting
just lint

# Run security audit
just audit

# Run all checks (format, lint, audit, test)
just check-all

Available Commands (via just)

just                   # Default: run linting
just build             # Build the project
just build-release     # Build in release mode
just test              # Run all tests
just lint              # Run clippy linting
just audit             # Run security and license audit
just migrate           # Run database migrations
just format            # Format all code
just format-check      # Check code formatting
just check-all         # Run all checks (format, lint, audit, test)
just clean             # Clean build artifacts

Running Specific Tests

# Run tests for a specific module
cargo test --test simple_struct
cargo test --test defaultable_struct
cargo test --test m2m_relationship

# Run tests with output
cargo test -- --nocapture

# Run a specific test function
cargo test defaultable_struct_should_exist

Development with Bacon (Optional)

For continuous feedback during development:

# Run clippy continuously
bacon

# Run tests continuously
bacon test

# Build docs continuously
bacon doc

Devenv Development Environment (Optional)

If you use Nix, you can use the provided devenv configuration for a reproducible development environment:

# Enter the development shell with all tools pre-installed
devenv shell

# Or use direnv for automatic environment activation
direnv allow

The devenv configuration provides:

• Exact Rust version (1.86) with required components
• All development tools (just, cargo-deny, sqlx-cli, bacon)
• LSP support (rust-analyzer)
• SQL tooling (sqls for SQL language server)
• PostgreSQL database for development

Devenv configuration:

• Rust toolchain: Specified version with rustfmt, clippy, and rust-analyzer
• Development tools: just, cargo-deny, sqlx-cli, bacon
• SQL tools: sqls (SQL language server)
• Database: PostgreSQL with automatic setup
• Platform support: Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, etc.)

Database Setup for Tests

Tests require a PostgreSQL database. Set up a test database:

-- Connect to PostgreSQL as superuser
CREATE DATABASE georm_test;
CREATE USER georm_user WITH PASSWORD 'georm_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE georm_test TO georm_user;

Set the environment variable:

export DATABASE_URL="postgres://georm_user:georm_password@localhost/georm_test"

IDE Setup

• Ensure rust-analyzer is configured
• Set up PostgreSQL connection for SQL syntax highlighting

Code Style

The project uses standard Rust formatting:

# Format code
just format

# Check formatting (CI)
just format-check

Clippy linting is enforced:

# Run linting
just lint

# Fix auto-fixable lints
cargo clippy --fix

License

Licensed under either of

• MIT License (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
• GNU General Public License v3.0 (LICENSE-GPL or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html)

at your option.

Acknowledgments

• Built on top of the excellent SQLx library
• Inspired by Hibernate