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Cratis

Proxy generation

Keeping frontend request types in sync with backend endpoints is repetitive work. Arc’s proxy generator turns your compiled commands, queries, and models into TypeScript clients, including React hooks and serialization metadata.

This is a standalone Arc capability. It does not require Chronicle or event sourcing; commands may call application services and return ordinary responses.

How it works

Section titled “How it works”

The CratisProxyGenerator MSBuild target runs after AfterBuild, when CratisProxiesOutputPath is nonempty. It launches a .NET executable over your compiled assembly. It is not a Roslyn source generator running inside the C# compilation.

C# endpoints and types
Compile assembly
Post-build proxy executable
Portable PDB symbols
TypeScript proxies and models
Frontend compilation

The executable discovers controller-based and model-bound endpoints, examines request and response types, extracts supported validation rules, and writes clients. PDB symbols optionally help choose output filenames; namespaces determine folders.

What you receive

Section titled “What you receive”
  • Commands: classes with typed properties, execute(), and React use() hooks.
  • Queries: one-shot or observable clients, parameter interfaces when needed, and React hooks.
  • Models: classes with runtime serialization metadata by default.
  • Enums: numeric TypeScript enums, including an all-flags constant for [Flags] enums.
  • Identity details: types discovered through IProvideIdentityDetails<TDetails>.
  • Barrel files: index.ts exports, unless generation is disabled.

There is no generated Bindings artifact or generated Bindings.initialize() call. Configure React with the Arc provider.

Choose your next step

Section titled “Choose your next step”
  1. Set up generation, including a safe output location and frontend dependencies.
  2. Inspect command, query, and type mapping contracts.
  3. Adjust configuration when your folder structure or routes differ from the defaults.
  4. Read output behavior before mixing generated and handwritten files. Cleanup is not a general-purpose source-preservation mechanism.

For specialized output, see identity details, validation extraction, file tracking, and linting generated proxies.