Children

@tsed/schema

Usage

import { Children } from "@tsed/schema";

See /packages/specs/schema/src/decorators/class/children.ts.

Overview

function Children(...children: Type<any>[]): ClassDecorator;

• children (Type<any>[]): - Controller classes to register as children

Description

Declares child controller classes for route composition and hierarchy.

The @Children() decorator establishes parent-child relationships between controllers, allowing you to compose complex routing hierarchies and organize related endpoints into logical groups. Child controllers inherit the parent's base path.

Basic Usage

@Controller("/users")
@Children(UserProfileController, UserSettingsController)
class UserController {
  @Get("/")
  list() {
    // GET /users/
  }
}

@Controller("/profile")
class UserProfileController {
  @Get("/")
  getProfile() {
    // GET /users/profile/
  }
}

@Controller("/settings")
class UserSettingsController {
  @Get("/")
  getSettings() {
    // GET /users/settings/
  }
}

Multi-Level Hierarchy

@Controller("/api")
@Children(UsersController, ProductsController)
class ApiController {}

@Controller("/users")
@Children(UserProfileController, UserOrdersController)
class UsersController {}

@Controller("/profile")
class UserProfileController {
  @Get("/")
  get() {
    // GET /api/users/profile/
  }
}

Resource Organization

@Controller("/admin")
@Children(
  AdminUsersController,
  AdminProductsController,
  AdminReportsController
)
class AdminController {
  // Parent controller for all admin routes
}

Use Cases

• Route Organization: Group related endpoints logically
• API Versioning: Organize versions with child controllers
• Module Structure: Mirror application module hierarchy in routes
• Access Control: Apply middleware at parent level for all children
• Documentation: Generate organized OpenAPI specs with grouped endpoints

Benefits

• Maintainability: Keep related routes together
• Scalability: Easy to add new endpoint groups
• Clarity: Clear route hierarchy in codebase
• Reusability: Share middleware and configuration across children

Important Notes

• Children automatically inherit parent's base path
• Parent-child relationship is stored in metadata
• Useful for generating structured API documentation
• Middleware on parent applies to all children