RecordId<Tb, Id>

The RecordId class provides type-safe record identifiers in SurrealDB. Each record ID consists of a table name and an ID value, represented as table:id in SurrealQL.

Import:

import { RecordId } from 'surrealdb';

Source: value/record-id.ts

Type Parameters

• Tb extends string - The table name (string literal type for type safety)
• Id - The ID value type (string, number, object, etc.)

Constructor

new RecordId(table, id, validate?)

Create a new record identifier.

Syntax
new RecordId(table, id, validate?)

Parameters

Examples

// String IDs
const user = new RecordId('users', 'john');
const post = new RecordId('posts', '123');

// Numeric IDs
const product = new RecordId('products', 42);

// Complex/structured IDs
const metric = new RecordId('metrics', { 
    service: 'api', 
    timestamp: 1234567890 
});

// Array IDs
const compound = new RecordId('items', ['type-a', 123]);

// Nested RecordId
const nested = new RecordId('links', new RecordId('users', 'alice'));

// Type-safe with generics
const typedUser = new RecordId<'users', string>('users', 'john');

Properties

tb

The table name component.

Type: Tb

const userId = new RecordId('users', 'john');
console.log(userId.tb); // 'users'

id

The ID value component.

Type: Id

const userId = new RecordId('users', 'john');
console.log(userId.id); // 'john'

const productId = new RecordId('products', 42);
console.log(productId.id); // 42

Static Methods

RecordId.parse(string)

Parse a record ID from its string representation.

Syntax
RecordId.parse(str)

Parameters

Returns

RecordId - The parsed record ID

Examples

// Parse simple IDs
const user = RecordId.parse('users:john');
const post = RecordId.parse('posts:123');

// Parse complex IDs
const metric = RecordId.parse('metrics:{ service: "api", time: 1234567890 }');

// Use in queries
const userId = RecordId.parse('users:alice');
const user = await db.select(userId);

RecordId.from(value)

Create a record ID from various value types.

Syntax
RecordId.from(value)

Parameters

Returns

RecordId | undefined - The record ID or undefined if conversion fails

const rid = RecordId.from('users:john');
const same = RecordId.from(new RecordId('users', 'john'));

Instance Methods

.toString()

Convert the record ID to its string representation.

Syntax
recordId.toString()

Returns

string - String representation in format table:id

Examples

const userId = new RecordId('users', 'john');
console.log(userId.toString()); // 'users:john'

const productId = new RecordId('products', 42);
console.log(productId.toString()); // 'products:42'

const complex = new RecordId('items', { type: 'widget', id: 5 });
console.log(complex.toString()); // 'items:{ type: "widget", id: 5 }'

.toJSON()

Serialize the record ID for JSON.

Syntax
recordId.toJSON()

Returns

string - JSON-safe string representation

const userId = new RecordId('users', 'john');
console.log(JSON.stringify(userId)); // '"users:john"'

.equals(other)

Check if two record IDs are equal.

Syntax
recordId.equals(other)

Parameters

Returns

boolean - True if equal

const a = new RecordId('users', 'john');
const b = new RecordId('users', 'john');
const c = new RecordId('users', 'jane');

console.log(a.equals(b)); // true
console.log(a.equals(c)); // false

Complete Examples

Basic Usage

import { Surreal, RecordId } from 'surrealdb';

const db = new Surreal();
await db.connect('ws://localhost:8000');

// Create record with specific ID
const user = await db.create(new RecordId('users', 'john'))
    .content({
        name: 'John Doe',
        email: 'john@example.com'
    });

// Select by record ID
const retrieved = await db.select(new RecordId('users', 'john'));

// Update by record ID
await db.update(new RecordId('users', 'john'))
    .merge({ status: 'active' });

// Delete by record ID
await db.delete(new RecordId('users', 'john'));

Type-Safe Record IDs

interface User {
    id: RecordId<'users', string>;
    name: string;
    email: string;
}

// TypeScript enforces correct table name
const userId: RecordId<'users', string> = new RecordId('users', 'alice');

// This would be a type error:
// const wrong: RecordId<'posts', string> = new RecordId('users', 'alice');

const user = await db.select<User>(userId);

Complex ID Structures

// Time-series data with structured IDs
const metricId = new RecordId('metrics', {
    service: 'api',
    host: 'server-01',
    timestamp: 1234567890
});

await db.create(metricId).content({
    cpu: 45.2,
    memory: 78.1
});

// Compound keys
const sessionId = new RecordId('sessions', {
    userId: 'john',
    deviceId: 'device-123'
});

Parsing from Strings

// Parse user input
const userInput = 'users:john';
const userId = RecordId.parse(userInput);
const user = await db.select(userId);

// Parse from query results
const result = await db.query('SELECT id FROM users:john').collect();
const recordId = RecordId.parse(result[0].id);

Working with Relations

// Create relationship using record IDs
const from = new RecordId('users', 'john');
const to = new RecordId('posts', '123');

const edge = await db.relate(
    from,
    new Table('likes'),
    to,
    { timestamp: DateTime.now() }
);

console.log('Edge from:', edge.in);  // RecordId('users', 'john')
console.log('Edge to:', edge.out);   // RecordId('posts', '123')

UUID-based Record IDs

import { Uuid } from 'surrealdb';

// Generate time-ordered IDs
const userId = new RecordId('users', Uuid.v7());

// Generate random IDs
const sessionId = new RecordId('sessions', Uuid.v4());

await db.create(userId).content({
    name: 'Alice',
    created: DateTime.now()
});

Validation

// Validate table names (enabled by default)
try {
    const invalid = new RecordId('invalid-table!', 'id');
} catch (error) {
    console.error('Invalid table name');
}

// Skip validation
const unvalidated = new RecordId('any-name', 'id', false);

RecordIdRange

The RecordIdRange class represents a range of record IDs for querying multiple records.

Constructor

new RecordIdRange(table, begin, end)

Parameters

Examples

import { RecordIdRange } from 'surrealdb';

// Select range of users from 'a' to 'f'
const range = new RecordIdRange('users', 'a', 'f');
const users = await db.select(range);

// Numeric range
const numRange = new RecordIdRange('items', 1, 100);
const items = await db.select(numRange);

// Update range
await db.update(new RecordIdRange('users', 'a', 'f'))
    .merge({ verified: true });

// Delete range
await db.delete(new RecordIdRange('logs', '2024-01-01', '2024-02-01'));

Best Practices

1. Use Type Parameters

// Good: Type-safe
type UserId = RecordId<'users', string>;
const userId: UserId = new RecordId('users', 'john');

// Better: Enforce at compile time
function getUser(id: RecordId<'users', string>) {
    return db.select(id);
}

2. Prefer RecordId Over Strings

// Good: Type-safe with validation
const user = await db.select(new RecordId('users', 'john'));

// Avoid: String-based (no validation)
const user = await db.query('SELECT * FROM users:john').collect();

3. Use Structured IDs for Complex Keys

// Good: Structured composite key
const id = new RecordId('events', {
    userId: 'john',
    timestamp: Date.now()
});

// Avoid: String concatenation
const id = new RecordId('events', `john-${Date.now()}`);

4. Handle Parsing Errors

// Good: Safe parsing
try {
    const id = RecordId.parse(userInput);
    const record = await db.select(id);
} catch (error) {
    console.error('Invalid record ID format');
}

See Also

• Data Types Overview - All custom data types
• Table - Table references
• Query Builders - Using RecordId in queries
• SurrealQL Record IDs - Database record ID documentation