Firestore ODM 🔥

Type-safe Firestore ODM for Dart/Flutter - zero reflection, code generation

20% faster runtime • 15% less code • Zero reflection • Full type safety

Documentation • Getting Started • Examples

🚀 Overview

Firestore ODM transforms your Firestore development experience with type-safe, intuitive database operations that feel natural and productive.

The Problem:

// Standard cloud_firestore - Runtime errors waiting to happen
DocumentSnapshot doc = await FirebaseFirestore.instance
  .collection('users').doc('user123').get();
Map<String, dynamic>? data = doc.data();
String name = data?['name'];  // ❌ Runtime error if field doesn't exist
int age = data?['profile']['age'];  // ❌ Nested access is fragile

The Solution:

// Firestore ODM - Compile-time safety
User? user = await db.users('user123').get();
String name = user.name;  // ✅ IDE autocomplete, compile-time checking
int age = user.profile.age;  // ✅ Type-safe nested access

Result: Zero reflection, 20% faster runtime, eliminate runtime errors.

🎉 New in Version 3.0!

The most stable and feature-complete release yet - over 90% of planned features complete!

Performance Improvements

Metric	Improvement	Impact
Runtime Performance	20% faster	Optimized code generation
Generated Code	15% smaller	Extension-based architecture
Compilation Speed	<1 second	Complex schemas compile instantly
Runtime Overhead	Zero	All magic at compile time

New Features & Capabilities

✅ Full generic model support - Generic classes with type-safe patch operations
✅ Complete JsonKey & JsonConverter support - Full serialization control
✅ Automatic conversion fallbacks - JsonConverter optional in most cases
✅ Enhanced map operations - Comprehensive map field support with atomic ops
✅ 100+ new test cases - Rigorous testing for production stability

⚡ Key Features

Type Safety Revolution

Feature	Standard Firestore	Firestore ODM
Type Safety	❌ Map<String, dynamic>	✅ Strong types throughout
Query Building	❌ String-based, error-prone	✅ Type-safe with IDE support
Data Updates	❌ Manual map construction	✅ Two powerful strategies
Generic Support	❌ No generic handling	✅ Full generic models
Aggregations	❌ Basic count only	✅ Comprehensive + streaming
Pagination	❌ Manual, risky	✅ Smart Builder, zero risk
Transactions	❌ Manual read-before-write	✅ Automatic deferred writes
Runtime Errors	❌ Common	✅ Eliminated at compile-time

Lightning Fast Code Generation

🚀 Inline-first optimized - Callables and Dart extensions for maximum performance
📦 15% less generated code - Smart generation without bloating your project
⚡ 20% performance improvement - Optimized runtime execution
🔄 Model reusability - Same model works in collections and subcollections
⏱️ Sub-second generation - Complex schemas compile in under 1 second
🎯 Zero runtime overhead - All magic happens at compile time

Revolutionary Features

Smart Builder Pagination - Eliminates common Firestore pagination bugs:

// Get first page with ordering
final page1 = await db.users
  .orderBy(($) => ($.followers(descending: true), $.name()))
  .limit(10)
  .get();

// Get next page with perfect type-safety - zero inconsistency risk
final page2 = await db.users
  .orderBy(($) => ($.followers(descending: true), $.name()))
  .startAfterObject(page1.last) // Auto-extracts cursor values
  .limit(10)
  .get();

Streaming Aggregations - Real-time aggregation subscriptions:

// Live statistics that update in real-time
db.users
  .where(($) => $.isActive(isEqualTo: true))
  .aggregate(($) => (
    count: $.count(),
    averageAge: $.age.average(),
    totalFollowers: $.profile.followers.sum(),
  ))
  .stream
  .listen((stats) {
    print('Live: ${stats.count} users, avg age ${stats.averageAge}');
  });

🔥 Before vs After

Smart Query Building

// ❌ Standard - String-based field paths, typos cause runtime errors
final result = await FirebaseFirestore.instance
  .collection('users')
  .where('isActive', isEqualTo: true)
  .where('profile.followers', isGreaterThan: 100)
  .where('age', isLessThan: 30)
  .get();

// ✅ ODM - Type-safe query builder with IDE support
final result = await db.users
  .where(($) => $.and(
    $.isActive(isEqualTo: true),
    $.profile.followers(isGreaterThan: 100),
    $.age(isLessThan: 30),
  ))
  .get();

Intelligent Updates

// ❌ Standard - Manual map construction, error-prone
await userDoc.update({
  'profile.followers': FieldValue.increment(1),
  'tags': FieldValue.arrayUnion(['verified']),
  'lastLogin': FieldValue.serverTimestamp(),
});

// ✅ ODM - Two powerful update strategies

// 1. Patch - Explicit atomic operations (Best Performance)
await userDoc.patch(($) => [
  $.profile.followers.increment(1),
  $.tags.add('verified'),              // Add single element
  $.tags.addAll(['premium', 'active']), // Add multiple elements
  $.scores.removeAll([0, -1]),         // Remove multiple elements
  $.lastLogin.serverTimestamp(),
]);

// 2. Modify - Smart atomic detection (Read + Auto-detect operations)
await userDoc.modify((user) => user.copyWith(
  age: user.age + 1,              // Auto-detects -> FieldValue.increment(1)
  tags: [...user.tags, 'expert'], // Auto-detects -> FieldValue.arrayUnion()
  lastLogin: FirestoreODM.serverTimestamp,
));

📦 Installation

1. Add Dependencies

dart pub add firestore_odm
dart pub add dev:firestore_odm_builder
dart pub add dev:build_runner

You'll also need a JSON serialization solution:

# If using Freezed (recommended)
dart pub add freezed_annotation
dart pub add dev:freezed
dart pub add dev:json_serializable

# If using plain classes
dart pub add json_annotation
dart pub add dev:json_serializable

2. Configure json_serializable (Critical for Nested Models)

⚠️ Important: If you're using models with nested objects (especially with Freezed), you must create a build.yaml file next to your pubspec.yaml:

# build.yaml
targets:
  $default:
    builders:
      json_serializable:
        options:
          explicit_to_json: true

Why is this required? Without this configuration, json_serializable generates broken toJson() methods for nested objects. Instead of proper JSON, you'll get Instance of 'NestedClass' stored in Firestore, causing data corruption and deserialization failures.

When you need this:

✅ Using nested Freezed classes
✅ Using nested objects with json_serializable
✅ Working with complex object structures
✅ Encountering "Instance of..." in Firestore console

Alternative: Add @JsonSerializable(explicitToJson: true) to individual classes if you can't use global configuration.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Define Your Model

// lib/models/user.dart
import 'package:firestore_odm_annotation/firestore_odm_annotation.dart';
import 'package:freezed_annotation/freezed_annotation.dart';

part 'user.freezed.dart';
part 'user.g.dart';

@freezed
class User with _$User {
  const factory User({
    @DocumentIdField() required String id,
    required String name,
    required String email,
    required int age,
    DateTime? lastLogin,
  }) = _User;

  factory User.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) => _$UserFromJson(json);
}

2. Define Your Schema

// lib/schema.dart
import 'package:firestore_odm_annotation/firestore_odm_annotation.dart';
import 'models/user.dart';

part 'schema.odm.dart';

@Schema()
@Collection<User>("users")
final appSchema = _$AppSchema;

3. Generate Code

dart run build_runner build --delete-conflicting-outputs

4. Start Using

import 'package:cloud_firestore/cloud_firestore.dart';
import 'package:firestore_odm/firestore_odm.dart';
import 'schema.dart';

final firestore = FirebaseFirestore.instance;
final db = FirestoreODM(appSchema, firestore: firestore);

// Create a user with custom ID
await db.users.insert(User(
  id: 'jane',
  name: 'Jane Smith',
  email: 'jane@example.com',
  age: 28,
));

// Create a user with auto-generated ID
await db.users.insert(User(
  id: FirestoreODM.autoGeneratedId,
  name: 'John Doe',
  email: 'john@example.com',
  age: 30,
));

// Get a user
final user = await db.users('jane').get();
print(user?.name); // "Jane Smith"

// Type-safe queries
final youngUsers = await db.users
  .where(($) => $.age(isLessThan: 30))
  .orderBy(($) => $.name())
  .get();

🌟 Advanced Features

Subcollections with Model Reusability

@Schema()
@Collection<User>("users")
@Collection<Post>("posts")
@Collection<Post>("users/*/posts") // Same Post model, different location
final appSchema = _$AppSchema;

// Access user's posts
final userPosts = db.users('jane').posts;
await userPosts.insert(Post(id: 'post1', title: 'Hello World!'));

Bulk Operations

// Update all premium users using patch (best performance)
await db.users
  .where(($) => $.isPremium(isEqualTo: true))
  .patch(($) => [$.points.increment(100)]);

// Update all premium users using modify (read + auto-detect atomic)
await db.users
  .where(($) => $.isPremium(isEqualTo: true))
  .modify((user) => user.copyWith(points: user.points + 100));

// Delete inactive users
await db.users
  .where(($) => $.status(isEqualTo: 'inactive'))
  .delete();

Smart Transactions

await db.runTransaction((tx) async {
  // All reads happen first automatically
  final sender = await tx.users('user1').get();
  final receiver = await tx.users('user2').get();

  // Writes are automatically deferred until the end
  tx.users('user1').patch(($) => [$.balance.increment(-100)]);
  tx.users('user2').patch(($) => [$.balance.increment(100)]);
});

Atomic Batch Operations

// Automatic management - simple and clean
await db.runBatch((batch) {
  batch.users.insert(newUser);
  batch.posts.update(existingPost);
  batch.users('user_id').posts.insert(userPost);
  batch.users('old_user').delete();
});

// Manual management - fine-grained control
final batch = db.batch();
batch.users.insert(user1);
batch.users.insert(user2);
batch.posts.update(post);
await batch.commit();

Server Timestamps & Auto-Generated IDs

// Server timestamps using patch (best performance)
await userDoc.patch(($) => [$.lastLogin.serverTimestamp()]);

// Server timestamps using modify (read + smart detection)
await userDoc.modify((user) => user.copyWith(
  loginCount: user.loginCount + 1,  // Uses current value + auto-detects increment
  lastLogin: FirestoreODM.serverTimestamp,
));

// Auto-generated document IDs
await db.users.insert(User(
  id: FirestoreODM.autoGeneratedId, // Server generates unique ID
  name: 'John Doe',
  email: 'john@example.com',
));

⚠️ Server Timestamp Warning: FirestoreODM.serverTimestamp must be used exactly as-is. Any arithmetic operations (+, .add(), etc.) will create a regular DateTime instead of a server timestamp. See the Server Timestamps Guide for alternatives.

📊 Performance & Technical Excellence

Optimized Code Generation (v3.0)

Metric	Value	Benefit
Runtime Performance	+20%	Optimized execution paths
Generated Code Size	-15%	Smart generation without bloat
Compilation Time	<1 second	Complex schemas compile instantly
Runtime Overhead	Zero	All magic at compile time

Advanced Capabilities

✅ Complex logical operations - and() and or()
✅ Array operations - arrayContains, arrayContainsAny, whereIn
✅ Range queries - Proper ordering constraints
✅ Nested field access - Full type safety
✅ Transaction support - Automatic deferred writes
✅ Streaming subscriptions - Real-time updates
✅ Error handling - Meaningful compile-time messages
✅ Testing support - fake_cloud_firestore integration

Flexible Data Modeling

freezed (recommended) - Robust immutable classes
json_serializable - Plain Dart classes with full control
fast_immutable_collections - High-performance IList, IMap, ISet

🧪 Testing

Perfect integration with fake_cloud_firestore:

import 'package:fake_cloud_firestore/fake_cloud_firestore.dart';
import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';

void main() {
  test('user operations work correctly', () async {
    final firestore = FakeFirebaseFirestore();
    final db = FirestoreODM(appSchema, firestore: firestore);

    await db.users.insert(User(
      id: 'test',
      name: 'Test User',
      email: 'test@example.com',
      age: 25
    ));

    final user = await db.users('test').get();
    expect(user?.name, 'Test User');
  });
}

🗺️ Roadmap

✅ Completed (v3.0)

Full generic model support
Complete JsonKey & JsonConverter support
20% runtime performance improvement
15% reduction in generated code
100+ new test cases
Production-ready stability

🚀 Next

🤝 Support

Show Your Support: ⭐ Star • 👀 Watch • 🐛 Report bugs • 💡 Suggest features • 🔀 Contribute

📄 License

MIT © Sylphx

🙏 Credits

Built with:

Freezed - Immutable classes
json_serializable - JSON serialization
build_runner - Code generation

Special thanks to the Flutter and Dart communities ❤️

Zero reflection. Type-safe. Production-ready.
_{The Firestore ODM that actually scales}

sylphx.com • @SylphxAI • hi@sylphx.com

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
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.github/workflows		.github/workflows
apps/flutter_example		apps/flutter_example
docs		docs
packages		packages
scripts		scripts
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
PUBLISHING.md		PUBLISHING.md
README.md		README.md
melos.yaml		melos.yaml
melos_firestore_odm_workspace.iml		melos_firestore_odm_workspace.iml
pubspec.yaml		pubspec.yaml

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SylphxAI/firestore_odm

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