Quickstart

Get the reference app running, then add your own entity + view. About 10 minutes.

New here?

Read the Overview first for the mental model — XML models in, JSON metadata + data out, React renders it.

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK matching global.json (net10.0, SDK 10.0.300+).
• Node 22+ and npm (for the React UI).
• SQL Server reachable at Server=. (the local default instance, integrated security).

No Redis required — the Inventory sample runs its cache in-memory. Adjust the connection string in sample/Inventory/api/appsettings.json for your environment:

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "SqlServer": "Server=.;Database=InventorySample;Integrated Security=true;TrustServerCertificate=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=True"
}

1. Build

dotnet build src/Genie.slnx                              # .NET libraries + source generator
cd src/ui/genie-engine-ui && npm ci && npm run build     # the React package

2. Run the reference app (Inventory)

# backend → http://localhost:5184
# (creates the InventorySample DB, applies the migration, and seeds sample data on first run)
dotnet run --project sample/Inventory/api

# frontend → http://localhost:5183  (proxies /api, /files, /hubs to the backend)
cd sample/Inventory/ui && npm install && npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5183: you get the login page, then the permission-filtered navbar and the engine’s table/form views.

First login

Sign in as system with Security:SeedAdminPassword (default Admin@123). Seeded sample users buyer and approver share the same password. Full sample wiring and notes are in sample/Inventory/README.md.

3. See the model files

The sample’s low-code models live in sample/Inventory/models/:

models/
  entities/   *.entity.xml    Category, Product, Supplier, Warehouse, StockMovement,
                              PurchaseOrder, PurchaseOrderLine  (→ EF tables)
  views/      *.view.xml      grids + forms for each object
  sql/        *.sql           functions, stored procedures, triggers, reporting views
  navbar/     *.navbar.xml    the navigation tree
  wizards/    *.wizard.xml    multi-step wizards
  workflows/  *.workflow.xml  workflow definitions

They are wired in sample/Inventory/api/Inventory.Sample.Api.csproj: *.entity.xml are fed to the source generator as AdditionalFiles, and every model file is copied to the build output so the runtime model migration can find it.

4. Add your own entity

Create sample/Inventory/models/entities/Brand.entity.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Schema>
  <Entity Name="Brand" PluralName="Brands" SchemaName="Inventory"
          Description="Manufacturer brand a product belongs to">
    <Fields>
      <String  Name="Name"     Label="Brand"   Required="true" Searchable="true" Limit="200" />
      <String  Name="Website"  Label="Website" Required="false" Limit="256" />
      <Boolean Name="IsActive" Label="Active"  Required="true" DefaultValueIfNull="1" />
    </Fields>
  </Entity>
</Schema>

Don’t declare an Id

Every entity inherits Id plus audit / tenant (CompanyId) / soft-delete (IsDeleted) columns from EntityTraits<long>. The full field reference is in Model Authoring.

The generator picks it up on the next build (it matches the existing AdditionalFiles glob) and emits a Brand entity, its EF configuration, and a DbSet<Brand> Brands on InventoryContext.

5. Materialise the table (EF migration)

The generated entity classes are part of InventoryContext, so a normal migration creates the table. Stop the running host first (EF rebuilds the project, which can’t overwrite a locked, running binary):

dotnet ef migrations add AddBrand \
  --project sample/Inventory/api \
  --startup-project sample/Inventory/api \
  --context InventoryContext \
  --output-dir Migrations/InventoryMigrations

Run the host again; the migration is applied at boot (Database.Migrate()).

6. Add a view

Create sample/Inventory/models/views/Brands.view.xml — the root element is <Table>, and whether it behaves as a grid, a form, or a read-only view is inferred from which SQL blocks it declares:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Table Name="Brands" Slug="brands" Label="Brands" Icon="fa fa-tag">

  <Sql PrimaryKey="Id" SortBy="Name" SortDirection="ASC" PageSize="20">
    <![CDATA[
    SELECT b.Id, b.Name, b.Website, b.IsActive
    FROM [Inventory].[Brands] b
    WHERE b.IsDeleted = 0
      AND b.CompanyId = @SessionCompanyId
    ]]>
  </Sql>

  <Columns>
    <Column Name="Id" Hide="true" />
    <Column Name="Name" Label="Brand" Search="true" StyleClasses="fw-bold" />
    <Column Name="Website" />
    <Column Name="IsActive" Label="Active" />
  </Columns>

  <EditorFields>
    <Text    Name="Name"     Label="Brand"   Required="true" MaxLength="200" />
    <Text    Name="Website"  Label="Website" MaxLength="256" Placeholder="https://…" />
    <Boolean Name="IsActive" Label="Active"  DisplayType="Switch" />
  </EditorFields>

  <Layout>
    <Section Label="Brand">
      <Item Name="Name" Width="8" />
      <Item Name="IsActive" Width="4" />
      <Item Name="Website" Width="12" />
    </Section>
  </Layout>

  <InsertSql>
    <![CDATA[
    INSERT INTO [Inventory].[Brands] (Name, Website, IsActive, IsDeleted, CompanyId, CreatedById, CreatedAt)
    VALUES (@Name, @Website,
            CASE WHEN UPPER(ISNULL(@IsActive,'')) IN ('TRUE','1','YES','Y','ON') THEN 1 ELSE 0 END,
            0, @SessionCompanyId, @SessionUserId, GETDATE());
    ]]>
  </InsertSql>

  <EditSql>
    <![CDATA[
    UPDATE [Inventory].[Brands]
    SET Name = @Name, Website = @Website,
        IsActive = CASE WHEN UPPER(ISNULL(@IsActive,'')) IN ('TRUE','1','YES','Y','ON') THEN 1 ELSE 0 END,
        UpdatedAt = GETDATE(), UpdatedById = @SessionUserId
    WHERE Id = @Id AND IsDeleted = 0 AND CompanyId = @SessionCompanyId;
    ]]>
  </EditSql>

  <DeleteSql>
    <![CDATA[
    UPDATE [Inventory].[Brands]
    SET IsDeleted = 1, DeletedAt = GETDATE(), DeletedById = @SessionUserId
    WHERE Id = @Id AND CompanyId = @SessionCompanyId;
    ]]>
  </DeleteSql>

</Table>

Views are loaded into the engine’s ViewStore by the model migration at startup. The Inventory sample already enables it in sample/Inventory/api/appsettings.json:

"Startup": { "ExecuteMigration": "Forced" }

No skips migration, Yes applies only changed files (hash check), and Forced re-applies every file regardless of hash. How the engine locates the models directory (and how the sample copies models to the build output) is covered in Integration.

7. Use it

Point the browser (or the navbar) at /table/brands — the UI route uses the view’s kebab-case Slug. To add it to the navigation, drop an <Item> into sample/Inventory/models/navbar/inventory.navbar.xml:

<Item Name="brands" Label="Brands" Icon="fa fa-tag" Route="/table/brands" />

Under the hood

The React client reads the object’s SQL-free schema once from GET /api/v1/genie/object/brands/metadata, then loads data with POST /api/v1/genie/object/brands/{table,form,view}. Structure and values are separate calls, merged client-side.

To make records findable from the global header search (enable it with createGenieApp({ modules: { headerSearch: true } })), mark a field Searchable="true" and add a <Search> block to the entity — see Model Authoring.

---

Recap of the loop

Want to…	Edit	Then
Add/lengthen a column	*.entity.xml	rebuild → dotnet ef migrations add → run
Change a grid/form	*.view.xml	run with ExecuteMigration = Yes (or Forced)
Add a stored proc / SQL view	*.sql	run with ExecuteMigration = Yes
Change navigation	*.navbar.xml	run with ExecuteMigration = Yes

Next: the complete authoring reference → Model Authoring.