Custom Types & Actions

Amplication’s Custom Types & Actions feature lets you define your API’s data structures and endpoints visually, automatically generating production-ready code.

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What Are Types and Actions?

Types in Amplication primarily refer to Data Transfer Objects (DTOs). They are custom data structures that define the shape of data moving in and out of your APIs. DTOs specify the fields and their types for your API’s input and output, creating clear contracts for data exchange.

You’ll work with two categories of types:

• DTOs: Custom data structures composed of fields
• Primitives: Basic data types like String, Integer, Boolean, Date, and JSON

Actions represent your API endpoints and come in two forms:

1. Default CRUD Actions: Amplication automatically creates standard Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations for your data entities
2. Custom Actions: Your custom-defined endpoints for specific business logic beyond CRUD operations

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Access Custom Types & Actions

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Modules

Modules help you organize your DTOs and Actions into logical units. While Amplication creates default Modules for each database entity, you can also create custom Modules to group related functionality.

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DTOs and Enums

DTOs (Data Transfer Objects) and Enums are essential building blocks for creating type-safe APIs. DTOs encapsulate data structures that flow between your service layers, ensuring consistent data validation and transformation, while Enums define a fixed set of named constants that represent discrete values.

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Actions

Actions define the API contract between your service and its consumers, specifying how data flows in and out of your system. Each Action maps to a specific endpoint (REST) or operation (GraphQL), with clear input/output types, enabling strong typing throughout your service stack while automatically generating the necessary routing, validation, and controller code.