Elixir SDK

Installation#

To install the SDK, add it to your dependencies in mix.exs:

defp deps do
  [
    {:eventsourcingdb, "~> 1.0"}
  ]
end

Then run:

mix deps.get

You can also find this SDK on Hex.pm.

Capabilities#

This SDK intentionally focuses on application-level use cases. It provides core functionality for writing, reading, and observing events, and deliberately excludes operational concerns such as backup, restore, or health monitoring.

For a detailed explanation of the specific requirements behind each capability, see the Compliance Criteria.

Essentials

✓ Initialize the Client
✓ Ping the Server
✓ Verify API Token

Writing Events

✓ Write Single Events
✓ Write Multiple Events
✓ Use isSubjectPristine
Requires EventSourcingDB 1.2✓ Use isSubjectPopulated
✓ Use isSubjectOnEventId
✓ Use isEventQlQueryTrue
✓ Include OpenTelemetry Trace Context

Reading Events

✓ Read Events by Subject
✓ Read Recursively
✓ Read Chronological and Anti-Chronological
✓ Use Boundaries
✓ Use fromLatestEvent

Using EventQL

✓ Execute EventQL Queries

Observing Events

✓ Observe Events By Subject
✓ Observe Recursively
✓ Use Boundaries
✓ Use fromLatestEvent

Metadata and Discovery

✓ Register Event Schemas
✓ List Subjects
✓ List Event Types
✓ List a Specific Event Type
✓ Verify Event Hashes
✓ Verify Event Signatures

Testcontainers Support

✓ Start and Stop EventSourcingDB in Tests
✓ Use Custom Configuration (e.g., API Token, Port, …)

Getting Started#

Create a client by providing the URL of your EventSourcingDB instance and the API token to use:

client = EventSourcingDB.Client.new("http://localhost:3000", "secret")

Then call the ping function to check whether the instance is reachable. If it is not, the function will return an error:

:ok = EventSourcingDB.ping(client)

Note that ping does not require authentication, so the call may succeed even if the API token is invalid.

If you want to verify the API token, call verify_api_token. If the token is invalid, the function will return an error:

:ok = EventSourcingDB.verify_api_token(client)

Writing Events#

Call the write_events function and hand over a list with one or more events. You do not have to provide all event fields – some are automatically added by the server.

Specify source, subject, type, and data according to the CloudEvents format.

The function returns the written events, including the fields added by the server:

event = %EventSourcingDB.EventCandidate{
  source: "https://library.eventsourcingdb.io",
  subject: "/books/42",
  type: "io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-acquired",
  data: %{
    "title" => "2001 – A Space Odyssey",
    "author" => "Arthur C. Clarke",
    "isbn" => "978-0756906788"
  }
}

case EventSourcingDB.write_events(client, [event]) do
  {:ok, events} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Using the IsSubjectPristine precondition#

If you only want to write events in case a subject (such as /books/42) does not yet have any events, use the IsSubjectPristine precondition and pass it in a list as the third argument:

case EventSourcingDB.write_events(
  client,
  [event],
  [%EventSourcingDB.IsSubjectPristine{subject: "/books/42"}]
) do
  {:ok, events} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Using the IsSubjectPopulated preconditionRequires EventSourcingDB 1.2#

If you only want to write events in case a subject (such as /books/42) already has at least one event, use the IsSubjectPopulated precondition and pass it in a list as the third argument:

case EventSourcingDB.write_events(
  client,
  [event],
  [%EventSourcingDB.IsSubjectPopulated{subject: "/books/42"}]
) do
  {:ok, events} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Using the IsSubjectOnEventId precondition#

If you only want to write events in case the last event of a subject (such as /books/42) has a specific ID (e.g., 0), use the IsSubjectOnEventId precondition and pass it in a list as the third argument:

case EventSourcingDB.write_events(
  client,
  [event],
  [%EventSourcingDB.IsSubjectOnEventId{subject: "/books/42", event_id: "0"}]
) do
  {:ok, events} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Note that according to the CloudEvents standard, event IDs must be of type string.

Using the IsEventQLQueryTrue precondition#

If you want to write events depending on an EventQL query, use the IsEventQLQueryTrue precondition:

case EventSourcingDB.write_events(
  client,
  [event],
  [%EventSourcingDB.IsEventQLQueryTrue{
    query: "FROM e IN events WHERE e.type == 'io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-borrowed' PROJECT INTO COUNT() < 10"
  }]
) do
  {:ok, events} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Note that the query must return a single row with a single value, which is interpreted as a boolean.

Reading Events#

To read all events of a subject, call the read_events function with the subject and an options struct.

The function returns a stream from which you can retrieve one event at a time:

case EventSourcingDB.read_events(client, "/books/42") do
  {:ok, events} -> Enum.to_list(events)
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Reading From Subjects Recursively#

If you want to read not only all the events of a subject, but also the events of all nested subjects, set the recursive option to true:

EventSourcingDB.read_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ReadEventsOptions{recursive: true}
)

This also allows you to read all events ever written. To do so, provide / as the subject and set recursive to true, since all subjects are nested under the root subject.

Reading in Anti-Chronological Order#

By default, events are read in chronological order. To read in anti-chronological order, provide the order option and set it to :antichronological:

EventSourcingDB.read_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ReadEventsOptions{
    recursive: false,
    order: :antichronological
  }
)

Note that you can also use :chronological to explicitly enforce the default order.

Specifying Bounds#

Sometimes you do not want to read all events, but only a range of events. For that, you can specify the lower_bound and upper_bound options – either one of them or even both at the same time.

Specify the ID and whether to include or exclude it, for both the lower and upper bound:

EventSourcingDB.read_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ReadEventsOptions{
    recursive: false,
    lower_bound: %EventSourcingDB.BoundOptions{
      type: :inclusive,
      id: "100"
    },
    upper_bound: %EventSourcingDB.BoundOptions{
      type: :exclusive,
      id: "200"
    }
  }
)

Starting From the Latest Event of a Given Type#

To read starting from the latest event of a given type, provide the from_latest_event option and specify the subject, the type, and how to proceed if no such event exists.

Possible options are :read_nothing, which skips reading entirely, or :read_everything, which effectively behaves as if from_latest_event was not specified:

EventSourcingDB.read_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ReadEventsOptions{
    recursive: false,
    from_latest_event: %EventSourcingDB.ReadFromLatestEventOptions{
      subject: "/books/42",
      type: "io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-borrowed",
      if_event_is_missing: :read_everything
    }
  }
)

Note that from_latest_event and lower_bound can not be provided at the same time.

Running EventQL Queries#

To run an EventQL query, call the run_eventql_query function and provide the query as argument. The function returns a stream:

case EventSourcingDB.run_eventql_query(client, "FROM e IN events PROJECT INTO e") do
  {:ok, rows} -> Enum.to_list(rows)
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Note that each row returned by the stream matches the projection specified in your query.

Observing Events#

To observe all events of a subject, call the observe_events function with the subject.

The function returns a stream from which you can retrieve one event at a time:

case EventSourcingDB.observe_events(client, "/books/42") do
  {:ok, events} -> Enum.to_list(events)
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Observing From Subjects Recursively#

If you want to observe not only all the events of a subject, but also the events of all nested subjects, set the recursive option to true:

EventSourcingDB.observe_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ObserveEventsOptions{
    recursive: true
  }
)

This also allows you to observe all events ever written. To do so, provide / as the subject and set recursive to true, since all subjects are nested under the root subject.

Specifying Bounds#

Sometimes you do not want to observe all events, but only a range of events. For that, you can specify the lower_bound option.

Specify the ID and whether to include or exclude it:

EventSourcingDB.observe_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ObserveEventsOptions{
    recursive: false,
    lower_bound: %EventSourcingDB.BoundOptions{
      type: :inclusive,
      id: "100"
    }
  }
)

Starting From the Latest Event of a Given Type#

To observe starting from the latest event of a given type, provide the from_latest_event option and specify the subject, the type, and how to proceed if no such event exists.

Possible options are :wait_for_event, which waits for an event of the given type to happen, or :read_everything, which effectively behaves as if from_latest_event was not specified:

EventSourcingDB.observe_events(
  client,
  "/books/42",
  %EventSourcingDB.ObserveEventsOptions{
    recursive: false,
    from_latest_event: %EventSourcingDB.ObserveFromLatestEventOptions{
      subject: "/books/42",
      type: "io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-borrowed",
      if_event_is_missing: :read_everything
    }
  }
)

Note that from_latest_event and lower_bound can not be provided at the same time.

Registering an Event Schema#

To register an event schema, call the register_event_schema function and hand over an event type and the desired schema:

EventSourcingDB.register_event_schema(
  client,
  "io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-acquired",
  %{
    "type" => "object",
    "properties" => %{
      "title" => %{"type" => "string"},
      "author" => %{"type" => "string"},
      "isbn" => %{"type" => "string"}
    },
    "required" => [
      "title",
      "author",
      "isbn"
    ],
    "additionalProperties" => false
  }
)

Reading Subjects#

To list all subjects, call the read_subjects function with / as the base subject. The function returns a stream from which you can retrieve one subject at a time:

case EventSourcingDB.read_subjects(client, "/") do
  {:ok, subjects} -> Enum.to_list(subjects)
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

If you only want to list subjects within a specific branch, provide the desired base subject instead:

EventSourcingDB.read_subjects(client, "/books")

Reading Event Types#

To list all event types, call the read_event_types function. The function returns a stream from which you can retrieve one event type at a time:

case EventSourcingDB.read_event_types(client) do
  {:ok, event_types} -> Enum.to_list(event_types)
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Reading a Specific Event Type#

To read a specific event type, call the read_event_type function with the event type as an argument. The function returns the detailed event type, which includes the schema:

case EventSourcingDB.read_event_type(client, "io.eventsourcingdb.library.book-acquired") do
  {:ok, event_type} -> # ...
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Verifying an Event's Hash#

To verify the integrity of an event, call the Event.verify_hash function on the event. This recomputes the event's hash locally and compares it to the hash stored in the event. If the hashes differ, the function returns an error:

alias EventSourcingDB.Event

case Event.verify_hash(event) do
  :ok -> # hash is valid
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Note that this only verifies the hash. If you also want to verify the signature, you can skip this step and call verify_signature directly, which performs a hash verification internally.

Verifying an Event's Signature#

To verify the authenticity of an event, call the Event.verify_signature function on the event. This requires the public key that matches the private key used for signing on the server.

The function first verifies the event's hash, and then checks the signature. If any verification step fails, it returns an error:

alias EventSourcingDB.Event

verification_key = # public key as Ed25519 binary

case Event.verify_signature(event, verification_key) do
  :ok -> # signature is valid
  {:error, reason} -> # ...
end

Using Testcontainers#

Follow the instructions to setup test containers for elixir.

Then you are ready to use the provided TestContainer in your tests:

defmodule YourTest do
  alias EventSourcingDB.TestContainer
  use ExUnit.Case

  import Testcontainers.ExUnit

  container(:esdb, TestContainer.new())

  test "ping", %{esdb: esdb} do
    client = TestContainer.get_client(esdb)

    assert EventSourcingDB.ping(client) == :ok
  end
end

Configuring the Container Instance#

By default, TestContainer uses the latest tag of the official EventSourcingDB Docker image. To change that, call the with_image_tag function:

container(
  :esdb,
  TestContainer.new()
  |> TestContainer.with_image_tag("1.0.0")
)

Similarly, you can configure the port to use and the API token. Call the with_port or the with_api_token function respectively:

container(
  :esdb,
  TestContainer.new()
  |> TestContainer.with_port(4000)
  |> TestContainer.with_api_token("secret")
)

If you want to sign events, call the with_signing_key function. This generates a new signing and verification key pair inside the container:

container(
  :esdb,
  TestContainer.new()
  |> TestContainer.with_signing_key()
)

Changed in 1.1You can retrieve the private key (for signing) and the public key (for verifying signatures) once the container has been started:

signing_key = TestContainer.get_signing_key(esdb)
verification_key = TestContainer.get_verification_key(esdb)

The signing_key is the private key EventSourcingDB signs events with.

The verification_key can be passed to Event.verify_signature when verifying events read from the database.

Configuring the Client Manually#

In case you need to set up the client yourself, use the following functions to get details on the container:

• TestContainer.get_base_url(esdb) returns the full URL of the container
• TestContainer.get_mapped_port(esdb) returns the mapped port
• TestContainer.get_api_token(esdb) returns the API token

Further Resources#

• Repository: thenativeweb/eventsourcingdb-client-elixir
• Registry: Hex.pm
• License (MIT): License file
• Issue tracker: GitHub Issues