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feat: Enhanced custom methods with @method decorator#3642

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v6-custom-methods
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feat: Enhanced custom methods with @method decorator#3642
marshallswain wants to merge 3 commits intov6from
v6-custom-methods

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@marshallswain marshallswain commented Jan 28, 2026 •
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This PR adds enhanced custom method support for Feathers v6, allowing custom methods to be first-class citizens with flexible signatures, proper HTTP verb mapping, and clean URLs.

Features

  • @method decorator for configuring custom service methods
  • Different argument signatures (not just data, params)
  • Different HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE)
  • Clean URL paths (e.g., /messages/:id/status instead of X-Service-Method header)
  • Internal-only methods with external: false
  • clientMethods() helper for client configuration

Example

import { feathers, method } from '@feathersjs/feathers'

class MessageService {
  @method({ args: ['id', 'params'], http: 'GET', path: ':id/status' })
  async status(id: Id, params: Params) {
    return { id, status: 'active' }
  }

  @method({ args: ['id', 'params'], http: 'POST', path: ':id/archive' })
  async archive(id: Id, params: Params) {
    return this.patch(id, { archived: true }, params)
  }

  @method({ args: ['data', 'params'], external: false })
  async internalProcess(data: any, params: Params) {
    return { processed: data }
  }
}

app.use('messages', new MessageService())
// GET /messages/123/status -> status('123', params)
// POST /messages/123/archive -> archive('123', params)

Documentation

  • Updated services documentation with full @method decorator guide
  • Updated REST client documentation with custom method paths
  • Added plan document at docs/v6-custom-methods-plan.md

Tests

All 405 tests pass.

Related

@marshallswain
feat: Enhanced custom methods with @method decorator
d4b41ac 
- Add @method decorator for configuring custom service methods
- Support different argument signatures (not just data, params)
- Support different HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE)
- Support clean URL paths (e.g., /messages/:id/status)
- Support internal-only methods with external: false
- Add buildMethodConfig() helper for client configuration
- Add InferServiceTypes type helper for typed clients
- Update REST client to support custom method paths and verbs
- Update services and REST client documentation

The @method decorator allows custom methods to be first-class citizens
with flexible signatures, proper HTTP verb mapping, and clean URLs
instead of relying on X-Service-Method headers.

Closes #1976
Replaces #3638
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Status Name Latest Commit Updated (UTC)
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View logs		 feathers-v6 d691de1 Jan 30 2026, 03:17 PM

@marshallswain
fix: access route data property correctly for conflict detection
fb06f63
@marshallswain
refactor: Replace buildMethodConfig with clientMethods helper
d691de1 
- Add clientMethods() to filter and prepare method configs for client
- Remove buildMethodConfig(), getClientMethodConfig(), InferServiceTypes
- clientMethods() filters out external:false methods and strips server-only properties
- Types come from service class definitions, not runtime config
- Remove any types from method.ts, use proper typing
- Add custom methods type test to declarations.test.ts
- Update documentation for new pattern
@marshallswain
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marshallswain commented Jan 29, 2026

Update: Improved client configuration API**

Changed how method configuration is passed to the client to avoid bundling server-side code.

Before (problematic):

// This required importing service CLASSES, bundling server code into the client
import { buildMethodConfig, type InferServiceTypes } from '@feathersjs/feathers'
import { MessageService } from './services/messages.service'

const services = { messages: MessageService }
export const serviceMethods = buildMethodConfig(services)  // instantiated classes internally
export type ServiceTypes = InferServiceTypes<typeof services>

After (secure):

// Only imports the static methods CONFIG object, not the class implementation
import { clientMethods } from '@feathersjs/feathers'
import { MessageService } from './services/messages.service'

export const serviceMethods = clientMethods({
  messages: MessageService.methods  // just the static property
})

export type ServiceTypes = {
  messages: MessageService  // types defined separately
}

What clientMethods() does:

  • Filters out external: false methods (internal-only, shouldn't be exposed)
  • Filters out methods without path (standard CRUD doesn't need config)
  • Strips server-only properties (external, event) — only keeps args, http, path

Key insight: Types come from the service class definition itself. The runtime config (clientMethods()) only tells the HTTP client which verb/path to use — it doesn't affect TypeScript types at all.

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