This project uses SeaORM 2.0. AI models likely have SeaORM 1.0 in their training data -- some patterns have changed. Always follow the 2.0 patterns shown below.
- Walk-through of SeaORM 2.0
- Migration Guide (1.0 to 2.0)
- New Entity Format
- Strongly-Typed Column
- Nested ActiveModel
- Entity First Workflow
In SeaORM 2.0, entities use #[sea_orm::model] with relations defined directly on the Model struct. This replaces the 1.0 pattern of separate Relation enums and Related trait impls.
mod user {
use sea_orm::entity::prelude::*;
#[sea_orm::model]
#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, DeriveEntityModel)]
#[sea_orm(table_name = "user")]
pub struct Model {
#[sea_orm(primary_key)]
pub id: i32,
pub name: String,
#[sea_orm(unique)]
pub email: String,
#[sea_orm(has_one)]
pub profile: HasOne<super::profile::Entity>,
#[sea_orm(has_many)]
pub posts: HasMany<super::post::Entity>,
}
impl ActiveModelBehavior for ActiveModel {}
}// Has-One
#[sea_orm(has_one)]
pub profile: HasOne<super::profile::Entity>,
// Has-Many
#[sea_orm(has_many)]
pub posts: HasMany<super::post::Entity>,
// Belongs-To (explicit foreign key mapping)
#[sea_orm(belongs_to, from = "user_id", to = "id")]
pub user: HasOne<super::user::Entity>,
// Many-to-Many via junction table
#[sea_orm(has_many, via = "post_tag")]
pub tags: HasMany<super::tag::Entity>,
// Self-referential
#[sea_orm(self_ref, via = "user_follower", from = "User", to = "Follower")]
pub followers: HasMany<Entity>,#[sea_orm::model]
#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, DeriveEntityModel, Eq)]
#[sea_orm(table_name = "post_tag")]
pub struct Model {
#[sea_orm(primary_key, auto_increment = false)]
pub post_id: i32,
#[sea_orm(primary_key, auto_increment = false)]
pub tag_id: i32,
#[sea_orm(belongs_to, from = "post_id", to = "id")]
pub post: Option<super::post::Entity>,
#[sea_orm(belongs_to, from = "tag_id", to = "id")]
pub tag: Option<super::tag::Entity>,
}Use COLUMN constant with typed fields instead of the untyped Column enum:
// 2.0 (preferred) -- compile-time type safety
user::Entity::find().filter(user::COLUMN.name.contains("Bob"))
// 1.0 (outdated) -- still works but prefer COLUMN
user::Entity::find().filter(user::Column::Name.contains("Bob"))// Create with nested relations
let bob = user::ActiveModel::builder()
.set_name("Bob")
.set_email("bob@sea-ql.org")
.set_profile(profile::ActiveModel::builder().set_picture("Tennis"))
.insert(db)
.await?;
// Add has-many children
let mut bob = bob.into_active_model();
bob.posts.push(
post::ActiveModel::builder().set_title("My first post")
);
bob.save(db).await?;
// Many-to-many
let post = post::ActiveModel::builder()
.set_title("A sunny day")
.set_user_id(bob.id)
.add_tag(existing_tag)
.add_tag(tag::ActiveModel::builder().set_tag("outdoor"))
.save(db)
.await?;// Load with relations in a single query
let bob = user::Entity::load()
.filter_by_email("bob@sea-ql.org")
.with(profile::Entity)
.with(post::Entity)
.one(db)
.await?
.expect("Not found");
// Nested relations (post -> comments)
let user = user::Entity::load()
.filter_by_id(12)
.with(profile::Entity)
.with((post::Entity, comment::Entity))
.one(db)
.await?;// Auto-create tables from entity definitions (dev/testing)
db.get_schema_registry("my_crate::*")
.sync(db)
.await?;When using DeriveValueType for custom types, the column type is inferred automatically from the inner type. Adding column_type is redundant and incorrect:
// WRONG -- do not annotate column_type on custom types
#[sea_orm(column_type = "Decimal(Some((10, 4)))")]
pub speed: Speed,
// CORRECT -- SeaORM infers the column type from the DeriveValueType inner type
pub speed: Speed,
#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, DeriveValueType)]
pub struct Speed(Decimal);On MySQL and MSSQL, String maps to VARCHAR(255) by default. For strings that may exceed 255 characters, use Text or specify StringLen::Max:
// WRONG on MySQL/MSSQL -- silently truncates at 255 chars
pub description: String,
// CORRECT -- use column_type for longer strings
#[sea_orm(column_type = "Text")]
pub description: String,
// Also correct -- explicit max length
#[sea_orm(column_type = "String(StringLen::Max)")]
pub event_type: String,Note: Postgre / SQLite uses unbounded string by default, so this is primarily a MySQL/MSSQL concern.
Methods like .eq(), .like(), .contains() on Expr require the trait import in 2.0:
use sea_orm::ExprTrait; // required in 2.0
Expr::col((self.entity_name(), *self)).like(s)| 1.0 (removed/renamed) | 2.0 (correct) |
|---|---|
.into_condition() |
.into() |
db.execute(Statement::from_sql_and_values(..)) |
db.execute_raw(Statement::from_sql_and_values(..)) |
db.query_all(backend.build(&query)) |
db.query_all(&query) |
Alias::new("col") for static strings |
Expr::col("col") directly |
insert_many(..).on_empty_do_nothing() |
insert_many([]) returns None safely |
In 2.0, DeriveValueType auto-generates NotU8, IntoActiveValue, and TryFromU64. Remove manual implementations to avoid conflicts.
Auto-increment columns now use GENERATED BY DEFAULT AS IDENTITY. If you need legacy serial behavior, use feature flag option-postgres-use-serial or .custom("serial").
Both Integer and BigInteger map to integer in 2.0. The entity generator produces i64 by default. Override with sea-orm-cli --big-integer-type=i32 if needed.