The SpacetimeDB Rust client SDK

The SpacetimeDB client SDK for Rust contains all the tools you need to build native clients for SpacetimeDB modules using Rust.

Install the SDK

First, create a new project using cargo new and add the SpacetimeDB SDK to your dependencies:

cargo add spacetimedb_sdk

Generate module bindings

Each SpacetimeDB client depends on some bindings specific to your module. Create a module_bindings directory in your project's src directory and generate the Rust interface files using the Spacetime CLI. From your project directory, run:

mkdir -p src/module_bindings
spacetime generate --lang rust \
    --out-dir src/module_bindings \
    --project-path PATH-TO-MODULE-DIRECTORY

Replace PATH-TO-MODULE-DIRECTORY with the path to your SpacetimeDB module.

Declare a mod for the bindings in your client's src/main.rs:

mod module_bindings;

Type DbConnection

module_bindings::DbConnection

A connection to a remote database is represented by the module_bindings::DbConnection type. This type is generated per-module, and contains information about the types, tables and reducers defined by your module.

Connect to a module - DbConnection::builder() and .build()

impl DbConnection {
    fn builder() -> DbConnectionBuilder;
}

Construct a DbConnection by calling DbConnection::builder() and chaining configuration methods, then calling .build(). You must at least specify with_uri, to supply the URI of the SpacetimeDB to which you published your module, and with_module_name, to supply the human-readable SpacetimeDB domain name or the raw address which identifies the module.

Method with_uri

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn with_uri(self, uri: impl TryInto<Uri>) -> Self;
}

Configure the URI of the SpacetimeDB instance or cluster which hosts the remote module.

Method with_module_name

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn with_module_name(self, name_or_address: impl ToString) -> Self;
}

Configure the SpacetimeDB domain name or address of the remote module which identifies it within the SpacetimeDB instance or cluster.

Callback on_connect

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn on_connect(self, callback: impl FnOnce(&DbConnection, Identity, &str)) -> DbConnectionBuilder;
}

Chain a call to .on_connect(callback) to your builder to register a callback to run when your new DbConnection successfully initiates its connection to the remote module. The callback accepts three arguments: a reference to the DbConnection, the Identity by which SpacetimeDB identifies this connection, and a private access token which can be saved and later passed to with_credentials to authenticate the same user in future connections.

This interface may change in an upcoming release as we rework SpacetimeDB's authentication model.

Callback on_connect_error

Currently unused.

Callback on_disconnect

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn on_disconnect(self, callback: impl FnOnce(&DbConnection, Option<&anyhow::Error>)) -> DbConnectionBuilder;
}

Chain a call to .on_connect(callback) to your builder to register a callback to run when your DbConnection disconnects from the remote module, either as a result of a call to disconnect or due to an error.

Method with_credentials

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn with_credentials(self, credentials: Option<(Identity, String)>) -> Self;
}

Chain a call to .with_credentials(credentials) to your builder to provide an Identity and private access token to authenticate with, or to explicitly select an anonymous connection. If this method is not called or None is passed, SpacetimeDB will generate a new Identity and sign a new private access token for the connection.

This interface may change in an upcoming release as we rework SpacetimeDB's authentication model.

Method build

impl DbConnectionBuilder {
    fn build(self) -> anyhow::Result<DbConnection>;
}

After configuring the connection and registering callbacks, attempt to open the connection.

Advance the connection and process messages

In the interest of supporting a wide variety of client applications with different execution strategies, the SpacetimeDB SDK allows you to choose when the DbConnection spends compute time and processes messages. If you do not arrange for the connection to advance by calling one of these methods, the DbConnection will never advance, and no callbacks will ever be invoked.

Run in the background - method run_threaded

impl DbConnection {
    fn run_threaded(&self) -> std::thread::JoinHandle<()>;
}

run_threaded spawns a thread which will continuously advance the connection, sleeping when there is no work to do. The thread will panic if the connection disconnects erroneously, or return if it disconnects as a result of a call to disconnect.

Run asynchronously - method run_async

impl DbConnection {
    async fn run_async(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()>;
}

run_async will continuously advance the connection, await-ing when there is no work to do. The task will return an Err if the connection disconnects erroneously, or return Ok(()) if it disconnects as a result of a call to disconnect.

Run on the main thread without blocking - method frame_tick

impl DbConnection {
    fn frame_tick(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()>;
}

frame_tick will advance the connection until no work remains, then return rather than blocking or await-ing. Games might arrange for this message to be called every frame. frame_tick returns Ok if the connection remains active afterwards, or Err if the connection disconnected before or during the call.

Trait spacetimedb_sdk::DbContext

DbConnection and EventContext both implement DbContext, which allows

Method disconnect

trait DbContext {
    fn disconnect(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()>;
}

Gracefully close the DbConnection. Returns an Err if the connection is already disconnected.

This interface is subject to change in an upcoming SpacetimeDB release.

A known issue in the SpacetimeDB Rust SDK causes inconsistent behaviors after re-subscribing. This will be fixed in an upcoming SpacetimeDB release. For now, Rust clients should issue only one subscription per DbConnection.

trait DbContext {
    fn subscription_builder(&self) -> SubscriptionBuilder;
}

Subscribe to queries by calling ctx.subscription_builder() and chaining configuration methods, then calling .subscribe(queries).

impl SubscriptionBuilder {
    fn on_applied(self, callback: impl FnOnce(&EventContext)) -> Self;
}

Register a callback to run when the subscription is applied and the matching rows are inserted into the client cache. The EventContext passed to the callback will have Event::SubscribeApplied as its event.

impl SubscriptionBuilder {
    fn subscribe(self, queries: impl IntoQueries) -> SubscriptionHandle;
}

Subscribe to a set of queries. queries should be an array or slice of strings.

The returned SubscriptionHandle is currently not useful, but will become significant in a future version of SpacetimeDB.

Identity a client

Method identity

trait DbContext {
    fn identity(&self) -> Identity;
}

Get the Identity with which SpacetimeDB identifies the connection. This method may panic if the connection was initiated anonymously and the newly-generated Identity has not yet been received, i.e. if called before the on_connect callback is invoked.

Method try_identity

trait DbContext {
    fn try_identity(&self) -> Option<Identity>;
}

Like DbContext::identity, but returns None instead of panicking if the Identity is not yet available.

Method is_active

trait DbContext {
    fn is_active(&self) -> bool;
}

true if the connection has not yet disconnected. Note that a connection is_active when it is constructed, before its on_connect callback is invoked.

Type EventContext

module_bindings::EventContext

An EventContext is a DbContext augmented with a field event: Event.

Enum Event

spacetimedb_sdk::Event<module_bindings::Reducer>

Variant Reducer

spacetimedb_sdk::Event::Reducer(spacetimedb_sdk::ReducerEvent<module_bindings::Reducer>)

Event when we are notified that a reducer ran in the remote module. The ReducerEvent contains metadata about the reducer run, including its arguments and termination Status.

This event is passed to reducer callbacks, and to row callbacks resulting from modifications by the reducer.

Variant SubscribeApplied

spacetimedb_sdk::Event::SubscribeApplied

Event when our subscription is applied and its rows are inserted into the client cache.

This event is passed to subscription on_applied callbacks, and to row on_insert callbacks resulting from the new subscription.

Variant UnsubscribeApplied

Currently unused.

Variant SubscribeError

Currently unused.

Variant UnknownTransaction

Event when we are notified of a transaction in the remote module which we cannot associate with a known reducer. This may be an ad-hoc SQL query or a reducer for which we do not have bindings.

This event is passed to row callbacks resulting from modifications by the transaction.

Struct ReducerEvent

spacetimedb_sdk::ReducerEvent<module_bindings::Reducer>

A ReducerEvent contains metadata about a reducer run.

struct spacetimedb_sdk::ReducerEvent<R> {
    /// The time at which the reducer was invoked.
    timestamp: SystemTime,

    /// Whether the reducer committed, was aborted due to insufficient energy, or failed with an error message.
    status: Status,

    /// The `Identity` of the SpacetimeDB actor which invoked the reducer.
    caller_identity: Identity,

    /// The `Address` of the SpacetimeDB actor which invoked the reducer,
    /// or `None` if the actor did not supply an address.
    caller_address: Option<Address>,

    /// The amount of energy consumed by the reducer run, in eV.
    /// (Not literal eV, but our SpacetimeDB energy unit eV.)
    ///
    /// May be `None` if the module is configured not to broadcast energy consumed.
    energy_consumed: Option<u128>,

    /// The `Reducer` enum defined by the `module_bindings`, which encodes which reducer ran and its arguments.
    reducer: R,

    // ...private fields
}

Enum Status

spacetimedb_sdk::Status

Variant Committed

spacetimedb_sdk::Status::Committed

The reducer returned successfully and its changes were committed into the database state. An Event::Reducer passed to a row callback must have this status in its ReducerEvent.

Variant Failed

spacetimedb_sdk::Status::Failed(Box<str>)

The reducer returned an error, panicked, or threw an exception. The enum payload is the stringified error message. Formatting of the error message is unstable and subject to change, so clients should use it only as a human-readable diagnostic, and in particular should not attempt to parse the message.

Variant OutOfEnergy

The reducer was aborted due to insufficient energy balance of the module owner.

Enum Reducer

module_bindings::Reducer

The module bindings contains an enum Reducer with a variant for each reducer defined by the module. Each variant has a payload containing the arguments to the reducer.

Access the client cache

Both DbConnection and EventContext have fields .db, which in turn has methods for accessing tables in the client cache. The trait method DbContext::db(&self) can also be used in contexts with an impl DbContext rather than a concrete-typed EventContext or DbConnection.

Each table defined by a module has an accessor method, whose name is the table name converted to snake_case, on this .db field. The methods are defined via extension traits, which rustc or your IDE should help you identify and import where necessary. The table accessor methods return table handles, which implement Table, may implement TableWithPrimaryKey, and have methods for searching by unique index.

Trait Table

spacetimedb_sdk::Table

Implemented by all table handles.

Associated type Row

trait spacetimedb_sdk::Table {
    type Table::Row;
}

The type of rows in the table.

Method count

trait spacetimedb_sdk::Table {
    fn count(&self) -> u64;
}

Returns the number of rows of this table resident in the client cache, i.e. the total number which match any subscribed query.

Method iter

trait spacetimedb_sdk::Table {
    fn iter(&self) -> impl Iterator<Item = Self::Row>;
}

An iterator over all the subscribed rows in the client cache, i.e. those which match any subscribed query.

Callback on_insert

trait spacetimedb_sdk::Table {
    type InsertCallbackId;
    
    fn on_insert(&self, callback: impl FnMut(&EventContext, &Self::Row)) -> Self::InsertCallbackId;

    fn remove_on_insert(&self, callback: Self::InsertCallbackId);
}

The on_insert callback runs whenever a new row is inserted into the client cache, either when applying a subscription or being notified of a transaction. The passed EventContext contains an Event which can identify the change which caused the insertion, and also allows the callback to interact with the connection, inspect the client cache and invoke reducers.

Registering an on_insert callback returns a callback id, which can later be passed to remove_on_insert to cancel the callback. Newly registered or canceled callbacks do not take effect until the following event.

Callback on_delete

trait spacetimedb_sdk::Table {
    type DeleteCallbackId;
    
    fn on_delete(&self, callback: impl FnMut(&EventContext, &Self::Row)) -> Self::DeleteCallbackId;

    fn remove_on_delete(&self, callback: Self::DeleteCallbackId);
}

The on_delete callback runs whenever a previously-resident row is deleted from the client cache. Registering an on_delete callback returns a callback id, which can later be passed to remove_on_delete to cancel the callback. Newly registered or canceled callbacks do not take effect until the following event.

Trait TableWithPrimaryKey

spacetimedb_sdk::TableWithPrimaryKey

Implemented for table handles whose tables have a primary key.

Callback on_delete

trait spacetimedb_sdk::TableWithPrimaryKey {
    type UpdateCallbackId;
    
    fn on_update(&self, callback: impl FnMut(&EventContext, &Self::Row, &Self::Row)) -> Self::UpdateCallbackId;

    fn remove_on_update(&self, callback: Self::UpdateCallbackId);
}

The on_update callback runs whenever an already-resident row in the client cache is updated, i.e. replaced with a new row that has the same primary key. Registering an on_update callback returns a callback id, which can later be passed to remove_on_update to cancel the callback. Newly registered or canceled callbacks do not take effect until the following event.

Unique constraint index access

For each unique constraint on a table, its table handle has a method whose name is the unique column name which returns a unique index handle. The unique index handle has a method .find(desired_val: &Col) -> Option<Row>, where Col is the type of the column, and Row the type of rows. If a row with desired_val in the unique column is resident in the client cache, .find returns it.

BTree index access

Not currently implemented in the Rust SDK. Coming soon!

Observe and invoke reducers

Both DbConnection and EventContext have fields .reducers, which in turn has methods for invoking reducers defined by the module and registering callbacks on it. The trait method DbContext::reducers(&self) can also be used in contexts with an impl DbContext rather than a concrete-typed EventContext or DbConnection.

Each reducer defined by the module has three methods on the .reducers:

An invoke method, whose name is the reducer's name converted to snake case. This requests that the module run the reducer.
A callback registation method, whose name is prefixed with on_. This registers a callback to run whenever we are notified that the reducer ran, including successfully committed runs and runs we requested which failed. This method returns a callback id, which can be passed to the callback remove method.
A callback remove method, whose name is prefixed with remove_. This cancels a callback previously registered via the callback registration method.

Identify a client

Type Identity

spacetimedb_sdk::Identity

A unique public identifier for a client connected to a database.

Type Address

spacetimedb_sdk::Address

An opaque identifier for a client connection to a database, intended to differentiate between connections from the same Identity. This will be removed in a future SpacetimeDB version in favor of a connection or session ID.

Community

The SpacetimeDB Rust client SDK

Install the SDK

Generate module bindings

Type DbConnection

Connect to a module - DbConnection::builder() and .build()

Method with_uri

Method with_module_name

Callback on_connect

Callback on_connect_error

Callback on_disconnect

Method with_credentials

Method build

Advance the connection and process messages

Run in the background - method run_threaded

Run asynchronously - method run_async

Run on the main thread without blocking - method frame_tick

Trait spacetimedb_sdk::DbContext

Method disconnect

Subscribe to queries - DbContext::subscription_builder and .subscribe()

Callback on_applied

Method subscribe

Identity a client

Method identity

Method try_identity

Method is_active

Type EventContext

Enum Event

Variant Reducer

Variant SubscribeApplied

Variant UnsubscribeApplied

Variant SubscribeError

Variant UnknownTransaction

Struct ReducerEvent

Enum Status

Variant Committed

Variant Failed

Variant OutOfEnergy

Enum Reducer

Access the client cache

Trait Table

Associated type Row

Method count

Method iter

Callback on_insert

Callback on_delete

Trait TableWithPrimaryKey

Callback on_delete

Unique constraint index access

BTree index access

Observe and invoke reducers

Identify a client

Type Identity

Type Address