AshBackpex.LiveResource (Ash Backpex v0.1.6)

The primary entry point to AshBackpex - an integration library that brings together Ash Framework's powerful resource system with Backpex's admin interface capabilities.

This module provides a clean DSL for creating admin interfaces directly from your Ash resources. When you use AshBackpex.LiveResource, it automatically generates a Backpex LiveResource at compile time based on your DSL configuration.

Basic Usage

defmodule MyAppWeb.Admin.PostLive do
  use AshBackpex.LiveResource

  backpex do
    resource MyApp.Blog.Post
    layout {MyAppWeb.Layouts, :admin}

    fields do
      field :title
      field :content do
        module Backpex.Fields.Textarea
      end
      field :published
      field :author do
        display_field :name
        live_resource MyAppWeb.Admin.UserLive
      end
    end
  end
end

Features

Automatic Field Type Detection

AshBackpex automatically derives Backpex field modules from your Ash resource attribute types:

You can always override the derived module by specifying it explicitly:

field :content do
  module Backpex.Fields.Textarea
end

Custom Field Type Mappings

You can configure custom mappings from Ash types to Backpex field modules globally or per-application. This is useful when you have custom Ash types (like Money or RichText) that should consistently map to specific Backpex fields.

Configuration Options

Global config (applies to all apps using AshBackpex):

# config/config.exs
config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    MyApp.Types.Money => Backpex.Fields.Currency,
    MyApp.Types.RichText => Backpex.Fields.Textarea
  }

App-scoped config (overrides global for a specific app):

# config/config.exs
config :my_app, AshBackpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    MyApp.Types.Money => MyApp.Fields.MoneyField
  }

Precedence Rules

Field type derivation follows this precedence order (highest to lowest):

1. Explicit module option in DSL - Always wins
2. App-scoped config - config :my_app, AshBackpex, field_type_mappings: ...
3. Global config - config :ash_backpex, field_type_mappings: ...
4. Default mappings - Built-in Ash type to Backpex field mappings

Map Format

Use a map when you have simple type-to-field mappings:

config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    # Override default String -> Text mapping
    Ash.Type.String => Backpex.Fields.Textarea,

    # Map custom Ash types
    MyApp.Types.Money => Backpex.Fields.Currency,
    MyApp.Types.RichText => MyApp.Fields.RichTextField,

    # Map array types
    {:array, Ash.Type.String} => Backpex.Fields.MultiSelect
  }

Function Format

Use a function when you need to inspect constraints or implement conditional logic:

config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: fn type, constraints ->
    case {type, constraints} do
      # Map Money type to currency field
      {MyApp.Types.Money, _} ->
        Backpex.Fields.Currency

      # Map strings with max_length > 255 to Textarea
      {Ash.Type.String, constraints} when is_list(constraints) ->
        if Keyword.get(constraints, :max_length, 0) > 255 do
          Backpex.Fields.Textarea
        else
          nil  # Fall back to default
        end

      # Return nil to use default mapping
      _ ->
        nil
    end
  end

The function must have arity 2, receiving (type, constraints), and return either:

• A Backpex field module (atom) - Use this field for the type
• nil - Fall back to the default mapping

Common Use Cases

Custom Rich Text field:

config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    MyApp.Types.RichText => MyApp.Fields.TiptapEditor
  }

Custom Money/Currency field:

config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    Money.Ecto.Composite.Type => Backpex.Fields.Currency
  }

Override all strings to use Textarea:

config :ash_backpex,
  field_type_mappings: %{
    Ash.Type.String => Backpex.Fields.Textarea
  }

See AshBackpex.Config for more details on configuration options and validation.

Ash Authorization Integration

AshBackpex respects your Ash authorization policies. The generated can?/3 callback checks Ash authorization for CRUD operations:

• :new - Checks Ash.can?({Resource, create_action}, actor)
• :index / :show - Checks Ash.can?({Resource, read_action}, actor)
• :edit - Checks Ash.can?({item, update_action}, actor)
• :delete - Checks Ash.can?({item, destroy_action}, actor)

Custom item actions fall back to checking if a matching Ash action exists and verifying authorization against it.

Relationships, Calculations, and Aggregates

All Ash relationships, calculations, and aggregates can be displayed as fields:

backpex do
  resource MyApp.Blog.Post
  layout {MyAppWeb.Layouts, :admin}
  load [:author, :comments]  # Preload relationships

  fields do
    field :title
    field :author do          # belongs_to relationship
      display_field :name
      live_resource MyAppWeb.Admin.UserLive
    end
    field :word_count         # calculation
    field :comment_count      # aggregate
  end
end

Search

Enable search on string fields by setting searchable: true:

fields do
  field :title do
    searchable true
  end
  field :content do
    searchable true
  end
end

Search uses Ash's contains expression and supports multiple searchable fields (combined with OR logic).

Filters

Add filters to your admin interface:

filters do
  filter :published do
    module Backpex.Filters.Boolean
  end
  filter :status do
    module MyApp.Filters.StatusFilter
    label "Post Status"
  end
end

Custom Item Actions

Add custom actions to individual items:

item_actions do
  action :promote, MyApp.ItemActions.Promote
  strip_default [:delete]  # Remove default delete action
end

Custom Actions

Specify which Ash actions to use for CRUD operations:

backpex do
  resource MyApp.Blog.Post
  layout {MyAppWeb.Layouts, :admin}

  create_action :admin_create
  read_action :admin_read
  update_action :admin_update
  destroy_action :soft_delete
end

Custom Changesets

Provide custom changeset functions for create and update operations:

backpex do
  resource MyApp.Blog.Post
  layout {MyAppWeb.Layouts, :admin}

  create_changeset &MyApp.Blog.Post.admin_create_changeset/3
  update_changeset &MyApp.Blog.Post.admin_update_changeset/3
end

The changeset function receives (item, params, metadata) where metadata contains:

• :assigns - The LiveView assigns
• :target - The form field that triggered the changeset (or nil)

Router Setup

Add routes for your LiveResource in your router:

scope "/admin", MyAppWeb.Admin do
  pipe_through [:browser, :admin_auth]

  live "/posts", PostLive
end

DSL Reference

See AshBackpex.LiveResource.Dsl for complete DSL documentation including all available options for backpex, fields, filters, and item_actions sections.

Options

• :extensions (list of module that adopts Spark.Dsl.Extension) - A list of DSL extensions to add to the Spark.Dsl

• :otp_app (atom/0) - The otp_app to use for any application configurable options

• :fragments (list of module/0) - Fragments to include in the Spark.Dsl. See the fragments guide for more.