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DocsNestJS CRUD AutomatorAPI ReferenceDecoratorsProperty Decorators@ApiPropertyCopy

@ApiPropertyCopy

Copies all generated decorators (Swagger metadata, class-validator rules, transformers, DTO hooks) from an entity property onto a manual DTO field. Eliminates duplication when custom DTOs should mirror entity metadata.

Signature

ApiPropertyCopy<E>({
	entity,
	propertyName,
	method?,
	dtoType?,
	metadata?,
	guard?,
	shouldAutoResolveContext?,
}: TApiPropertyCopyProperties<E>): PropertyDecorator

Options

OptionDescription
entityEntity class or factory. Factories allow lazy resolution to avoid circular imports.
propertyNameProperty name on the entity to mirror.
method / dtoTypeSpecify which CRUD route + DTO (e.g., GET + RESPONSE) to pull decorators from. Required unless shouldAutoResolveContext is true.
metadataPartial overrides merged with the original @ApiPropertyDescribe metadata before decorator generation. Useful for tweaking descriptions or DTO exposure.
guardGuard class used when generating DTO-specific decorators (mirrors the guard registered during auto DTO generation).
shouldAutoResolveContextWhen true, defers execution until the auto DTO pipeline attaches method/dto metadata (e.g., inside generated controller DTOs). Retries through the auto-context queue.

Behavior

  • Resolves the entity (sync or async) and ensures propertyName metadata exists, throwing descriptive errors if not.
  • Determines the correct DTO context either from method/dtoType or the auto context queue.
  • Calls the DTO generator to produce the same decorators originally attached to the entity property and re-applies them to the DTO field.
  • Supports guard-aware decorator generation so field-level guards remain in sync.

Example

class DepositResponseDto {
	@ApiPropertyCopy({
		entity: () => DepositEntity,
		propertyName: "amount",
		method: EApiRouteType.GET,
		dtoType: EApiDtoType.RESPONSE,
	})
	amount!: number;
 
	@ApiPropertyCopy({
		entity: () => DepositEntity,
		propertyName: "status",
		shouldAutoResolveContext: true,
	})
	status!: EDepositStatus;
}
Last updated on
@ApiPropertyBoolean@ApiPropertyDate