PostgreSQL-optimized TypeScript ORM

Built exclusively for Postgres. Type-safe fluent query builder, decorator-based models, and queries tuned for Postgres performance.

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PostgreSQL-native

Built exclusively for Postgres, not a lowest-common-denominator abstraction. Queries are tuned for Postgres performance. JSONB, DISTINCT ON, subquery joins, and ON CONFLICT upserts work out of the box.

Fluent builder pattern

Chain .where(), .sort(), .limit(), .join(), and .populate() calls. Each method returns a new immutable instance.

Decorator-based models

Define tables, columns, and relationships with TypeScript decorators. Inheritance and schema support built in.

Type-safe queries

WhereQuery types narrow automatically — relationship fields resolve to foreign keys or populated entities without type assertions.

What it looks like

Define a model, query it — that's it.

import { column, primaryColumn, table, Entity, initialize } from 'bigal';
import { Pool } from 'postgres-pool';

@table({ name: 'products' })
class Product extends Entity {
  @primaryColumn({ type: 'integer' })
  public id!: number;

  @column({ type: 'string', required: true })
  public name!: string;

  @column({ type: 'integer', required: true })
  public priceCents!: number;

  @column({ model: () => 'Store', name: 'store_id' })
  public store!: number | Store;
}

const repos = initialize({
  models: [Product, Store],
  pool: new Pool('postgres://localhost/mydb'),
});
const productRepo = repos.Product as Repository<Product>;

// Fluent queries — just await the chain
const products = await productRepo
  .find()
  .where({ priceCents: { '>': 1000 }, name: { contains: 'widget' } })
  .sort('name asc')
  .limit(10);

// Joins and subqueries
const expensiveProducts = await productRepo
  .find()
  .join('store')
  .where({
    store: { name: 'Acme' },
    price: { '>': subquery(productRepo).avg('price') },
  });

// Upserts with ON CONFLICT
await productRepo.create({ name: 'Widget', sku: 'WDG-001', priceCents: 999 }, { onConflict: { action: 'merge', targets: ['sku'], merge: ['priceCents'] } });