convex-guidelines

name	convex-guidelines
description	Canonical Convex backend coding patterns — validators, function registration, queries, mutations, actions, schemas, pagination, cron jobs, file storage, and Better Auth integration. Use when writing or reviewing any Convex backend code.

Convex Coding Guidelines

These guidelines must be followed when writing, reviewing, or modifying any Convex backend code.

Function Guidelines

HTTP Endpoint Syntax

• HTTP endpoints are defined in convex/http.ts and require an httpAction decorator:

import { httpRouter } from 'convex/server';
import { httpAction } from './_generated/server';
const http = httpRouter();
http.route({
	path: '/echo',
	method: 'POST',
	handler: httpAction(async (ctx, req) => {
		const body = await req.bytes();
		return new Response(body, { status: 200 });
	})
});

• HTTP endpoints are registered at the exact path you specify in the path field.
• For prefix matching use pathPrefix instead of path: http.route({ pathPrefix: "/api/", method: "GET", handler: ... }). Do NOT use glob patterns like /api/*.

Validators

• Use v.array(validator) for arrays, v.union(...) for unions, and v.object({ ... }) for objects.
• Discriminated unions: use v.literal("kind") inside v.union(v.object({ kind: v.literal("a"), ... }), ...).
• Common validators: v.id(tableName), v.string(), v.number(), v.boolean(), v.int64() (not v.bigint()), v.record(keys, values) (not v.map/v.set).
• There is NO v.tuple() validator. Use v.array(v.union(...)) for mixed-type arrays.
• JavaScript's undefined is not a valid Convex value. Functions that return undefined or do not return will return null when called from a client. Use null instead.
• v.record(keys, values): keys must be ASCII characters, nonempty, and not start with $ or _.

Function Registration

• Use internalQuery, internalMutation, internalAction for private functions (from ./_generated/server). Use query, mutation, action for public API.
• Do NOT register functions through the api or internal objects.
• ALWAYS include args validators for every function.
• ALWAYS include returns validators for every function. If a function returns nothing, use returns: v.null().
• Scheduled retry functions MUST have a max retry count. Add a retryCount field to the relevant table and stop retrying after N attempts (typically 5). Log the final failure for observability.

Function Calling

• Use ctx.runQuery to call a query from a query, mutation, or action.
• Use ctx.runMutation to call a mutation from a mutation or action.
• Use ctx.runAction to call an action from an action.
• Only call an action from another action when crossing runtimes (e.g. V8 to Node). Otherwise extract shared logic into a helper async function.
• Minimize action-to-query/mutation calls; each call is a separate transaction and can introduce race conditions.
• All calls take a FunctionReference (e.g. api.module.f). Do NOT pass the function directly.
• For same-file calls, add a type annotation on the return value to avoid TypeScript circularity:

export const f = query({
	args: { name: v.string() },
	returns: v.string(),
	handler: async (ctx, args) => {
		return 'Hello ' + args.name;
	}
});

export const g = query({
	args: {},
	returns: v.null(),
	handler: async (ctx, args) => {
		const result: string = await ctx.runQuery(api.example.f, { name: 'Bob' });
		return null;
	}
});

Function References (File-Based Routing)

• Use the api object from convex/_generated/api.ts to reference public functions (query, mutation, action).
• Use the internal object from convex/_generated/api.ts to reference private functions (internalQuery, internalMutation, internalAction).
• Public function f in convex/example.ts → api.example.f.
• Private function g in convex/example.ts → internal.example.g.
• Nested directories: convex/messages/access.ts → api.messages.access.h.

Pagination

• Import paginationOptsValidator from convex/server and use args: { paginationOpts: paginationOptsValidator, ... }.
• Paginated return object has page, isDone, and continueCursor (NOT results).
• Example:

import { query } from './_generated/server';
import { v } from 'convex/values';
import { paginationOptsValidator } from 'convex/server';

export const list = query({
	args: { paginationOpts: paginationOptsValidator, author: v.string() },
	handler: async (ctx, args) => {
		return await ctx.db
			.query('messages')
			.withIndex('by_author', (q) => q.eq('author', args.author))
			.order('desc')
			.paginate(args.paginationOpts);
	}
});

Schema Guidelines

• Always define your schema in convex/schema.ts and import schema definition functions from convex/server.
• System fields _creationTime (v.number()) and _id (v.id(tableName)) are automatic — never define them manually.
• Include all index fields in the index name: index on ["field1", "field2"] → name by_field1_and_field2.
• Index fields must be queried in the order they are defined. To query in a different order, create a separate index.

Authentication Guidelines (Better Auth + Convex)

This section applies to projects using @convex-dev/better-auth with a local install — NOT vanilla Convex JWT auth (auth.config.ts + ctx.auth.getUserIdentity()).

Server-side (Convex Backend)

• Auth is configured via createAuth() and createAuthOptions().
• Use authComponent.getAuthUser(ctx) to get the current authenticated user in any query, mutation, or action. It throws ConvexError('Unauthenticated') if there is no authenticated user, and otherwise returns the user (never null), so no if (!user) guard is needed after it. When unauthenticated should be a valid, non-throwing case, use authComponent.safeGetAuthUser(ctx), which returns undefined instead of throwing.
• NEVER accept a userId or any user identifier as a function argument for authorization. Always derive identity server-side via authComponent.getAuthUser(ctx).
• HTTP auth routes are registered via authComponent.registerRoutes(http, createAuth) in convex/http.ts.
• Auth tables (user, session, account, verification, jwks, passkey) are managed by the Better Auth component.
• Supported auth methods: email/password, OAuth (Google, GitHub), passkeys.

Client-side (SvelteKit)

• Auth client is created via createAuthClient() with plugins: convexClient(), passkeyClient(), adminClient().
• Use useAuth() for reactive auth state (isAuthenticated, session, user).
• Route protection is handled in hooks.server.ts: JWT extracted from cookies, /app/** requires auth, /admin/** requires role === 'admin'.
• Sign-in/sign-up: authClient.signIn.email(), authClient.signUp.email(), authClient.signIn.social(), authClient.signIn.passkey().

TypeScript Guidelines

• Use Id<"tableName"> from ./_generated/dataModel for document IDs. Be strict — prefer Id<"users"> over string.
• Use Doc<"tableName"> from ./_generated/dataModel for full document types.
• Use QueryCtx, MutationCtx, ActionCtx from ./_generated/server for typing function contexts. NEVER use any for ctx parameters.
• Match Record key/value types to the validator: v.record(v.id('users'), v.string()) → Record<Id<'users'>, string>.

Query Guidelines

• Do NOT use filter in queries. Define an index in the schema and use withIndex instead.
• Convex queries do NOT support .delete(). Instead, .collect() the results, iterate, and call ctx.db.delete(row._id) on each.
• Use .unique() to get a single document. Throws if multiple documents match.
• When using async iteration, do NOT use .collect(), .take(n), or .iter(). Use for await (const row of query) directly.

Ordering

• By default Convex returns documents in ascending _creationTime order.
• Use .order('asc') or .order('desc') to set order. Defaults to ascending.
• Queries using indexes are ordered based on the index columns and avoid slow table scans.

Full-Text Search

Use .withSearchIndex() for text search queries:

const messages = await ctx.db
	.query('messages')
	.withSearchIndex('search_body', (q) => q.search('body', 'hello hi').eq('channel', '#general'))
	.take(10);

Mutation Guidelines

• Use ctx.db.replace to fully replace an existing document. Throws if the document does not exist.
• Use ctx.db.patch to shallow merge updates into an existing document. Throws if the document does not exist.

Action Guidelines

• Always add "use node"; to the top of files containing actions that use Node.js built-in modules.
• NEVER add "use node"; to a file that also exports queries or mutations. Only actions can run in the Node.js runtime; queries and mutations must stay in the default Convex runtime. If you need Node.js built-ins alongside queries or mutations, put the action in a separate file.
• fetch() is available in the default Convex runtime. You do NOT need "use node"; just to use fetch().
• Never use ctx.db inside of an action. Actions don't have access to the database. Use ctx.runQuery or ctx.runMutation instead.

Scheduling Guidelines

Cron Jobs

• Only use crons.interval or crons.cron methods. Do NOT use crons.hourly, crons.daily, or crons.weekly helpers.
• Both cron methods take a FunctionReference. Do NOT pass the function directly.
• Define crons by declaring the top-level crons object, calling methods on it, and exporting it as default:

import { cronJobs } from 'convex/server';
import { internal } from './_generated/api';
import { internalAction } from './_generated/server';

const empty = internalAction({
	args: {},
	handler: async (ctx, args) => {
		console.log('empty');
	}
});

const crons = cronJobs();
crons.interval('delete inactive users', { hours: 2 }, internal.crons.empty, {});
export default crons;

• You can register Convex functions within crons.ts just like any other file.
• If a cron calls an internal function, always import internal from _generated/api, even if the function is registered in the same file.

File Storage Guidelines

• ctx.storage.getUrl() returns a signed URL for a given file. Returns null if the file doesn't exist.
• Do NOT use the deprecated ctx.storage.getMetadata. Query the _storage system table instead:

import { query } from './_generated/server';
import { v } from 'convex/values';

export const getFileMetadata = query({
	args: { fileId: v.id('_storage') },
	returns: v.any(),
	handler: async (ctx, args) => {
		return await ctx.db.system.get(args.fileId);
		// Returns: { _id, _creationTime, contentType?, sha256, size }
	}
});

• Convex storage stores items as Blob objects. Convert all items to/from a Blob when using storage.
• Use new Blob([data]) to store and await blob.text() to read. Do NOT use TextEncoder or TextDecoder with Convex storage blobs.