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Change an Object Model - Node.js SDK

On this page

  • Schema Version
  • Migrations
  • Add a Property
  • Delete a Property
  • Rename a Property
  • Modify a Property Type

A schema version identifies the state of a realm schema at some point in time. Realm tracks the schema version of each realm and uses it to map the objects in each realm to the correct schema.

Schema versions are ascending integers that you can optionally include in the realm configuration when you open a realm. If a client application does not specify a version number when it opens a realm then the realm defaults to version 0.

Important

Increment Versions Monotonically

Migrations must update a realm to a higher schema version. Realm will throw an error if a client application opens a realm with a schema version that is lower than the realm's current version or if the specified schema version is the same as the realm's current version but includes different object schemas.

A migration is a function that updates a realm and any objects it contains from one schema version to a newer version. Migrations give you the flexibility to change your object schemas over time to accommodate new features and refactors.

Tip

Bypass Migration During Development

When developing or debugging your application, you may prefer to delete the realm instead of migrating it. Use the deleteRealmIfMigrationNeeded flag to delete the database automatically when a schema mismatch would require a migration.

Never release an app to production with this flag set to true.

Whenever you open an existing realm with a schema version greater than the realm's current version, Realm runs a migration function that you define. The function has access to the realm's version number and incrementally updates objects in the realm to conform to the new schema.

Realm automatically migrates certain changes, such as new and deleted properties, but does not automatically set values for new properties unless the updated object schema specifies a default value. You can define additional logic in the migration function to further customize property values.

Note

Modify Schema Properties of a Synced Realm

The following page demonstrates how to modify schema properties of a local realm. Learn how to modify schema properties of a synced realm.

To add a property to a schema, add the new property to the object's class and set a schemaVersion of the realm's configuration object.

Example

A realm using schema version 1 has a Person object type with a firstName, and lastName property. The developer decides to add an age property to the Person class.

To migrate the realm to conform to the updated Person schema, the developer sets the realm's schema version to 2.

To delete a property from a schema, remove the property from the object's class and set a schemaVersion of the realm's configuration object. Deleting a property will not impact existing objects.

Example

A realm using schema version 1 has a Dog object type with a weight property. The developer decides to remove the property from the schema.

To migrate the realm to conform to the updated Dog schema, the developer sets the realm's schema version to 2.

To rename an object property, change the property name in the object schema and then open the realm with an incremented schema version and a migration function that updates existing objects to use the new property name.

Migrations do not allow you to directly rename a property. Instead you can create a new property with the updated name, copy the value from the old property, and then delete the old property.

Example

A realm using schema version 1 has a Person object type. The original schema had a firstName and lastName field. The developer later decides that the Person class should use a combined fullName field and removes the separate firstName and lastName fields.

To migrate the realm to conform to the updated Person schema, the developer sets the realm's schema version to 2 and defines a migration function to set the value of fullName based on the existing firstName and lastName properties.

Important

Synced Realms

Synced realms only support non-breaking - also called additive - changes to ensure that older clients can sync with newer clients. Because full renames require you to delete the old property, you cannot rename a synchronized property without requiring a client reset. Instead, consider adding the renamed property without deleting the old property. Alternately, use mapTo to store data using the existing internal name, but let your code use a different name.

To modify a property's type, set the property type of the field that you wish to modify to the new data type. Then, set a schemaVersion, and a migration callback function of the realm's configuration Object.

Note

Synchronized realms only support non-breaking changes, to ensure that older clients can sync with newer clients. This means that synchronized realms do not support modifying the type of a property of a schema.

Example

A realm using schema version 1 has a Dog object type. The original schema had an _id with a property type of Object ID. The developer later decides that the Dog class's _id field should be of type string, and updates the schema.

To migrate the realm to conform to the updated Dog schema, the developer sets the realm's schema version to 2 and defines a migration function to convert the Object ID type to a string type.

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