Attributes

An attribute defines a single value exposed through the API. Each attribute declares its type, visibility, and behavior — the adapter uses these declarations to derive contracts, request shapes, and query capabilities.

What Attributes Do

Every attribute declares:

• Attribute exposure — which model columns appear in API responses
• Type information — data type, nullability, and enum values (auto-detected from the database)
• Behavior flags — whether the attribute is writable, filterable, or sortable
• Metadata — descriptions, examples, and deprecation markers for generated exports

A Minimal Declaration

class InvoiceRepresentation < Apiwork::Representation::Base
  attribute :number, filterable: true, sortable: true, writable: true
  attribute :status, filterable: true
  attribute :issued_on, sortable: true
  attribute :total
end

Apiwork detects types, nullability, and enum values from the database. The adapter interprets behavior flags like filterable and sortable at runtime.

Next Steps

• Declaration — auto-detection, options reference, and batch configuration
• Custom — virtual attributes backed by methods
• Writable — controlling create and update access
• Encode & Decode — transforming values during serialization
• Inline Types — defining shapes for JSON/JSONB columns
• Metadata — descriptions, examples, deprecation, and format hints

See also

• Representation::Element — block context reference