Initialize a new ZenStack project in your existing repo:

npx @zenstackhq/cli@latest init

This creates a zenstack/schema.zmodel file and updates package.json scripts.

Public API

zenstackAdapter

import { zenstackAdapter, type AdapterConfig } from '@zenstackhq/better-auth/adapter';
// or via the index:
import { zenstackAdapter, type AdapterConfig } from '@zenstackhq/better-auth';

A Better Auth database adapter factory. Pass it an AdapterConfig (which wraps a ZenStack enhanced client) to connect Better Auth's session/user persistence to your ZenStack ORM. Use this when you want Better Auth to store authentication data in the same database managed by ZenStack.

actions (CLI action functions)

import { check, db, format, generate, info, init, migrate, seed, proxy } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions';

// Signatures (as used by the CLI internally):
function generate(options: GenerateOptions): Promise<void>;
function migrate(subCommand: string, options: any): Promise<void>;
function check(options: CheckOptions): Promise<void>;
function format(options: FormatOptions): Promise<void>;
function seed(options: SeedOptions, args: string[]): Promise<void>;
function proxy(options: ProxyOptions): Promise<void>;
function info(projectPath: string): Promise<void>;
function init(projectPath: string): Promise<void>;
function db(subCommand: string, options: any): Promise<void>;

These are the programmatic equivalents of every zen CLI subcommand. Use them in custom build scripts or test harnesses when you need to drive ZenStack operations without spawning a child process.

providers (DB introspection)

import { providers } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions/pull/provider';
import type { IntrospectionProvider } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions/pull/provider';

// providers is keyed by DataSourceProviderType
const pg: IntrospectionProvider = providers['postgresql'];
const my: IntrospectionProvider = providers['mysql'];
const sq: IntrospectionProvider = providers['sqlite'];

A map of database-specific introspection providers used by zen db pull. Each provider implements IntrospectionProvider with methods for reading tables, columns, foreign keys, and native enums from a live database. Use these when building custom pull/sync tooling on top of the ZenStack schema engine.

Working examples

Scenario - Running code generation programmatically

You want a build script that regenerates ZenStack artifacts (types, Zod schemas) without shelling out to the CLI binary.

import { generate } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions';

async function buildStep() {
  await generate({
    schema: './zenstack/schema.zmodel',
    output: './src/generated',
  });
  console.log('ZenStack artifacts generated');
}

buildStep().catch((err) => {
  console.error(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

Scenario - Connecting Better Auth to ZenStack ORM

You have a ZenStack-enhanced db client and want Better Auth to persist sessions through it.

import { betterAuth } from 'better-auth';
import { zenstackAdapter } from '@zenstackhq/better-auth';
import { db } from './db'; // your ZenStack db client

export const auth = betterAuth({
  database: zenstackAdapter({
    db, // AdapterConfig: your ZenStack client instance
  }),
  emailAndPassword: {
    enabled: true,
  },
});

Scenario - Programmatic schema check in CI

Run the schema validity check as part of a CI pipeline step, capturing errors without spawning a subprocess.

import { check } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions';

async function ciCheck() {
  try {
    await check({
      schema: './zenstack/schema.zmodel',
    });
    console.log('Schema is valid');
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Schema check failed:', err);
    process.exit(1);
  }
}

ciCheck();

Scenario - Seeding a database programmatically

Invoke the seed action from a custom script, passing extra arguments to the seed file.

import { seed } from '@zenstackhq/cli/actions';

async function seedDatabase() {
  await seed(
    { schema: './zenstack/schema.zmodel' },
    ['--env', 'development']
  );
}

seedDatabase().catch(console.error);

File walkthrough

• auth-adapters/better-auth/ - Implements zenstackAdapter and AdapterConfig to bridge Better Auth's database interface to ZenStack's ORM client; also contains a schema generator for Better Auth models.
• cli/ - The zen / zenstack CLI entry point; registers all subcommands (generate, migrate, db, check, format, seed, proxy, info, init, pull) and wires telemetry.
• cli/src/actions/ - One module per CLI subcommand; each exports a run function usable programmatically.
• cli/src/actions/pull/ - DB introspection and ZModel sync logic; converts live database schema into .zmodel AST nodes.
• cli/src/actions/pull/provider/ - Per-database introspection implementations for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite.
• cli/src/plugins/ - CLI-side plugin runners for Prisma and TypeScript code generation steps.
• cli/src/utils/ - CLI utilities: version checking, exec helpers, machine ID, environment detection (CI, Docker, WSL).
• clients/ - Frontend/isomorphic clients: fetch-based HTTP client, TanStack Query hooks, and shared client helpers.
• common-helpers/ - Cross-package utility functions (e.g., lowerCaseFirst).
• language/ - ZModel language definition via Langium: AST types, factories, metadata, and parser services.
• orm/ - Core ORM runtime: query engine, Kysely integration, access control enforcement.
• plugins/ - Code generation plugins invoked by zen generate (Zod schemas, TypeScript types).
• schema/ - ZModel schema compiler, validator, and DataSourceProviderType definitions.
• sdk/ - Public extension SDK for third-party plugin authors.
• server/ - Framework adapters (Express, Next.js, Fastify) that expose auto-generated CRUD HTTP endpoints.
• zod/ - Runtime Zod schema generation from compiled ZModel definitions.
• testtools/ - Test helpers for spinning up in-memory or test databases with ZenStack applied.

Common pitfalls and fixes

• DATABASE_URL not picked up at generation time: zen generate reads .env via dotenv/config; ensure .env is in the project root or pass --env-file explicitly.
• ESM/CJS interop errors with Langium: ZenStack's language package uses ESM; set "module": "NodeNext" and "moduleResolution": "NodeNext" in tsconfig.json for packages that import @zenstackhq/language.
• better-auth peer version mismatch: zenstackAdapter is built against a specific better-auth minor; pin both to the same minor version (^1.x.x) to avoid interface drift.
• Missing @zenstackhq/schema when using providers: DataSourceProviderType is imported from @zenstackhq/schema; install it even if you only use the CLI pull provider directly.
• zen generate produces empty output: Verify that at least one plugin is declared in schema.zmodel under the plugin block; without a plugin declaration the generator has nothing to emit.
• Telemetry noise in CI: Set DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or ZENSTACK_NO_TELEMETRY=1 in your CI environment to suppress anonymous usage pings from the CLI.

Vibe-coding prompt template

I have the ZenStack V3 source block located at `source/` in my project, and a
usage guide at `USAGE.md`. The upstream package is `user@example.com`.

Please help me integrate ZenStack into my existing TypeScript Node.js project
step by step:

1. Read `USAGE.md` fully before making any changes.
2. Identify which packages under `source/` are relevant to my use case
   (I need: [describe: ORM only / CLI + ORM / server adapters / Better Auth adapter]).
3. Install the required npm dependencies listed in `USAGE.md` §Required dependencies.
4. Update my `tsconfig.json` paths so imports from `@zenstackhq/*` resolve to
   `source/` correctly.
5. Create or update `zenstack/schema.zmodel` with my data models.
6. Wire the `generate` action (from `source/cli/src/actions/generate.ts`) into
   my build script.
7. If I need the Better Auth adapter, add the `zenstackAdapter` call from
   `source/auth-adapters/better-auth/src/adapter.ts` to my auth configuration.
8. Show me the final file tree and all changed files with full content.

Do not invent any API symbols; use only what is documented in `USAGE.md` §Public API.

License and credit

ZenStack is released under the MIT license. See source/LICENSE if present, or refer to the GitHub repository. Upstream package: zenstack-v3 version 3.6.4. Full documentation at https://zenstack.dev/docs.

This product’s unique contribution is clean room implementation of valuable code block into AVCP compatible standard.

The full install guide and integration prompts unlock after purchase.

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