Managing Manifests

This guide covers how to create and manage ReJot manifest files using the rejot-cli manifest commands. ReJot uses Manifests as a central configuration file that defines your data synchronization setup. Think of it as a “lockfile” for your data contracts - it specifies what data should be synced, where it should be synced, and in what format.

Why Use Manifests?

Manifests provide several key benefits:

• Centralized Configuration: All your sync settings are in one place
• Version Control: Manifests can be committed to version control, making your data contracts reproducible
• Network Discovery: Other sync services can discover and use your public schemas
• Environment Management: Different manifests can be used for development, staging, and production

Manifest Components

A manifest definition contains (a subset of) the following components:

• Data stores: Source databases that ReJot monitors for changes
• Event stores: Where ReJot stores and manages change events
• Public Schemas: Define what data is exposed from your data stores
• Consumer Schemas: Define how data is transformed and stored in target systems

Initializing a Manifest

To create a new empty manifest file in the current directory, use the following command. Each manifest requires a unique slug, which is used to identify where public schemas are exposed and where sync services can locate them on the network.

rejot-cli manifest init --slug "my-sync-slug"

Setting Up Data and Event Stores

Before configuring public and consumer schemas, you need to specify how ReJot should connect to your databases and where the ReJot Event Store is located.

For each data store, ReJot will monitor changes to public schemas defined for that data store and push those changes to the event store. While you can configure the event store to use the same database, it’s generally recommended to use a separate database.

Adding Database Connections

Let’s start by adding the connection details:

rejot-cli manifest connection add \
            --slug "my-datastore" \
            --type postgres \
            --database postgres \
            --host localhost \
            --password example \
            --port 5432 \
            --user postgres

Alternatively, you can provide a connection string:

rejot-cli manifest connection add \
            --slug "my-datastore" \
            --connection-string "postgres://postgres:postgres@example:5432/postgres"

Configuring Data Stores

Next, link the connection to a data store:

rejot-cli manifest datastore add \
            --connection my-datastore \
            --publication rejot_publication \
            --slot rejot_slot

Setting Up Event Stores

To operate ReJot, you need at least one event store configured. You can create this connection the same way as for any other data store. Ensure the database user has permissions to create schemas and tables. Then, link the event store to that connection:

rejot-cli manifest eventstore add \
            --connection my-eventstore-connection

Verifying Your Configuration

You can use the info command to display a parsed version of the manifest:

rejot-cli manifest info

Manifest Configuration:

Connections:
  - my-datastore (postgres)
    Host: localhost:5432
    Database: postgres
    User: postgres
    string: postgres://postgres@localhost:5432/postgres

Data Stores (Replication Sources):
  - Connection: my-datastore
    Publication / slot: rejot_publication / rejot_slot

Event Stores (Replication Targets):
  - Connection: my-datastore

Next Steps

Now that you know how to manage your manifest file, you can create public and consumer schemas