# Schema Registration
The extension builds its graph from explicit registration metadata stored in
extension catalog tables. Register node tables, edge relationships, and optional
filter columns before calling `graph.build()`.
## Registration Flow
## Register Node Tables
```sql
SELECT graph.add_table(
table_name := 'public.users'::regclass,
id_column := 'id',
columns := ARRAY['name', 'email', 'status'],
tenant_column := NULL
);
```
The `id_column` must match a primary key or a unique `NOT NULL` index. The code
validates this in `catalog/validate.rs` before writing the registration catalog.
For composite identifiers, use the overload with `id_columns`:
```sql
SELECT graph.add_table(
table_name := 'public.memberships'::regclass,
id_columns := ARRAY['account_id', 'user_id'],
columns := ARRAY['role', 'state']
);
```
Composite IDs are encoded as JSON array text during build. For example,
`account_id = 10, user_id = 55` becomes a primary-key string similar to
`["10","55"]`.
### Arguments
| Argument | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---:|---|
| `table_name` | `REGCLASS` | yes | Source table to index as graph nodes |
| `id_column` | `TEXT` | yes for scalar overload | Primary key or unique not-null column |
| `id_columns` | `TEXT[]` | yes for composite overload | Ordered primary key or unique not-null columns |
| `columns` | `TEXT[]` | no | Source columns available to `graph.search()` |
| `tenant_column` | `TEXT` | no | Per-row tenant value used for tenant-scoped traversal and search |
Search only considers columns registered in `columns`. Traversal filter pushdown
uses `graph.add_filter_column()` separately.
## Register FK-Style Edges
FK-style registration reads source rows from `from_table`, takes the row primary
key as the source node, and uses `from_column` as the target primary-key value.
```sql
SELECT graph.add_edge(
from_table := 'public.orders'::regclass,
from_column := 'customer_id',
to_table := 'public.customers'::regclass,
to_column := 'id',
label := 'placed_by',
bidirectional := true
);
```
This models:
```text
orders.id --placed_by--> customers.id
source PK target PK from orders.customer_id
```
## Register Edge-Table Relationships
Edge-table style registration is used when one table contains relationship rows.
The source and target values both come from the edge table.
```sql
SELECT graph.add_edge(
from_table := 'public.relationships'::regclass,
from_column := 'node_id_start',
to_table := 'public.entities'::regclass,
to_column := 'node_id_end',
label := 'related_to',
bidirectional := false
);
```
The builder first tries table-specific endpoint resolution. If needed, it falls
back to resolving the endpoint primary-key value across registered tables,
ordered by table OID. Prefer unambiguous primary keys across graph tables.
## Dynamic Edge Labels
When `label_column` is set, each edge row may provide its own label. Empty or
NULL values fall back to the static `label`.
```sql
SELECT graph.add_edge(
from_table := 'public.weighted_edges'::regclass,
from_column := 'src',
to_table := 'public.nodes'::regclass,
to_column := 'dst',
label := 'route',
bidirectional := false,
label_column := 'rel_type'
);
```
Edge labels are assigned compact `u8` IDs. The current maximum is 254 distinct
user-facing labels; exceeding it raises `PG004`.
## Weighted Edges
Register `weight_column` to enable `graph.weighted_shortest_path()`:
```sql
SELECT graph.add_edge(
from_table := 'public.routes'::regclass,
from_column := 'src',
to_table := 'public.places'::regclass,
to_column := 'dst',
label := 'route',
bidirectional := false,
weight_column := 'cost'
);
```
The weight column must be numeric. Build clamps loaded weights into `u32`; NULL
or missing weights default to `1` when a weighted store is built.
## Register Filter Columns
Filter columns are separate from search columns. They are encoded into
`FilterIndex` so traversal can evaluate predicates without joining back to SQL
for every candidate neighbor.
```sql
SELECT graph.add_filter_column(
table_name := 'public.users'::regclass,
column_name := 'age',
column_type := 'numeric'
);
SELECT graph.add_filter_column(
table_name := 'public.users'::regclass,
column_name := 'state',
column_type := 'text'
);
```
Supported `column_type` values:
| Type | Encoding |
|---|---|
| `numeric` | Signed integer domain |
| `boolean` | Boolean domain with sparse bitmap support |
| `text` | Interned text dictionary token |
| `date` | Days from `DATE '2000-01-01'` |
| `timestamptz` | Microseconds from Unix epoch |
| `uuid` | Canonical 128-bit UUID integer |
## Inspect Registration
```sql
SELECT * FROM graph.registered_tables();
SELECT * FROM graph.registered_edges();
```
## Remove Registration
```sql
SELECT graph.remove_edge('placed_by');
SELECT graph.remove_table('public.orders'::regclass);
```
Removing a table also removes associated filter columns and edges where that
table is either endpoint. Rebuild after removal:
```sql
SELECT * FROM graph.build();
```
## Auto-Discovery
`graph.auto_discover(schema_name)` scans tables and foreign keys in one schema,
registers discovered tables and FK edges, then calls `graph.build()`.
```sql
SELECT * FROM graph.auto_discover('public');
```
`graph.auto_discover_tables()` limits discovery to selected tables and FK edges
between only those tables:
```sql
SELECT *
FROM graph.auto_discover_tables(
ARRAY[
'public.users'::regclass,
'public.orders'::regclass
],
tenant_column := 'account_id'
);
```
Use auto-discovery for quick starts and formal FK schemas. Use manual
registration when relationship tables, dynamic labels, weights, or custom
tenant behavior matter.
Auto-discovery registers bounded string-like columns as searchable properties.
This keeps quick-start search predictable for common names, codes, labels, and
small text attributes while avoiding unexpectedly broad graph metadata from
large text, numeric, JSON, or timestamp columns.
Use manual registration when the searchable surface needs to include non-text
properties or a narrower set of text columns:
```sql
SELECT graph.add_table(
table_name := 'public.users'::regclass,
key := ARRAY['id'],
columns := ARRAY['name', 'email', 'status']
);
```
Traversal filters are registered separately from searchable properties:
```sql
SELECT graph.add_filter_column(
table_name := 'public.users'::regclass,
column_name := 'created_at',
column_type := 'timestamptz'
);
```