useMutate

You will learn

• Every method on the useMutate return object
• How to batch operations in a transaction
• How to track pending mutations
• Edge cases around optimistic updates

What useMutate replaces

In a traditional app, useMutate replaces:

• Prisma / Drizzle — database writes
• REST POST/PUT/DELETE — API mutations
• Redux actions / Zustand mutations — state updates
• Optimistic updates — the local-first model is inherently optimistic

Every mutation is validated, signed, persisted, and synced — automatically.

Quick example

import { useMutate } from '@xnetjs/react'
import { TaskSchema } from './schema'

function AddTaskButton() {
  const { create, isPending } = useMutate()

  return (
    <button
      disabled={isPending}
      onClick={() =>
        create(TaskSchema, {
          title: 'New task',
          status: 'todo'
        })
      }
    >
      {isPending ? 'Creating...' : 'Add Task'}
    </button>
  )
}

Signature

function useMutate(): UseMutateResult

Takes no parameters. Returns methods for all mutation operations.

Return value

Mutation methods

Method	Signature	Description
create	(schema, data, id?) => Promise<FlatNode | null>	Create a new node. Returns the created node or null if store isn’t ready.
update	(schema, id, data) => Promise<FlatNode | null>	Update properties. Only changed fields are written.
remove	(id) => Promise<void>	Soft-delete a node. Recoverable via restore.
restore	(id) => Promise<FlatNode | null>	Restore a soft-deleted node.
mutate	(ops[]) => Promise<MutateResult | null>	Execute a batch of operations through the active data bridge.

Status fields

Field	Type	Description
isPending	boolean	true if any mutation is currently in flight.
pendingCount	number	Number of concurrent mutations in flight.

Usage patterns

Basic CRUD

const { create, update, remove, restore } = useMutate()

// Create
const task = await create(TaskSchema, {
  title: 'Ship v1',
  status: 'todo'
})

// Update (sparse — only changed fields)
await update(TaskSchema, task.id, { status: 'doing' })

// Soft-delete
await remove(task.id)

// Restore
await restore(task.id)

Custom ID

Pass an optional third argument to create to specify the node ID:

const task = await create(TaskSchema, { title: 'Known ID' }, 'my-custom-id')
// task.id === 'my-custom-id'

Transactions (batch operations)

Use mutate() to execute multiple operations in one call:

const { mutate } = useMutate()

const result = await mutate([
  { type: 'create', schema: TaskSchema, data: { title: 'Task A' } },
  { type: 'create', schema: TaskSchema, data: { title: 'Task B' } },
  { type: 'update', id: existingId, data: { status: 'done' } },
  { type: 'delete', id: oldTaskId }
])

MutateResult

interface MutateResult {
  results: (NodeState | null)[] // One result per operation (null for deletes)
}

Form integration

function TaskForm({ taskId }: { taskId: string }) {
  const { data: task } = useQuery(TaskSchema, taskId)
  const { update } = useMutate()
  const [title, setTitle] = useState('')

  useEffect(() => {
    if (task) setTitle(task.title)
  }, [task])

  const save = () => update(TaskSchema, taskId, { title })

  return (
    <form
      onSubmit={(e) => {
        e.preventDefault()
        save()
      }}
    >
      <input value={title} onChange={(e) => setTitle(e.target.value)} />
      <button type="submit">Save</button>
    </form>
  )
}

Tracking pending state

const { create, isPending, pendingCount } = useMutate()

// Disable UI during mutations
<button disabled={isPending}>Save</button>

// Show count for batch operations
{pendingCount > 0 && <span>{pendingCount} operations pending...</span>}

Gotchas

null means the store isn’t ready

All mutation methods return null if the NodeStore hasn’t initialized yet (e.g., XNetProvider is still mounting). This is rare but possible if you call a mutation immediately on mount.

Updates are sparse

update() only writes the fields you pass. Other properties are untouched. This is important for conflict resolution — you’re only claiming ownership of the fields you change.

// This only updates `status`, not `title`
await update(TaskSchema, id, { status: 'done' })

Mutations trigger useQuery updates

When you call create, update, remove, or restore, the NodeStore emits a NodeChangeEvent. Any useQuery hook watching the same schema will automatically re-render with the new data. You don’t need to manually invalidate queries.

Related

• useQuery — read the data you mutate
• useNode — alternative for single-node editing with Yjs
• defineSchema — define the schemas you write to