NestJS / TypeORM: Custom repository method is not accessible in service - nestjs

Question

New to NestJS and TypeORM, and the similar questions on SO didn't solve my problem.
I have a custom TypeORM repository in NestJS using it in service, but it fails with error:
TypeError: this.tenantRepository.createTenant is not a function.
tenants.module.ts:
import { TenantRepository } from './tenant.repository';
#Module({
imports: [
TypeOrmModule.forFeature([TenantRepository]),
],
controllers: [TenantsController],
providers: [TenantsService],
})
export class TenantsModule { }
tenant.repository.ts:
// ...
import { TenantEntity } from './entities/tenant.entity';
#EntityRepository(TenantEntity)
export class TenantRepository extends Repository<TenantEntity>{
async createTenant(createTenantDto: CreateTenantDto): Promise<TenantEntity> {
const { name, email } = createTenantDto;
const newTenant = new TenantEntity()
newTenant.name = name;
newTenant.email = email;
await newTenant.save()
return newTenant;
}
}
And here's where the error is triggered (tenants.service.ts)
// ...
import { TenantEntity } from './entities/tenant.entity';
import { TenantRepository } from './tenant.repository';
#Injectable()
export class TenantsService {
constructor(
#InjectRepository(TenantRepository)
private tenantRepository: TenantRepository
) { }
async createTenant(createTenantDto: CreateTenantDto): Promise<TenantEntity> {
return await this.tenantRepository.createTenant(createTenantDto); // <-- ERROR
}
}
I can inject entity in service and use it for simple CRUD, but I want to separate concerns and use the repository pattern.
This is a POST endpoint and the error is only after submission from Swagger.
Also, VS Code autocomplete is suggesting createTenant after typing this.tenantRepository
Where am I going wrong?

Answer 1

EntityRepository decorator was deprecated, and as far as I know, you need to define a custom class that extends Repository and decorate it with #Injectable. Hence, you need to have some changes as follows:
tenant.repository.ts:
import { Injectable } from '#nestjs/common';
import { DataSource, Repository } from 'typeorm';
#Injectable()
export class TenantRepository extends Repository<TenantEntity>{
constructor(private dataSource: DataSource) {
super(TenantEntity, dataSource.createEntityManager());
}
async createTenant(createTenantDto: CreateTenantDto): Promise<TenantEntity> {
const { name, email } = createTenantDto;
const newTenant = this.create({ name, email });
await this.save(newTenant);
return newTenant;
}
}
tenants.module.ts:
import { TenantRepository } from './tenant.repository';
#Module({
imports: [
TypeOrmModule.forFeature([TenantRepository]),
],
controllers: [TenantsController],
providers: [TenantsService, TenantRepository],
})
export class TenantsModule { }
tenants.service.ts:
import { TenantEntity } from './entities/tenant.entity';
import { TenantRepository } from './tenant.repository';
#Injectable()
export class TenantsService {
constructor(
private tenantRepository: TenantRepository
) { }
async createTenant(createTenantDto: CreateTenantDto): Promise<TenantEntity> {
return await this.tenantRepository.createTenant(createTenantDto);
}
}
You also have access to built-in typeorm methods like save, create, find, etc. since the custom repository is derived from Repository class.