fbp-types

Flow-Based Programming TypeScript types and GraphSchemata specification.

Installation

pnpm add @fbp/types

Overview

@fbp/types provides TypeScript types for a Houdini-inspired, merkle-friendly graph specification. The core design principles are explicitness over magic, composable subgraphs, stable content-addressable structure, and clear separation between dataflow and configuration.

Core Concepts

Everything is a Node

The entire document is a single Node. Nodes may contain other nodes and edges, forming nested graphs (subnets). A node becomes a subnet simply by containing nodes[] and edges[]. There is no separate “graph” type.

Identity Model

Node identity equals name within parent scope. Names may be hierarchical paths by convention (some/subnet/node). Rename or move equals identity change. This model is compatible with merkle/content-addressable versioning.

Type Definitions

Graph

interface Graph {
  name?: string;
  nodes: Node[];
  edges: Edge[];
  definitions?: NodeDefinition[];
  meta?: NodeMeta;
}

Node

interface Node {
  name: string;               // Unique within parent scope
  type: string;               // References a NodeDefinition
  meta?: NodeMeta;            // Position and metadata
  props?: PropValue[];        // Property values
  nodes?: Node[];             // Child nodes (makes this a subnet)
  edges?: Edge[];             // Edges within this scope
}

Edge

interface Edge {
  src: PortRef;               // Source (output port)
  dst: PortRef;               // Destination (input port)
  channel?: string;           // Optional channel (default: "main")
}

interface PortRef {
  node: string;               // Node name within scope
  port: string;               // Port name
}

NodeDefinition

interface NodeDefinition {
  type: string;               // Unique identifier (e.g., "math/add")
  context?: string;           // Namespace (e.g., "math", "ui")
  category?: string;          // Palette category
  inputs?: PortDef[];         // Input port definitions
  outputs?: PortDef[];        // Output port definitions
  props?: PropDef[];          // Property definitions
  icon?: string;
  description?: string;
}

Port and Prop Definitions

interface PortDef {
  name: string;
  type?: string;              // Data type (e.g., "string", "number", "any")
  multi?: boolean;            // Accepts multiple connections
  description?: string;
}

interface PropDef {
  name: string;
  type?: string;
  default?: any;
  description?: string;
}

interface PropValue {
  name: string;
  value?: any;
  ref?: boolean;              // If true, value is a reference path
}

Ports (No Lanes)

Ports are named, typed, and singular. There is no lane or index dimension. Branching uses multiple named output ports (e.g., true, false, error). Fan-in is never implicit — multiple values must be combined via explicit nodes (Merge, Collect, etc.).

Props vs Dataflow

Props are not dataflow. They configure node behavior and are not connected by edges. They may reference other parameters via Ref:

{ "ref": "../config/apiKey" }

Boundary Nodes

Boundary nodes define a subnet’s interface:

Reserved names @in, @out, @props are used for canonical boundary nodes.

Channels

Edges may specify a channel for namespacing:

{
  src: { node: 'A', port: 'out' },
  dst: { node: 'B', port: 'in' },
  channel: 'error'
}

Default channel is "main". Non-main channels are for error routing, control edges, metadata propagation.

Validation Rules

• Node names must be unique within a scope
• Node names starting with @ are reserved for boundary nodes
• Port names must be unique within inputs, outputs, and props
• Edges must reference existing ports
• Fan-in requires explicit merge nodes
• Branching requires explicit output ports