Convex Cascading Delete

A Convex component for managing cascading deletes across related documents. Configure relationships via existing indexes, then delete documents safely knowing all related records will be cleaned up automatically with clear consistency guarantees.

Why Use This Component?

• Works with existing schemas - No migration to special schema definitions; uses your existing defineTable and indexes
• Explicit configuration - Clear, declarative rules for cascade relationships defined in one place
• Two deletion modes - Inline (atomic, single transaction) for small deletes, batched (scheduled) for large trees
• Progress tracking - React hook for real-time batch deletion progress with reactive updates
• Safety guards - Optional patchDb helper prevents accidental direct db.delete calls
• Index validation - Catch configuration errors at startup, not at delete time
• Circular handling - Automatically handles circular and diamond dependencies via visited set
• Full observability - Returns deletion summary with per-table document counts
• Non-invasive - Drop-in component that doesn't replace your schema builder or require code changes beyond deletion calls

Pre-requisite: Convex

You'll need an existing Convex project to use this component. Convex is a hosted backend platform, including a database, serverless functions, and a bunch more you can learn about here.

Run npm create convex or follow any of the Convex quickstarts to set one up.

Installation

Step 1: Install the package

npm install @00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete

Step 2: Add the component to your Convex app

// convex/convex.config.ts
import { defineApp } from "convex/server";
import convexCascadingDelete from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete/convex.config";

const app = defineApp();
app.use(convexCascadingDelete);

export default app;

Step 3: Configure cascade rules and instantiate

// convex/cascading.ts
import {
  CascadingDelete,
  defineCascadeRules,
  makeBatchDeleteHandler
} from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete";
import { components } from "./_generated/api";
import { internalMutation } from "./_generated/server";

export const cascadeRules = defineCascadeRules({
  users: [
    { to: "posts", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" },
    { to: "comments", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" }
  ],
  posts: [
    { to: "comments", via: "byPostId", field: "postId" }
  ]
});

export const cd = new CascadingDelete(components.convexCascadingDelete, {
  rules: cascadeRules
});

// Required for batched mode - exports an internal mutation that processes deletion batches
export const _cascadeBatchHandler = makeBatchDeleteHandler(
  internalMutation,
  components.convexCascadingDelete
);

Quick Start

Use the configured cd instance in your mutations:

// convex/users.ts
import { mutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { cd } from "./cascading";

export const deleteUser = mutation({
  args: { userId: v.id("users") },
  handler: async (ctx, { userId }) => {
    // Deletes user + all their posts + all comments on those posts
    const summary = await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "users", userId);
    console.log("Deleted:", summary);
    // Returns: { users: 1, posts: 5, comments: 23 }
  }
});

For large deletion trees, use batched mode:

// convex/organizations.ts
import { mutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { internal } from "./_generated/api";
import { v } from "convex/values";
import { cd } from "./cascading";

export const deleteOrganization = mutation({
  args: { orgId: v.id("organizations") },
  handler: async (ctx, { orgId }) => {
    const result = await cd.deleteWithCascadeBatched(
      ctx,
      "organizations",
      orgId,
      {
        batchHandlerRef: internal.cascading._cascadeBatchHandler,
        batchSize: 2000
      }
    );
    // result.jobId can be used to track progress via useDeletionJobStatus hook
    // result.initialSummary contains counts from the first inline batch
    return result;
  }
});

API Reference

defineCascadeRules(config)

Defines and validates cascade relationships between tables. Returns a frozen configuration object.

const rules = defineCascadeRules({
  [sourceTable: string]: [
    {
      to: string,       // Target table name to cascade to
      via: string,       // Index name on target table
      field: string      // Field in index used for equality matching (holds parent ID)
    }
  ]
});

Requirements:

• The index specified by via must exist on the target table
• The index must include the field specified by field
• The field must contain IDs from the source table

Validation performed:

• All properties (to, via, field) must be present and be strings
• Duplicate rules (same to:via:field combination) are rejected
• Configuration must be a non-null object

CascadingDelete Class

Main interface for deletion operations.

Constructor

const cd = new CascadingDelete(components.convexCascadingDelete, { rules });

deleteWithCascade(ctx, table, id)

Deletes a document and all its cascading dependents in a single transaction. Uses depth-first post-order traversal (children deleted before parents) with a visited set for cycle detection.

const summary: DeletionSummary = await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "users", userId);
// Returns: { users: 1, posts: 5, comments: 23 }

Best for: Small to medium deletion trees (fewer than 4,000 documents)

Consistency: Fully atomic - all deletes succeed or all fail within a single Convex transaction

deleteWithCascadeBatched(ctx, table, id, options)

Deletes a document and its dependents across multiple batched transactions. Collects all targets first via read-only traversal, deletes the first batch inline, then schedules remaining batches via the component's job system.

const result = await cd.deleteWithCascadeBatched(
  ctx,
  "organizations",
  orgId,
  {
    batchHandlerRef: internal.cascading._cascadeBatchHandler,
    batchSize: 2000  // Optional, defaults to 2000
  }
);
// Returns: { jobId: "j57a...", initialSummary: { organizations: 1, teams: 3 } }
// jobId is null if all targets fit in the first batch

Best for: Large deletion trees (any size)

Consistency: Per-batch atomic, inter-batch eventual. Each batch is a separate Convex transaction.

Progress tracking: Pass the returned jobId to the useDeletionJobStatus React hook

validateRules(ctx)

Validates that all configured indexes exist by probing each index with a test query. Should be called once during app initialization or in a dev-only check.

await cd.validateRules(ctx);
// Throws descriptive error if any index is missing or misconfigured

patchDb(db)

Returns a proxied database writer that throws on direct .delete() calls, forcing all deletions to go through deleteWithCascade. Useful as a safety guard in critical mutations.

export const safeDeleteUser = mutation({
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    const safeDb = cd.patchDb(ctx.db);
    // safeDb.delete(id)  --> throws "Direct db.delete() is disabled"
    // safeDb.query(...)   --> works normally
    // safeDb.insert(...)  --> works normally
    // safeDb.patch(...)   --> works normally
  }
});

makeBatchDeleteHandler(internalMutationBuilder, componentRef)

Factory function that creates the app-side internal mutation for processing deletion batches. This function must be exported from your convex code so the component's scheduler can invoke it via a function handle.

import { makeBatchDeleteHandler } from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete";
import { components } from "./_generated/api";
import { internalMutation } from "./_generated/server";

export const _cascadeBatchHandler = makeBatchDeleteHandler(
  internalMutation,
  components.convexCascadingDelete
);

How it works: The returned mutation receives a batch of { table, id } targets, deletes each one via ctx.db.delete(id), then reports completion back to the component via reportBatchComplete. The component's scheduler calls this function handle with each batch.

React Hook

useDeletionJobStatus(api, jobId)

Monitors batch deletion progress with reactive updates. Wraps the component's getJobStatus query.

import { useDeletionJobStatus } from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete/react";
import { api } from "../convex/_generated/api";

function DeletionProgress({ jobId }: { jobId: string | null }) {
  const status = useDeletionJobStatus(api, jobId);

  if (!status) return null;

  const progress = (status.completedCount / status.totalTargetCount) * 100;

  return (
    <div>
      <progress value={progress} max={100} />
      <p>{status.status}: {status.completedCount} / {status.totalTargetCount}</p>
      {status.status === "completed" && (
        <pre>{JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(status.completedSummary), null, 2)}</pre>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

BatchJobStatus shape:

Exported Types

All types are importable from the main entry point:

import type {
  CascadeRule,       // { to: string; via: string; field: string }
  CascadeConfig,     // { [sourceTable: string]: CascadeRule[] }
  DeletionSummary,   // { [tableName: string]: number }
  DeletionTarget,    // { table: string; id: string }
  BatchJobStatus,    // { status, totalTargetCount, completedCount, completedSummary, error? }
} from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete";

Schema Requirements

Your schema must have indexes that match your cascade rules. Each rule's via must correspond to an index on the to table, and the field must be the first field in that index.

// convex/schema.ts
import { defineSchema, defineTable } from "convex/server";
import { v } from "convex/values";

export default defineSchema({
  users: defineTable({
    name: v.string(),
    email: v.string(),
  }),

  posts: defineTable({
    authorId: v.id("users"),
    title: v.string(),
    content: v.string(),
  }).index("byAuthorId", ["authorId"]),  // Required for cascade from users

  comments: defineTable({
    authorId: v.id("users"),
    postId: v.id("posts"),
    text: v.string(),
  })
    .index("byAuthorId", ["authorId"])   // For user → comments cascade
    .index("byPostId", ["postId"]),      // For post → comments cascade
});

The corresponding cascade rules would be:

const rules = defineCascadeRules({
  users: [
    { to: "posts", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" },
    { to: "comments", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" }
  ],
  posts: [
    { to: "comments", via: "byPostId", field: "postId" }
  ]
});

Examples

Multi-Level Hierarchy

const rules = defineCascadeRules({
  organizations: [
    { to: "teams", via: "byOrganizationId", field: "organizationId" }
  ],
  teams: [
    { to: "members", via: "byTeamId", field: "teamId" },
    { to: "projects", via: "byTeamId", field: "teamId" }
  ],
  projects: [
    { to: "tasks", via: "byProjectId", field: "projectId" }
  ],
  tasks: [
    { to: "comments", via: "byTaskId", field: "taskId" }
  ]
});

// Deleting an organization cascades through 5 levels
const summary = await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "organizations", orgId);
// Returns: { organizations: 1, teams: 5, members: 23, projects: 12, tasks: 67, comments: 234 }

Branching Cascades

A single parent table can cascade to multiple dependent tables:

const rules = defineCascadeRules({
  users: [
    { to: "posts", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" },
    { to: "comments", via: "byAuthorId", field: "authorId" },
    { to: "likes", via: "byUserId", field: "userId" },
    { to: "follows", via: "byFollowerId", field: "followerId" }
  ]
});

Circular Dependencies

The component handles circular references automatically via a visited set. No infinite loops:

const rules = defineCascadeRules({
  users: [
    { to: "friendships", via: "byUserId", field: "userId" }
  ],
  friendships: [
    { to: "users", via: "byFriendId", field: "friendId" }
  ]
});

// Safe - visited set prevents re-processing already-seen documents
const summary = await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "users", userId);

Using patchDb as a Safety Guard

import { mutation } from "./_generated/server";
import { cd } from "./cascading";

export const processUser = mutation({
  handler: async (ctx, args) => {
    // Replace ctx.db with a guarded version for this mutation
    const safeCtx = { ...ctx, db: cd.patchDb(ctx.db) };

    // All reads work normally
    const user = await safeCtx.db.get(args.userId);

    // Direct deletes are blocked - forces cascade usage
    // safeCtx.db.delete(args.userId)  --> throws Error

    // Must use cascade delete instead
    await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "users", args.userId);
  }
});

Best Practices

1. Start with inline mode - Use deleteWithCascade for most cases; it's simpler and fully atomic
2. Switch to batched for large trees - Use deleteWithCascadeBatched when deleting more than 4,000 documents to avoid transaction limits
3. Validate rules on startup - Call validateRules() in a dev-only initialization function to catch misconfigured indexes early
4. Use patchDb in critical mutations - Prevent accidental direct deletes that would leave orphaned records
5. Monitor batch progress - Use the useDeletionJobStatus hook to show users real-time deletion feedback
6. Test cascade rules - Verify relationships work as expected before production using the testing helpers

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  YOUR APP                                                       │
│                                                                 │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐                           │
│  │  Your Mutation                   │                           │
│  │                                  │                           │
│  │  const cd = new CascadingDelete( │                           │
│  │    components.convexCascadingDel,│                           │
│  │    { rules: cascadeRules }       │                           │
│  │  );                              │                           │
│  │                                  │  ctx.db (YOUR tables)     │
│  │  // Inline mode:                 │─────► .query(table)       │
│  │  cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx,       │       .withIndex(idx,...) │
│  │    "teams", teamId)              │       .collect()          │
│  │                                  │       .delete(id)         │
│  │  // Batched mode:                │                           │
│  │  cd.deleteWithCascadeBatched(ctx,│                           │
│  │    "teams", teamId, opts)        │                           │
│  │                                  │                           │
│  └──────────┬───────────────────────┘                           │
│             │                                                   │
│             │ ctx.runMutation(component.lib.createBatchJob, ...)│
│             │ ctx.runQuery(component.lib.getJobStatus, ...)     │
│             ▼                                                   │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  COMPONENT (Isolated — own DB, own transactions)         │   │
│  │                                                          │   │
│  │  Table: deletionJobs                                     │   │
│  │    { status, targets, deleteHandle, batchSize, summary } │   │
│  │                                                          │   │
│  │  Functions:                                              │   │
│  │    createBatchJob(targets, handle, batchSize)            │   │
│  │    processNextBatch(jobId)                               │   │
│  │      ├─ scheduler.runAfter(0, deleteHandle, batch)     ──┼──►│
│  │      └─ scheduler.runAfter(200ms, self, jobId)           │   │
│  │    getJobStatus(jobId) → reactive query                  │   │
│  │    reportBatchComplete(jobId, summary)                   │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│             │                                                   │
│             │ Function handle callback                          │
│             ▼                                                   │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  Your Batch Delete Handler (via makeBatchDeleteHandler)  │   │
│  │                                                          │   │
│  │  handler: async (ctx, { targets, jobId }) => {           │   │
│  │    for (t of targets) await ctx.db.delete(t.id);         │   │
│  │    await ctx.runMutation(component.reportBatchComplete,  │   │
│  │      { jobId, summary });                                │   │
│  │  }                                                       │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key architectural constraint: Convex components cannot access your app's tables. All document traversal and deletion runs in your app's mutation context using ctx.db. The component only manages batch job state (creation, progress, completion) in its own isolated database.

Consistency Guarantees

Inline Mode (deleteWithCascade)

• Fully atomic - All deletes succeed or all fail within a single Convex transaction
• ACID compliant - Leverages Convex's built-in transactional guarantees
• Immediate - Returns complete DeletionSummary synchronously

Batched Mode (deleteWithCascadeBatched)

• Per-batch atomic - Each batch is a separate Convex transaction
• Inter-batch eventual - Batches process asynchronously with 200ms delay between them
• First batch inline - Initial batch is deleted in the calling mutation for immediate feedback
• Remaining batches scheduled - Processed via the component's scheduler using function handles
• Progress observable - Use useDeletionJobStatus hook or getJobStatus query for real-time status

Performance Characteristics

Testing

The package exports a test helper for use with convex-test:

import { convexTest } from "convex-test";
import { register } from "@00akshatsinha00/convex-cascading-delete/test";
import schema from "./schema";

const modules = import.meta.glob("./convex/**/*.ts");

test("cascading delete works", async () => {
  const t = convexTest(schema, modules);
  register(t, "convexCascadingDelete");

  // ... your test code using the component
});

The register function registers the component's schema and modules with the test instance. The second argument must match the component name in your convex.config.ts.

Running the Example

The example/ directory contains a full working application demonstrating both inline and batched deletion modes with a 5-level organizational hierarchy.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/akshatsinha0/convex-cascading-delete.git
cd convex-cascading-delete

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the dev server (backend + frontend + build watcher)
npm run dev

The example app includes:

• Seed data buttons - Create sample organizations with teams, members, projects, tasks, and comments
• Inline delete - Delete an organization atomically in a single transaction
• Batched delete - Delete an organization across multiple batched transactions with real-time progress
• Document counters - See counts update reactively across all 6 tables
• REST API - HTTP endpoint at /api/deletion-job-status?jobId=... for external job monitoring

Troubleshooting

"Index does not exist" error

Run validateRules() to identify missing indexes:

await cd.validateRules(ctx);
// Error: Cascade validation failed: Index "byAuthorId" with field "authorId"
// does not exist on table "posts". Define it in your schema.
// Source table: "users"

Add the missing index to your schema with .index("indexName", ["fieldName"]).

Batch deletion stuck

Check job status directly:

const status = await ctx.runQuery(
  components.convexCascadingDelete.lib.getJobStatus,
  { jobId }
);
console.log(status);
// { status: "processing", totalTargetCount: 500, completedCount: 200, ... }

If a job is stuck in "processing" state, it may be due to the batch handler function not being properly exported or a deployment mismatch.

Transaction limit exceeded

If inline mode fails with a transaction limit error, switch to batched mode:

// Instead of:
await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "organizations", orgId);

// Use:
await cd.deleteWithCascadeBatched(ctx, "organizations", orgId, {
  batchHandlerRef: internal.cascading._cascadeBatchHandler,
  batchSize: 1000  // Reduce batch size if needed
});

Type errors with table names

Use type assertions for dynamic table access:

const summary = await cd.deleteWithCascade(ctx, "users", userId as any);

Live Demo

Try the interactive demo: https://convex-cascading-delete.vercel.app

Found a bug? Feature request?

File it here.

License

Apache-2.0

Built For

Convex Components Authoring Challenge - Full-Stack Drop-In Features