TinyRPC

TinyRPC is a minimal, TypeScript-first RPC framework inspired by tRPC. It allows you to define typed procedures and routers and call them in a type-safe way on both server and client.

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Purpose

TinyRPC is built to demonstrate:

• Type-safe procedure definitions with Zod validation.
• Middleware support for logging, auth, or transformations.
• Server-client communication via direct dispatch calls (no HTTP required in this demo).
• In-memory example usage for tasks, showing add/list/mark-done operations.

It’s perfect for learning how RPC works internally in a lightweight and understandable way.

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Folder Structure

tinyRPC/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts            # Exports all core functionality
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── types.ts        # Core types (ProcedureDef, RouterDef, MiddlewareFn)
│   │   ├── procedure.ts    # createProcedure
│   │   ├── router.ts       # createRouter, mergeRouters
│   │   ├── dispatch.ts     # callProcedure
│   │   ├── middleware.ts   # runMiddlewareChain
│   │   └── inference.ts    # infer inputs & outputs
└── examples/
    ├── server.ts           # Demo server (tasks)
    └── client.ts           # Demo client (calls procedures)

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Getting Started

1. Install dependencies

npm install

2. Build the project

npm run build

3. Run the server demo

npm start
# OR for development
npm run dev:server

You’ll see output like:

Server demo starting...
Server: task added { id: 1, title: 'Demo Task 1', done: false }
Server: task added { id: 2, title: 'Demo Task 2', done: false }
Server demo tasks: [ ... ]

4. Run the client demo

npm run client
# OR for development
npm run dev:client

It calls procedures on the server-side router and prints results:

Client added: { id: 3, title: 'Finish tinyRPC refactor', done: false }
Client sees tasks: [ ... ]

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How it Works

• Procedures: Typed functions validated with Zod.
• Router: Combines multiple procedures.
• Dispatch: Executes procedures with context & input.
• Middleware: Wraps procedures for logging, auth, transformations.
• In-memory demo: Task management (add, list, mark done).

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Example Usage

import { appRouter } from './server.js';
import { dispatch } from '../src/core/dispatch.js';

async function main() {
  const newTask = await dispatch(appRouter.addTask, {}, { title: 'Write README' });
  console.log('Client added:', newTask);

  const tasks = await dispatch(appRouter.listTasks, {}, {});
  console.log('Client sees tasks:', tasks);
}

main();

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Purpose

TinyRPC demonstrates the internal workings of a minimal RPC system, type-safe procedure calls, and middleware handling, making it perfect for learning and experimentation.

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