Forms & the poops bridge

Forms

A build.forms block emits an HTML <form> per resource, from the same field DSL that made the table, wired to the resource's /api endpoint.

"build": {
  "forms": {
    "messages": {
      "into": "src/markup/_partials",
      "success": "/thanks",
      "hints": { "body": { "widget": "textarea" }, "email": { "help": "We'll only reply here" } }
    }
  }
}

Field types map to inputs — slug→pattern, enum→<select>, ref:→<select> from the DB, email→type=email, image→file input. id and datetime = now fields are omitted.

They work. The create/update routes content-negotiate:

Editing

GET /api/:resource/:id as a writer wanting HTML returns a prefilled edit form (PUT via HTMX hx-put, or POST + _method=PUT for no-JS). Editing never re-applies defaults, so created survives.

Progressive validation

Native HTML5 validation fires from the emitted attributes with no JS. Include assets/septic-forms.js and those same native checks drive styled inline messages — no rules duplicated. The server (validate.js) stays the authority.

The poops bridge

septic build turns DB rows into markup and runs poops:

"build": {
  "resources": {
    "posts": {
      "into": "src/markup/posts", "slug": "slug", "body": "body", "layout": "post.html",
      "where": { "status": "published" }
    }
  }
}

Each row → src/markup/posts/<slug>.md (front matter + body), kept in step — only changed files are rewritten, deleted rows are swept — then poops compiles the site. where is optional — an equality filter (multiple keys ANDed, values bound) so drafts stay out of the static site while the API still serves them. One config, one dataset — a live API and a static site. poops is an optional peer: markup is always written; if poops isn't installed, septic build emits the markup and says so.

Where they meet: one origin

An emitted form posts to a relative /api/<resource>, so it works only when the page and the API answer on the same host. septic serves /api and /uploads; the compiled site is poops output, and nothing in septic serves it. Two processes on two ports means the form posts into the void.

laxative is the piece that closes that: it boots septic's app, serves the built site behind it, and rebuilds on change — laxative dev in development, laxative serve in production. Same host, same port, no CORS to configure. Prefer your own server? Mount createServer(config).app beside your static handler — see the exports.