setPrimaryKey()

Signature

setPrimaryKey() — returns void

Available in: model Category: Miscellaneous Functions

Description

The setPrimaryKey() function allows you to define which property (or properties) of a model represent the primary key in the database. This is crucial for Wheels to correctly handle CRUD operations, updates, and record lookups. For single-column primary keys, pass the property name as a string. For composite primary keys (multiple columns together form the key), pass a comma-separated list of property names. Alias: setPrimaryKeys()

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
property	string	yes	—	Property (or list of properties) to set as the primary key.

Examples

1. Single primary key
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        // The primary key for this table is `userID`
        setPrimaryKey("userID");
    }
}

2. Composite primary key
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        // The combination of `orderID` and `productID` uniquely identifies a record
        setPrimaryKey("orderID,productID");
    }
}

3. Using the alias setPrimaryKeys()
component extends="Model" {
    function config() {
        // Alias works the same as `setPrimaryKey()`
        setPrimaryKeys("customerID");
    }
}