Soft delete

Turn delete() into a recoverable state change, filter deleted rows by default, and add restore helpers.

@better-drizzle/soft-delete extends the built-in methods with typed soft-delete controls, default visibility filtering, and restore helpers.

Install

npm install @better-drizzle/soft-delete

pnpm add @better-drizzle/soft-delete

yarn add @better-drizzle/soft-delete

bun add @better-drizzle/soft-delete

Usage

import { better } from 'better-drizzle';
import { softDelete } from '@better-drizzle/soft-delete';

const client = better(db, {
	schema,
	plugins: [
		softDelete({
			column: 'deletedAt',
			deletedByColumn: 'deletedById',
			defaults: {
				mode: 'soft',
				visibility: 'without',
			},
		}),
	],
});

Every option is optional. Defaults:

column: 'deletedAt'
deletedByColumn: 'deletedById'
defaults.mode: 'soft'
defaults.visibility: 'without'

Reads exclude deleted rows by default

findMany, findFirst, count, and exists filter out soft-deleted rows automatically:

await client.users.findMany(); // visible rows only

Opt in per query with the typed deleted arg:

await client.users.findMany({ deleted: 'with' }); // include deleted
await client.users.findMany({ deleted: 'only' }); // only deleted
await client.users.count({ deleted: 'with' });

Deleting and restoring

// Soft delete (default)
await client.users.delete({ where: { id: 1 } });

// Record who deleted it (when the column exists)
await client.users.delete({ where: { id: 1 }, deletedBy: 'admin_42' });

// Force a real, physical delete
await client.users.delete({ where: { id: 1 }, mode: 'hard' });

// Restore
await client.users.restore({ where: { id: 1 } });
await client.users.restoreById(1);

Behavior details

Models without the configured column are ignored automatically.
deletedBy is written only when the configured column exists on the model.
restore() and restoreById() bypass plugin transforms so they can always clear the soft-delete fields directly.
mode: 'hard' falls back to the built-in physical delete.

Need a one-off hard delete elsewhere?

Any delegate can bypass plugins for a single call with $withoutPlugins() — handy for repair scripts that must delete beneath the soft-delete layer.

Where it fits best

audit-sensitive systems
admin tools where deleted rows must remain inspectable
apps where "delete" should default to reversible