@quave/enum

Lightweight, zero-dependency utility to create rich enum objects in JavaScript. Each entry automatically gets a name and index, and you can attach any custom properties — labels, flags, functions, or even references to other enums.

Installation

npm install @quave/enum

yarn add @quave/enum

bun add @quave/enum

Quick Start

import { createEnum } from '@quave/enum';

const Colors = createEnum({
  RED: { hex: '#FF0000' },
  GREEN: { hex: '#00FF00' },
  BLUE: { hex: '#0000FF' },
});

Colors.RED.name;  // "RED"
Colors.RED.index; // 0
Colors.RED.hex;   // "#FF0000"

How It Works

createEnum takes an object where each key is an enum entry and each value is an object of custom properties. It returns a new object where every entry is enriched with:

• name — the key itself (e.g. "RUNNING")
• index — the position in the enum (0, 1, 2, ...)
• Any properties from defaultFields (if provided)
• All your custom properties

createEnum(entries, options?)

Parameter	Type	Description
entries	object	An object where keys are enum names and values are objects with custom properties
options.defaultFields	object	Properties applied to every entry (can be overridden per entry)

Examples

Status Enum with Labels and Styles

const Statuses = createEnum({
  ACTIVE: {
    label: 'Active',
    color: 'green',
  },
  INACTIVE: {
    label: 'Inactive',
    color: 'gray',
  },
  SUSPENDED: {
    label: 'Suspended',
    color: 'red',
  },
});

Statuses.ACTIVE.label; // "Active"
Statuses.ACTIVE.color; // "green"
Statuses.ACTIVE.name;  // "ACTIVE"
Statuses.ACTIVE.index; // 0

Storing Enums in the Database

Prefer using .name to store enum references in your database. The name is automatically injected by createEnum and matches the key, so you can look it up directly with MyEnum[name] and validate with Object.keys():

const OrderStatuses = createEnum({
  PENDING: { label: 'Pending' },
  PROCESSING: { label: 'Processing' },
  SHIPPED: { label: 'Shipped' },
});

// Save to database using .name
db.orders.insert({ status: OrderStatuses.PENDING.name }); // stores "PENDING"

// Read back from database — direct lookup by key
const status = OrderStatuses[record.status];
console.log(status.label); // "Pending"

// Schema validation
const allowedStatuses = Object.keys(OrderStatuses);
// ["PENDING", "PROCESSING", "SHIPPED"]

Enum with Value Property

Use value when integrating with external systems you don't control (third-party APIs, legacy databases, protocols) where the expected format differs from your enum keys:

const LogLevels = createEnum({
  ERROR: { value: 'error', label: 'Error', severity: 1 },
  WARN: { value: 'warn', label: 'Warning', severity: 2 },
  INFO: { value: 'info', label: 'Info', severity: 3 },
  DEBUG: { value: 'debug', label: 'Debug', severity: 4 },
});

// Find by value (e.g. from an external API response)
const getLogLevelByValue = (value) =>
  Object.values(LogLevels).find((level) => level.value === value);

getLogLevelByValue('warn'); // { name: "WARN", index: 1, value: "warn", label: "Warning", severity: 2 }

// Get all valid values (e.g. for validating external input)
const LOG_LEVEL_VALUES = Object.values(LogLevels).map((l) => l.value);
// ["error", "warn", "info", "debug"]

Boolean Flags for Conditional Logic

Attach boolean flags to make conditionals expressive and centralized:

const OrderStatuses = createEnum({
  PENDING: {
    label: 'Pending',
    canCancel: true,
    canEdit: true,
  },
  PROCESSING: {
    label: 'Processing',
    canCancel: true,
    canEdit: false,
    isInProgress: true,
  },
  SHIPPED: {
    label: 'Shipped',
    canCancel: false,
    canEdit: false,
    isInProgress: true,
  },
  DELIVERED: {
    label: 'Delivered',
    canCancel: false,
    canEdit: false,
    isComplete: true,
  },
});

// Clean conditionals
const status = OrderStatuses[order.status];
if (status.canCancel) {
  showCancelButton();
}
if (status.isInProgress) {
  showTracker();
}

Default Fields

Use defaultFields to apply shared properties to every entry. Per-entry values override defaults:

const Permissions = createEnum(
  {
    VIEWER: { label: 'Viewer' },
    EDITOR: { label: 'Editor', canEdit: true },
    ADMIN: { label: 'Admin', canEdit: true, canDelete: true },
  },
  {
    defaultFields: {
      canEdit: false,
      canDelete: false,
    },
  }
);

Permissions.VIEWER.canEdit;  // false (from defaultFields)
Permissions.EDITOR.canEdit;  // true  (overridden)
Permissions.ADMIN.canDelete; // true  (overridden)

Function Properties

Enum entries can include functions for validation, computation, or any behavior:

const PricingPlans = createEnum({
  FREE: {
    label: 'Free',
    maxUsers: 5,
    price: 0,
    calculateCost: ({ users }) => 0,
  },
  PRO: {
    label: 'Pro',
    maxUsers: 50,
    price: 29,
    calculateCost: ({ users }) => 29 + Math.max(0, users - 10) * 2,
  },
  ENTERPRISE: {
    label: 'Enterprise',
    maxUsers: Infinity,
    price: 99,
    calculateCost: ({ users }) => 99 + Math.max(0, users - 50) * 1,
  },
});

PricingPlans.PRO.calculateCost({ users: 25 }); // 59

Referencing Other Enums

Enums can reference values from other enums for cross-enum relationships:

const Categories = createEnum({
  ELECTRONICS: { label: 'Electronics' },
  CLOTHING: { label: 'Clothing' },
});

const Products = createEnum({
  LAPTOP: {
    label: 'Laptop',
    category: Categories.ELECTRONICS.name,
    price: 999,
  },
  T_SHIRT: {
    label: 'T-Shirt',
    category: Categories.CLOTHING.name,
    price: 25,
  },
});

Products.LAPTOP.category; // "ELECTRONICS"

Metadata for Forms and UI

Enums are great for driving dynamic UIs:

const ContactMethods = createEnum({
  EMAIL: {
    value: 'email',
    label: 'Email',
    icon: 'mail',
    requiredFields: ['emailAddress'],
    placeholder: 'Enter your email',
  },
  PHONE: {
    value: 'phone',
    label: 'Phone',
    icon: 'phone',
    requiredFields: ['phoneNumber', 'countryCode'],
    placeholder: 'Enter your phone number',
  },
  SLACK: {
    value: 'slack',
    label: 'Slack',
    icon: 'slack',
    requiredFields: ['webhookUrl'],
    placeholder: 'Enter webhook URL',
  },
});

// Render a select dropdown
const options = Object.values(ContactMethods).map(({ value, label, icon }) => ({
  value,
  label,
  icon,
}));

// Validate required fields for selected method
const validate = (method, formData) => {
  const config = Object.values(ContactMethods).find((m) => m.value === method);
  return config.requiredFields.every((field) => formData[field]);
};

Common Patterns

Filtering Entries

// Get all entries matching a condition:
const cancelableStatuses = Object.values(OrderStatuses).filter((s) => s.canCancel);

Finding a Default Entry

const Durations = createEnum({
  SHORT: { value: '5m', label: '5 minutes' },
  MEDIUM: { value: '15m', label: '15 minutes', isDefault: true },
  LONG: { value: '1h', label: '1 hour' },
});

const getDefault = () => Object.values(Durations).find((d) => d.isDefault);
getDefault().value; // "15m"

License

MIT