Sequelize M:N association not creating through table record - mysql

Question

When I create a recipe with associated tags using the through option, no record is created in the joining table in the mysql database I'm connected to.
Here are my models definitions:
export const Recipe = sequelize.define('Recipe', {
// Model attributes are defined here
title: {
type: DataTypes.STRING,
allowNull: false
},
image: {
type: DataTypes.STRING,
allowNull: true
},
prepTime: {
type: DataTypes.DOUBLE,
allowNull: false
},
cookTime: {
type: DataTypes.DOUBLE,
allowNull: false
},
totalTime: {
type: DataTypes.DOUBLE,
allowNull: false
},
servings: {
type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
allowNull: false
},
rating: {
type: DataTypes.INTEGER,
allowNull: false
},
notes: {
type: DataTypes.STRING, allowNull: true
},
}, {
// Other model options go here
tableName: 'Recipes'
});
export const Tag = sequelize.define('Tag', {
// Model attributes are defined here
name: {
type: DataTypes.STRING,
allowNull: false
},
}, {
// Other model options go here
tableName: 'Tags'
});
export const RecipeTag = sequelize.define('RecipeTag', {
// Model attributes are defined here
}, {
// Other model options go here
timestamps: false,
tableName: 'RecipeTags'
});
Here are my associations:
Recipe.belongsToMany(Tag, {
through: RecipeTag,
foreignKey: 'recipeId',
as: 'tags'
})
Tag.belongsToMany(Recipe, {
through: RecipeTag,
foreignKey: 'tagId',
as: 'recipes'
})
Here is the create call:
Recipe.create(args, {
model: Tag,
through: RecipeTag,
as: 'tags'
});
And here is the data:
{
"title": "Test Recipe",
"image": "test",
"prepTime": 20,
"cookTime": 40,
"totalTime": 60,
"servings": 2,
"rating": 5,
"categoryId": 1,
"tags": [
{
"name": "New tag",
"id": 1
}
],
}
With this set up the create method only creates a new recipe. How can I use the create method to add a record to the joining RecipeTags table at the same time as creating a new recipe? I've managed to get it working by doing something like this:
args.tags.map(async (tag: { tagId: number }) => {
await RecipeTag.create({tagId: tag.tagId, recipeId: recipe.id})
});
But I'd rather have it done in the create if it's possible.

Answer 1

You need to wrap the association options with include.
Recipe.create(args, {
include: {
model: Tag,
through: RecipeTag,
as: 'tags'
}
});
UPDATE:
In order to prevent the duplicates, you can add ignoreDuplicates option and data must include the primary key value.
{
"title": "Test Recipe",
...
"tags": [
{
"name": "New tag",
"id": 1 # this is important
}
]
}
Then
Recipe.create(args, {
include: {
model: Tag,
through: RecipeTag,
as: 'tags',
ignoreDuplicates: true // Add this
}
});
There were some bugs for this option, I suggest you to use the newer version of Sequelize, if you haven't updated lately.