LazyReq — Generate Request Bodies from NestJS DTOs

Generate request payloads straight from your route handlers and DTOs — no more hand-typing JSON.

LazyReq inspects your NestJS controller's @Body() DTO using the TypeScript Compiler API and inserts a realistic JSON payload at your cursor. Zero AI, zero network, fully offline.

Demo

Features

Active-file, command-triggered – open a *.controller.ts, run LazyReq: Generate request body JSON from the Command Palette, JSON appears at the cursor (src/extension.ts:5).
DTO-aware – resolves imported DTOs cross-file via ts.TypeChecker (src/parser.ts:342 createProgram).
Rule-based value generation (src/parser.ts:277):
- string → "example", @IsEmail() → "user@example.com", @IsUrl() → "https://example.com", @IsUUID() → "550e8400-...", @IsMobilePhone() → "+12025550123"
- number / @IsInt() → 1, boolean → true
- @IsEnum(X) → first enum member (string or numeric)
- @IsOptional() fields included with sample (configurable in v1.1)
- Nested DTOs via @ValidateNested/@Type() – recursed
- Arrays – single-element array ["example"] / [1]
Safe fallback – DTOs without decorator metadata still generate from TypeScript types.

Requirements

VS Code ^1.125.0
Workspace with tsconfig.json (NestJS project) on disk – required for cross-file resolution. Extension errors clearly if missing (No tsconfig.json found…).
typescript available (bundled external via esbuild.js:38).

Usage

Open a NestJS controller, e.g. src/users.controller.ts:

@Post()
create(@Body() dto: CreateUserDto) {}

Place cursor where JSON should be inserted.
Ctrl+Shift+P → LazyReq: Generate request body JSON.
Payload inserted:

{
  "name": "example",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "age": 1,
  "role": "admin"
}

For CreateMemberDto:

export class CreateMemberDto {
  @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() name: string;
  @IsOptional() @IsMobilePhone() phoneNumber?: string;
  @IsOptional() @IsEmail() email?: string;
  @IsUUID() @IsNotEmpty() groupId: string;
  @IsEnum(MemberRole) @IsOptional() role?: MemberRole;
}

→

{
  "name": "example",
  "phoneNumber": "+12025550123",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "groupId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "role": "admin"
}

Extension Settings

No settings in v1 (per lazyreq-spec.md:41). Future: .vscode/settings.json overrides for optional-field inclusion, custom sample values.

Known Issues

Only @Body() supported in v1 (lazyreq-spec.md:34). @Query()/@Param() are v1.1.
Single controller file (active editor) – multi-file discovery not yet implemented.
PartialType/OmitType/PickType mapped types require full ts.Program resolution; edge cases may yield {} – file an issue with repro.
No .http file output or CodeLens yet – plain JSON insert only.

Release Notes

0.1.0 — Pre-release (preview)

Initial preview for VS Code Marketplace (publisher: ochochecharles).
Command lazyreq.generate with onCommand activation.
Fixes: IsEnum+IsOptional union, IsUUID/IsMobilePhone samples, numeric enum support.

See CHANGELOG.md for history.

Contributing / Development

npm ci
npm run compile        # check-types + lint + esbuild
npm test               # vscode-test via .vscode-test.mjs
node --loader ts-node tools/parse-controller.mts <controller-file>  # standalone parser

Extension Guidelines
Publishing – run npx @vscode/vsce package then vsce publish.

Enjoy! Report bugs at https://github.com/ochochecharles/lazyreq/issues.

LazyReq NestJS

ochoche