Airbnb-Style Rental Marketplace Backend

Service Design Specification

airbnb-propertycatalog-service documentation -Version:1.0.36

Scope

This document provides a structured architectural overview of the propertyCatalog microservice, detailing its configuration, data model, authorization logic, business rules, and API design. It has been automatically generated based on the service definition within Mindbricks, ensuring that the information reflects the source of truth used during code generation and deployment.

The document is intended to serve multiple audiences:

  • Service architects can use it to validate design decisions and ensure alignment with broader architectural goals.
  • Developers and maintainers will find it useful for understanding the structure and behavior of the service, facilitating easier debugging, feature extension, and integration with other systems.
  • Stakeholders and reviewers can use it to gain a clear understanding of the service's capabilities and domain logic.

Note for Frontend Developers: While this document is valuable for understanding business logic and data interactions, please refer to the Service API Documentation for endpoint-level specifications and integration details.

Note for Backend Developers: Since the code for this service is automatically generated by Mindbricks, you typically won't need to implement or modify it manually. However, this document is especially valuable when you're building other services—whether within Mindbricks or externally—that need to interact with or depend on this service. It provides a clear reference to the service's data contracts, business rules, and API structure, helping ensure compatibility and correct integration.

PropertyCatalog Service Settings Edit

Service for management of property listings, calendars, amenities, and localization for a short-term rental marketplace. Hosts can manage listings, availability, multi-language descriptions, policies, pricing, and attributes, served for global search and discovery...

Service Overview

This service is configured to listen for HTTP requests on port 3001, serving both the main API interface and default administrative endpoints.

The following routes are available by default:

  • API Test Interface (API Face): /
  • Swagger Documentation: /swagger
  • Postman Collection Download: /getPostmanCollection
  • Health Checks: /health and /admin/health
  • Current Session Info: /currentuser
  • Favicon: /favicon.ico

The service uses a PostgreSQL database for data storage, with the database name set to airbnb-propertycatalog-service.

This service is accessible via the following environment-specific URLs:

  • Preview: https://airbnb3.prw.mindbricks.com/propertycatalog-api
  • Staging: https://airbnb3-stage.mindbricks.co/propertycatalog-api
  • Production: https://airbnb3.mindbricks.co/propertycatalog-api

Authentication & Security

  • Login Required: Yes

This service requires user authentication for access. It supports both JWT and RSA-based authentication mechanisms, ensuring secure user sessions and data integrity. If a crud route also is configured to require login, it will check a valid JWT token in the request query/header/bearer/cookie. If the token is valid, it will extract the user information from the token and make the fetched session data available in the request context.

Service Data Objects

The service uses a PostgreSQL database for data storage, with the database name set to airbnb-propertycatalog-service.

Data deletion is managed using a soft delete strategy. Instead of removing records from the database, they are flagged as inactive by setting the isActive field to false.

Object Name Description Public Access
listingCalendar Represents daily availability, pricing, and reservation state for a listing (i.e., a property calendar entry). accessProtected
listingAmenity Dictionary of possible amenities (wifi, pool, etc.) for hosts to reference in their listings. accessPublic
listing Represents a property or space offered for short-term rental by a host. Includes host ref, core attributes, pricing, location, seasonal pricing, media, and booking/policy properties... accessProtected
listingLocaleText Localized title & description texts for a property listing, per language. accessPublic

listingCalendar Data Object

Object Overview

Description: Represents daily availability, pricing, and reservation state for a listing (i.e., a property calendar entry).

This object represents a core data structure within the service and acts as the blueprint for database interaction, API generation, and business logic enforcement. It is defined using the ObjectSettings pattern, which governs its behavior, access control, caching strategy, and integration points with other systems such as Stripe and Redis.

Core Configuration

  • Soft Delete: Enabled — Determines whether records are marked inactive (isActive = false) instead of being physically deleted.
  • Public Access: accessProtected — If enabled, anonymous users may access this object’s data depending on API-level rules.

Composite Indexes

  • calendarDateUnique: [listingId, date] This composite index is defined to optimize query performance for complex queries involving multiple fields.

The index also defines a conflict resolution strategy for duplicate key violations.

When a new record would violate this composite index, the following action will be taken:

On Duplicate: ``

Properties Schema

Property Type Required Description
priceOverride Double No Override price for this specific date (if exists).
date Date Yes Specific date for this calendar entry (YYYY-MM-DD).
minStay Integer No Minimum stay enforced for this date (overrides listing value).
listingId ID Yes Listing this calendar date belongs to.
bookedBy ID No User ID who reserved this date, if any.
iCalUrl String No iCal export URL for calendar sync (guest/owner use).
externalCalendarIds String No IDs for synchronized (imported) external calendars.
isAvailable Boolean Yes If true, date is bookable (else is blocked/reserved).
  • Required properties are mandatory for creating objects and must be provided in the request body if no default value is set.

Array Properties

externalCalendarIds

Array properties can hold multiple values and are indicated by the [] suffix in their type. Avoid using arrays in properties that are used for relations, as they will not work correctly. Note that using connection objects instead of arrays is recommended for relations, as they provide better performance and flexibility.

Default Values

Default values are automatically assigned to properties when a new object is created, if no value is provided in the request body. Since default values are applied on db level, they should be literal values, not expressions.If you want to use expressions, you can use transposed parameters in any business API to set default values dynamically.

  • date: new Date()
  • listingId: '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
  • isAvailable: true

Constant Properties

date listingId

Constant properties are defined to be immutable after creation, meaning they cannot be updated or changed once set. They are typically used for properties that should remain constant throughout the object's lifecycle. A property is set to be constant if the Allow Update option is set to false.

Auto Update Properties

priceOverride minStay bookedBy iCalUrl externalCalendarIds isAvailable

An update crud API created with the option Auto Params enabled will automatically update these properties with the provided values in the request body. If you want to update any property in your own business logic not by user input, you can set the Allow Auto Update option to false. These properties will be added to the update API's body parameters and can be updated by the user if any value is provided in the request body.

Elastic Search Indexing

date listingId bookedBy isAvailable

Properties that are indexed in Elastic Search will be searchable via the Elastic Search API. While all properties are stored in the elastic search index of the data object, only those marked for Elastic Search indexing will be available for search queries.

Database Indexing

date listingId

Properties that are indexed in the database will be optimized for query performance, allowing for faster data retrieval. Make a property indexed in the database if you want to use it frequently in query filters or sorting.

Cache Select Properties

date

Cache select properties are used to collect data from Redis entity cache with a different key than the data object id. This allows you to cache data that is not directly related to the data object id, but a frequently used filter.

Relation Properties

listingId bookedBy

Mindbricks supports relations between data objects, allowing you to define how objects are linked together. You can define relations in the data object properties, which will be used to create foreign key constraints in the database. For complex joins operations, Mindbricks supportsa BFF pattern, where you can view dynamic and static views based on Elastic Search Indexes. Use db level relations for simple one-to-one or one-to-many relationships, and use BFF views for complex joins that require multiple data objects to be joined together.

  • listingId: ID Relation to listing.id

The target object is a parent object, meaning that the relation is a one-to-many relationship from target to this object.

On Delete: Set Null Required: Yes

  • bookedBy: ID Relation to user.id

The target object is a parent object, meaning that the relation is a one-to-many relationship from target to this object.

On Delete: Set Null Required: No

Filter Properties

date listingId

Filter properties are used to define parameters that can be used in query filters, allowing for dynamic data retrieval based on user input or predefined criteria. These properties are automatically mapped as API parameters in the listing API's that have "Auto Params" enabled.

  • date: Date has a filter named date

  • listingId: ID has a filter named listingId

listingAmenity Data Object

Object Overview

Description: Dictionary of possible amenities (wifi, pool, etc.) for hosts to reference in their listings.

This object represents a core data structure within the service and acts as the blueprint for database interaction, API generation, and business logic enforcement. It is defined using the ObjectSettings pattern, which governs its behavior, access control, caching strategy, and integration points with other systems such as Stripe and Redis.

Core Configuration

  • Soft Delete: Enabled — Determines whether records are marked inactive (isActive = false) instead of being physically deleted.
  • Public Access: accessPublic — If enabled, anonymous users may access this object’s data depending on API-level rules.

Composite Indexes

  • amenityNameUnique: [name] This composite index is defined to optimize query performance for complex queries involving multiple fields.

The index also defines a conflict resolution strategy for duplicate key violations.

When a new record would violate this composite index, the following action will be taken:

On Duplicate: throwError

An error will be thrown, preventing the insertion of conflicting data.

Properties Schema

Property Type Required Description
iconUrl String No URL of amenity icon.
name String Yes Amenity name (pool, wifi, etc).
  • Required properties are mandatory for creating objects and must be provided in the request body if no default value is set.

Default Values

Default values are automatically assigned to properties when a new object is created, if no value is provided in the request body. Since default values are applied on db level, they should be literal values, not expressions.If you want to use expressions, you can use transposed parameters in any business API to set default values dynamically.

  • name: 'default'

Constant Properties

name

Constant properties are defined to be immutable after creation, meaning they cannot be updated or changed once set. They are typically used for properties that should remain constant throughout the object's lifecycle. A property is set to be constant if the Allow Update option is set to false.

Auto Update Properties

iconUrl

An update crud API created with the option Auto Params enabled will automatically update these properties with the provided values in the request body. If you want to update any property in your own business logic not by user input, you can set the Allow Auto Update option to false. These properties will be added to the update API's body parameters and can be updated by the user if any value is provided in the request body.

Elastic Search Indexing

name

Properties that are indexed in Elastic Search will be searchable via the Elastic Search API. While all properties are stored in the elastic search index of the data object, only those marked for Elastic Search indexing will be available for search queries.

Database Indexing

name

Properties that are indexed in the database will be optimized for query performance, allowing for faster data retrieval. Make a property indexed in the database if you want to use it frequently in query filters or sorting.

Unique Properties

name

Unique properties are enforced to have distinct values across all instances of the data object, preventing duplicate entries. Note that a unique property is automatically indexed in the database so you will not need to set the Indexed in DB option.

Filter Properties

name

Filter properties are used to define parameters that can be used in query filters, allowing for dynamic data retrieval based on user input or predefined criteria. These properties are automatically mapped as API parameters in the listing API's that have "Auto Params" enabled.

  • name: String has a filter named name

listing Data Object

Object Overview

Description: Represents a property or space offered for short-term rental by a host. Includes host ref, core attributes, pricing, location, seasonal pricing, media, and booking/policy properties...

This object represents a core data structure within the service and acts as the blueprint for database interaction, API generation, and business logic enforcement. It is defined using the ObjectSettings pattern, which governs its behavior, access control, caching strategy, and integration points with other systems such as Stripe and Redis.

Core Configuration

  • Soft Delete: Enabled — Determines whether records are marked inactive (isActive = false) instead of being physically deleted.
  • Public Access: accessProtected — If enabled, anonymous users may access this object’s data depending on API-level rules.

Redis Entity Caching

This data object is configured for Redis entity caching, which improves data retrieval performance by storing frequently accessed data in Redis. Each time a new instance is created, updated or deleted, the cache is updated accordingly. Any get requests by id will first check the cache before querying the database. If you want to use the cache by other select criteria, you can configure any data property as a Redis cluster.

  • Smart Caching is activated: A data object instance will only be cached when it is accessed for the first time. TTL (time-to-live) is dynamically calculated based on access frequency, which is useful for large datasets with volatile usage patterns. Each data instance has 15 minutes of TTL and in each access, the TTL is extended by 15 minutes. If the data is not accessed for 15 minutes, it will be removed from the cache.

  • Cache Criteria:

{"isPublished":true}

This object is only cached if this criteria is met.

The criteria is only checked during create and update operations, not during read operations. So if you want the criteria to be checked during read operations because it has checks about reading time context, you should deactivate the checkCriteriaOnlyInCreateAndUpdates option.

Composite Indexes

  • listingHostUnique: [hostId, title] This composite index is defined to optimize query performance for complex queries involving multiple fields.

The index also defines a conflict resolution strategy for duplicate key violations.

When a new record would violate this composite index, the following action will be taken:

On Duplicate: ``

Properties Schema

Property Type Required Description
title String Yes Default listing title (host language)—localized titles in listingLocaleText.
amenityIds ID No Array of amenities from 'listingAmenity'.
hostId ID Yes The user (host) who owns this listing.
mainPhoto String No URL of the primary listing photo.
photos String No Array of photo URLs.
address String Yes Free-form address (not necessarily geo-coded).
pricePerNight Double Yes Base nightly price in platform currency.
description Text Yes Default listing description (host language)—localized via listingLocaleText.
propertyType Enum Yes Type of property (e.g. apartment, house, villa, room).
location Object Yes Geo-location object (latitude and longitude).
maxStay Integer No Maximum nights allowed for booking.
minStay Integer No Minimum nights required for booking.
currency String Yes Currency code (ISO 4217).
seasonalPricing Object No Objects defining season/date-specific price adjustments.
approvalType Enum Yes Whether bookings require approval or are instant.
bookingPolicies Object No Object describing booking rules and platform-enforced restrictions.
cancellationPolicy Object No Object snapshot of cancellation policy details for this listing.
languagesSupported String No Array of ISO codes for localized content supported in this listing.
houseRules Text No Free-form rules set by the host for this listing.
isPublished Boolean Yes If true, listing is public/discoverable.
cityTaxPercent Double No City or tourism tax as a percentage set for this listing's location/region.
  • Required properties are mandatory for creating objects and must be provided in the request body if no default value is set.

Array Properties

amenityIds photos seasonalPricing languagesSupported

Array properties can hold multiple values and are indicated by the [] suffix in their type. Avoid using arrays in properties that are used for relations, as they will not work correctly. Note that using connection objects instead of arrays is recommended for relations, as they provide better performance and flexibility.

Default Values

Default values are automatically assigned to properties when a new object is created, if no value is provided in the request body. Since default values are applied on db level, they should be literal values, not expressions.If you want to use expressions, you can use transposed parameters in any business API to set default values dynamically.

  • title: 'default'
  • hostId: '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
  • address: 'default'
  • pricePerNight: 0.0
  • description: 'text'
  • propertyType: apartment
  • location: {}
  • currency: USD
  • approvalType: instant

Constant Properties

hostId

Constant properties are defined to be immutable after creation, meaning they cannot be updated or changed once set. They are typically used for properties that should remain constant throughout the object's lifecycle. A property is set to be constant if the Allow Update option is set to false.

Auto Update Properties

title amenityIds mainPhoto photos address pricePerNight description propertyType location maxStay minStay currency seasonalPricing approvalType bookingPolicies cancellationPolicy languagesSupported houseRules isPublished cityTaxPercent

An update crud API created with the option Auto Params enabled will automatically update these properties with the provided values in the request body. If you want to update any property in your own business logic not by user input, you can set the Allow Auto Update option to false. These properties will be added to the update API's body parameters and can be updated by the user if any value is provided in the request body.

Enum Properties

Enum properties are defined with a set of allowed values, ensuring that only valid options can be assigned to them. The enum options value will be stored as strings in the database, but when a data object is created an addtional property with the same name plus an idx suffix will be created, which will hold the index of the selected enum option. You can use the index property to sort by the enum value or when your enum options represent a sequence of values.

  • propertyType: [apartment, house, villa, room, condo, loft, studio, other]

  • approvalType: [instant, manual]

Elastic Search Indexing

title amenityIds hostId address pricePerNight description propertyType location currency approvalType isPublished

Properties that are indexed in Elastic Search will be searchable via the Elastic Search API. While all properties are stored in the elastic search index of the data object, only those marked for Elastic Search indexing will be available for search queries.

Database Indexing

hostId

Properties that are indexed in the database will be optimized for query performance, allowing for faster data retrieval. Make a property indexed in the database if you want to use it frequently in query filters or sorting.

Relation Properties

amenityIds hostId

Mindbricks supports relations between data objects, allowing you to define how objects are linked together. You can define relations in the data object properties, which will be used to create foreign key constraints in the database. For complex joins operations, Mindbricks supportsa BFF pattern, where you can view dynamic and static views based on Elastic Search Indexes. Use db level relations for simple one-to-one or one-to-many relationships, and use BFF views for complex joins that require multiple data objects to be joined together.

  • amenityIds: ID Relation to listingamenity.id

The target object is a parent object, meaning that the relation is a one-to-many relationship from target to this object.

On Delete: Set Null Required: No

  • hostId: ID Relation to user.id

The target object is a parent object, meaning that the relation is a one-to-many relationship from target to this object.

On Delete: Set Null Required: Yes

Session Data Properties

hostId

Session data properties are used to store data that is specific to the user session, allowing for personalized experiences and temporary data storage. If a property is configured as session data, it will be automatically mapped to the related field in the user session during CRUD operations. Note that session data properties can not be mutated by the user, but only by the system.

  • hostId: ID property will be mapped to the session parameter userId.

This property is also used to store the owner of the session data, allowing for ownership checks and access control.

Filter Properties

title hostId address pricePerNight propertyType currency isPublished

Filter properties are used to define parameters that can be used in query filters, allowing for dynamic data retrieval based on user input or predefined criteria. These properties are automatically mapped as API parameters in the listing API's that have "Auto Params" enabled.

  • title: String has a filter named title

  • hostId: ID has a filter named hostId

  • address: String has a filter named address

  • pricePerNight: Double has a filter named pricePerNight

  • propertyType: Enum has a filter named propertyType

  • currency: String has a filter named currency

  • isPublished: Boolean has a filter named isPublished

listingLocaleText Data Object

Object Overview

Description: Localized title & description texts for a property listing, per language.

This object represents a core data structure within the service and acts as the blueprint for database interaction, API generation, and business logic enforcement. It is defined using the ObjectSettings pattern, which governs its behavior, access control, caching strategy, and integration points with other systems such as Stripe and Redis.

Core Configuration

  • Soft Delete: Enabled — Determines whether records are marked inactive (isActive = false) instead of being physically deleted.
  • Public Access: accessPublic — If enabled, anonymous users may access this object’s data depending on API-level rules.

Composite Indexes

  • listingLangUnique: [listingId, languageCode] This composite index is defined to optimize query performance for complex queries involving multiple fields.

The index also defines a conflict resolution strategy for duplicate key violations.

When a new record would violate this composite index, the following action will be taken:

On Duplicate: throwError

An error will be thrown, preventing the insertion of conflicting data.

Properties Schema

Property Type Required Description
localizedDescription Text Yes Localized description for this language.
localizedTitle String Yes Listing title translated for this language.
listingId ID Yes Listing this translation belongs to.
languageCode String Yes ISO 639-1 or -2 code for language.
  • Required properties are mandatory for creating objects and must be provided in the request body if no default value is set.

Default Values

Default values are automatically assigned to properties when a new object is created, if no value is provided in the request body. Since default values are applied on db level, they should be literal values, not expressions.If you want to use expressions, you can use transposed parameters in any business API to set default values dynamically.

  • localizedDescription: 'text'
  • localizedTitle: 'default'
  • listingId: '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
  • languageCode: 'default'

Constant Properties

listingId languageCode

Constant properties are defined to be immutable after creation, meaning they cannot be updated or changed once set. They are typically used for properties that should remain constant throughout the object's lifecycle. A property is set to be constant if the Allow Update option is set to false.

Auto Update Properties

localizedDescription localizedTitle

An update crud API created with the option Auto Params enabled will automatically update these properties with the provided values in the request body. If you want to update any property in your own business logic not by user input, you can set the Allow Auto Update option to false. These properties will be added to the update API's body parameters and can be updated by the user if any value is provided in the request body.

Elastic Search Indexing

localizedTitle listingId languageCode

Properties that are indexed in Elastic Search will be searchable via the Elastic Search API. While all properties are stored in the elastic search index of the data object, only those marked for Elastic Search indexing will be available for search queries.

Database Indexing

listingId languageCode

Properties that are indexed in the database will be optimized for query performance, allowing for faster data retrieval. Make a property indexed in the database if you want to use it frequently in query filters or sorting.

Relation Properties

listingId

Mindbricks supports relations between data objects, allowing you to define how objects are linked together. You can define relations in the data object properties, which will be used to create foreign key constraints in the database. For complex joins operations, Mindbricks supportsa BFF pattern, where you can view dynamic and static views based on Elastic Search Indexes. Use db level relations for simple one-to-one or one-to-many relationships, and use BFF views for complex joins that require multiple data objects to be joined together.

  • listingId: ID Relation to listing.id

The target object is a parent object, meaning that the relation is a one-to-many relationship from target to this object.

On Delete: Set Null Required: Yes

Filter Properties

listingId languageCode

Filter properties are used to define parameters that can be used in query filters, allowing for dynamic data retrieval based on user input or predefined criteria. These properties are automatically mapped as API parameters in the listing API's that have "Auto Params" enabled.

  • listingId: ID has a filter named listingId

  • languageCode: String has a filter named languageCode

Business Logic

propertyCatalog has got 20 Business APIs to manage its internal and crud logic. For the details of each business API refer to its chapter.

Edge Controllers

No edge controllers defined for this service.


Service Library

Functions

No general functions defined.

Hook Functions

No hook functions defined.

Edge Functions

No edge functions defined.

Templates

No templates defined.

Assets

No assets defined.

Public Assets

No public assets defined.


Event Emission


Integration Patterns

Deployment Considerations

Environment Configuration

  • HTTP Port: 3001
  • Database Type: MongoDB
  • Global Soft Delete: Enabled

Implementation Guidelines

Development Workflow

  1. Data Model Implementation: Generate database schema from data object definitions
  2. CRUD Route Generation: Implement auto-generated routes with custom logic
  3. Custom Logic Integration: Implement hook functions and edge functions
  4. Authentication Integration: Configure with project-level authentication
  5. Testing: Unit and integration testing for all components

Code Generation Expectations

  • Database Schema: Auto-generated from data objects and relationships
  • API Routes: REST endpoints with customizable behavior
  • Validation Logic: Input validation from property definitions
  • Access Control: Authentication and authorization middleware

Custom Code Integration Points

  • Hook Functions: Lifecycle-specific custom logic
  • Edge Functions: Full request/response control
  • Library Functions: Reusable business logic
  • Templates: Dynamic content rendering

Testing Strategy

Unit Testing

  • Test all custom library functions
  • Test validation logic and business rules
  • Test hook function implementations

Integration Testing

  • Test API endpoints with authentication scenarios
  • Test database operations and transactions
  • Test external integrations
  • Test event emission and Kafka integration

Performance Testing

  • Load test high-traffic endpoints
  • Test caching effectiveness
  • Monitor database query performance
  • Test scalability under load

Appendices

Data Type Reference

Type Description Storage
ID Unique identifier UUID (SQL) / ObjectID (NoSQL)
String Short text (≤255 chars) VARCHAR
Text Long-form text TEXT
Integer 32-bit whole numbers INT
Boolean True/false values BOOLEAN
Double 64-bit floating point DOUBLE
Float 32-bit floating point FLOAT
Short 16-bit integers SMALLINT
Object JSON object JSONB (PostgreSQL) / Object (MongoDB)
Date ISO 8601 timestamp TIMESTAMP
Enum Fixed numeric values SMALLINT with lookup

Enum Value Mappings

Request Locations

  • 0: Bearer token in Authorization header
  • 1: Cookie value
  • 2: Custom HTTP header
  • 3: Query parameter
  • 4: Request body property
  • 5: URL path parameter
  • 6: Session data
  • 7: Root request object

HTTP Methods

  • 0: GET
  • 1: POST
  • 2: PUT
  • 3: PATCH
  • 4: DELETE

Edge Function Signature

async function edgeFunction(request) {
  // Custom request processing
  // Return response object or throw error
  return {
    data: {},
    status: 200,
    message: "Success"
  };
}

This document was generated from the service architecture definition and should be kept in sync with implementation changes.