lens/docs/extensions/guides/stores.md

# Stores

Stores are components that persist and synchronize state data. Lens uses a number of stores to maintain various kinds of state information, including:

* The `ClusterStore` manages cluster state data (such as cluster details), and it tracks which cluster is active.
* The `WorkspaceStore` manages workspace state data (such as the workspace name), and and it tracks which clusters belong to a given workspace.
* The `ExtensionStore` manages custom extension state data.

This guide focuses on the `ExtensionStore`.

## ExtensionStore

Extension developers can create their own store for managing state data by extending the `ExtensionStore` class. This guide shows how to create a store for the [`appPreferences`](../renderer-extension#apppreferences) guide example, which demonstrates how to add a custom preference to the **Preferences** page. The preference is a simple boolean that indicates whether or not something is enabled. However, in the example, the enabled state is not stored anywhere, and it reverts to the default when Lens is restarted.

The following example code creates a store for the `appPreferences` guide example:

``` typescript
import { Store } from "@k8slens/extensions";
import { observable, toJS } from "mobx";

export type ExamplePreferencesModel = {
  enabled: boolean;
};

export class ExamplePreferencesStore extends Store.ExtensionStore<ExamplePreferencesModel> {

  @observable  enabled = false;

  private constructor() {
    super({
      configName: "example-preferences-store",
      defaults: {
        enabled: false
      }
    });
  }
 
  protected fromStore({ enabled }: ExamplePreferencesModel): void {
    this.enabled = enabled;
  }

  toJSON(): ExamplePreferencesModel {
    return toJS({
      enabled: this.enabled
    }, {
      recurseEverything: true
    });
  }
}

export const examplePreferencesStore = ExamplePreferencesStore.getInstance<ExamplePreferencesStore>();
```

First, our example defines the extension's data model using the simple `ExamplePreferencesModel` type. This has a single field, `enabled`, which represents the preference's state. `ExamplePreferencesStore` extends `Store.ExtensionStore`, which is based on the `ExamplePreferencesModel`. The `enabled` field is added to the `ExamplePreferencesStore` class to hold the "live" or current state of the preference. Note the use of the `observable` decorator on the `enabled` field. The [`appPreferences`](../renderer-extension#apppreferences) guide example uses [MobX](https://mobx.js.org/README.html) for the UI state management, ensuring the checkbox updates when it's activated by the user.

Next, our example implements the constructor and two abstract methods. The constructor specifies the name of the store (`"example-preferences-store"`) and the default (initial) value for the preference state (`enabled: false`). Lens internals call the `fromStore()` method when the store loads. It gives the extension the opportunity to retrieve the stored state data values based on the defined data model. The `enabled` field of the `ExamplePreferencesStore` is set to the value from the store whenever `fromStore()` is invoked. The `toJSON()` method is complementary to `fromStore()`. It is called when the store is being saved.
`toJSON()` must provide a JSON serializable object, facilitating its storage in JSON format. The `toJS()` function from [`mobx`](https://mobx.js.org/README.html) is convenient for this purpose, and is used here.

Finally, `examplePreferencesStore` is created by calling `ExamplePreferencesStore.getInstance<ExamplePreferencesStore>()`, and exported for use by other parts of the extension. Note that `examplePreferencesStore` is a singleton. Calling this function again will not create a new store.

The following example code, modified from the [`appPreferences`](../renderer-extension#apppreferences) guide demonstrates how to use the extension store. `examplePreferencesStore` must be loaded in the main process, where loaded stores are automatically saved when exiting Lens. This can be done in `./main.ts`:

``` typescript
import { LensMainExtension } from "@k8slens/extensions";
import { examplePreferencesStore } from "./src/example-preference-store";

export default class ExampleMainExtension extends LensMainExtension {
  async onActivate() {
    await examplePreferencesStore.loadExtension(this);
  }
}
```

Here, `examplePreferencesStore` loads with `examplePreferencesStore.loadExtension(this)`, which is conveniently called from the `onActivate()` method of `ExampleMainExtension`.
Similarly, `examplePreferencesStore` must load in the renderer process where the `appPreferences` are handled. This can be done in `./renderer.ts`:

``` typescript
import { LensRendererExtension } from "@k8slens/extensions";
import { ExamplePreferenceHint, ExamplePreferenceInput } from "./src/example-preference";
import { examplePreferencesStore } from "./src/example-preference-store";
import React from "react";

export default class ExampleRendererExtension extends LensRendererExtension {

  async onActivate() {
    await examplePreferencesStore.loadExtension(this);
  }

  appPreferences = [
    {
      title: "Example Preferences",
      components: {
        Input: () => <ExamplePreferenceInput preference={examplePreferencesStore}/>,
        Hint: () => <ExamplePreferenceHint/>
      }
    }
  ];
}
```

Again, `examplePreferencesStore.loadExtension(this)` is called to load `examplePreferencesStore`, this time from the `onActivate()` method of `ExampleRendererExtension`. There is no longer the need for the `preference` field in the `ExampleRendererExtension` class because the props for `ExamplePreferenceInput` is now `examplePreferencesStore`.
`ExamplePreferenceInput` is defined in `./src/example-preference.tsx`:

``` typescript
import { Component } from "@k8slens/extensions";
import { observer } from "mobx-react";
import React from "react";
import { ExamplePreferencesStore } from "./example-preference-store";

export class ExamplePreferenceProps {
  preference: ExamplePreferencesStore;
}

@observer
export class ExamplePreferenceInput extends React.Component<ExamplePreferenceProps> {

  render() {
    const { preference } = this.props;
    
    return (
      <Component.Checkbox
        label="I understand appPreferences"
        value={preference.enabled}
        onChange={v => { preference.enabled = v; }}
      />
    );
  }
}

export class ExamplePreferenceHint extends React.Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <span>This is an example of an appPreference for extensions.</span>
    );
  }
}
```

The only change here is that `ExamplePreferenceProps` defines its `preference` field as an `ExamplePreferencesStore` type.
Everything else works as before, except that now the `enabled` state persists across Lens restarts because it is managed by the 
`examplePreferencesStore`.