fix core middleware and make search case insensitive

bruno/recipe-backend/getCompactRecipes.bru

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ get {
 }
 
 auth:bearer {
-  token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImE0NDdlNDM0LTQyMWYtNDJiYS04MGRlLTM0ZDE1YzJmNWE2YyIsImlhdCI6MTc1ODk4Njk4MSwiZXhwIjoxNzU5MDczMzgxfQ.rYvECzhI3Tptse3yVjZvR9RXgs1gkwAt2_5-hpAXvB0
+  token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImE0NDdlNDM0LTQyMWYtNDJiYS04MGRlLTM0ZDE1YzJmNWE2YyIsImlhdCI6MTc1OTA3NjA2NCwiZXhwIjoxNzU5MTYyNDY0fQ.exf_3fCrarW0LhUqPuadvp89BOUazEXtdSTkGDIAU_Q
 }
 
 settings {

bruno/recipe-backend/updateRecipe.bru

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ put {
 }
 
 auth:bearer {
-  token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImE0NDdlNDM0LTQyMWYtNDJiYS04MGRlLTM0ZDE1YzJmNWE2YyIsImlhdCI6MTc1OTA3NjA2NCwiZXhwIjoxNzU5MTYyNDY0fQ.exf_3fCrarW0LhUqPuadvp89BOUazEXtdSTkGDIAU_Q
+  token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImE0NDdlNDM0LTQyMWYtNDJiYS04MGRlLTM0ZDE1YzJmNWE2YyIsImlhdCI6MTc1OTE3MjI3MywiZXhwIjoxNzU5MjU4NjczfQ._X_ZtBGtx0_14Nx90ctSQL-ieVPptaPc7WjG3FnyOOA
 }
 
 body:json {
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ body:json {
         "id": "9042d658-0102-4e63-8637-a82c5653aa9d",
         "createdAt": "2025-09-28T10:24:05.429Z",
         "updatedAt": "2025-09-28T10:24:05.429Z",
-        "text": "Mürbteig von 400 g Mehl herstellen",
+        "text": "Mürbteig von 400 g Mehl herstellen.",
         "sortOrder": 1
       },
       {
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ body:json {
         "updatedAt": "2025-09-28T10:24:05.429Z",
         "text": "Backen",
         "sortOrder": 5
+      }, {
+        "text": "Essen",
+        "sortOrder": 6
       }
     ],
     "ingredientGroups": [

src/data-source.ts

@@ -11,9 +11,16 @@ const __dirname = dirname(__filename);
 
 dotenv.config();
 
+/**
+ * Load config
+ */
 const { DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD, DB_DATABASE, NODE_ENV } =
   process.env;
 
+  /**
+   * Configures data source
+   */
+
 export const AppDataSource = new DataSource({
   type: "postgres",
   host: DB_HOST,
@@ -24,7 +31,7 @@ export const AppDataSource = new DataSource({
 
   synchronize: NODE_ENV === "dev" ? false : false,
 //logging logs sql command on the terminal
-  logging: NODE_ENV === "dev" ? false : false,
+  logging: NODE_ENV === "dev" ?   ["query", "error"] : false,
   entities: [join(__dirname, "/entities/*.{js, ts}")],
   migrations: [join(__dirname, "/migrations/*.js")],
   subscribers: [],

src/dtos/RecipeIngredientDto.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { UUID } from "crypto";
 import { AbstractDto } from "./AbstractDto.js";
 
 export class RecipeIngredientDto extends AbstractDto{
@@ -7,5 +6,5 @@ export class RecipeIngredientDto extends AbstractDto{
     amount?: number;
     unit?: string;
     sortOrder!: number;
-    ingredientGroupId?: UUID;
+    ingredientGroupId?: string;
 }

src/dtos/RecipeIngredientGroupDto.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
-import { UUID } from "crypto";
 import { AbstractDto } from "./AbstractDto.js";
 import { RecipeIngredientDto } from "./RecipeIngredientDto.js";
 
 export class RecipeIngredientGroupDto extends AbstractDto{
     title?: string;
     sortOrder!: number;
-    recipeId?: UUID;
+    recipeId?: string;
     ingredients!: RecipeIngredientDto[];
 }

src/endpoints/AuthPoint.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Router } from "express";
-import { AuthController } from "../controllers/AuthController.js";
+import { AuthHandler } from "../handlers/AuthHandler.js";
 import { UserRepository } from "../repositories/UserRepository.js";
 import { UserDtoEntityMapper } from "../mappers/UserDtoEntityMapper.js";
 import {
@@ -14,8 +14,13 @@ export const  authBasicRoute = "/auth"
 const router = Router();
 const userRepository = new UserRepository();
 const mapper = new UserDtoEntityMapper();
-const authController = new AuthController(userRepository, mapper);
+const authController = new AuthHandler(userRepository, mapper);
 
+/**
+ * Login using username and password
+ * Consumes LoginRequestDto
+ * Responds with LoginResponseDto
+ */
 router.post("/login", async (req, res) => {
     console.log("login point called")
   try {

src/endpoints/CompactRecipePoint.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { Router } from "express";
 import { asyncHandler } from "../utils/asyncHandler.js";
 import { RecipeRepository } from "../repositories/RecipeRepository.js";
-import { CompactRecipeController } from "../controllers/CompactRecipeController.js";
+import { CompactRecipeHandler } from "../handlers/CompactRecipeHandler.js";
 import { CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper } from "../mappers/CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper.js";
 
 /**
@@ -12,14 +12,18 @@ const router = Router();
 // Inject repo + mapper here
 const recipeRepository = new RecipeRepository();
 const compactRecipeMapper = new CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper();
-const compactRecipeController = new CompactRecipeController(recipeRepository, compactRecipeMapper);
+const compactRecipeHandler = new CompactRecipeHandler(recipeRepository, compactRecipeMapper);
 /**
  * Load header data of all recipes
+ * Responds with a list of CompactRecipeDtos
  */
 router.get(
   "/",
   asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {  
-    const response = await compactRecipeController.getAllCompactRecipes();
+    // extract search string from query parameters, convert to lower case for case insensitive search
+    const searchString : string  = req.query.search ? req.query.search.toString().toLowerCase() : "";
+    console.log("Searching for recipes with title containing", searchString)
+    const response = await compactRecipeHandler.getMatchingRecipes(searchString);
     res.status(201).json(response);
   })
 );

src/endpoints/RecipePoint.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { Router } from "express";
 import { RecipeRepository } from "../repositories/RecipeRepository.js";
 import { RecipeDtoEntityMapper } from "../mappers/RecipeDtoEntityMapper.js";
-import { RecipeController } from "../controllers/RecipeController.js";
+import { RecipeHandler } from "../handlers/RecipeHandler.js";
 import { asyncHandler } from "../utils/asyncHandler.js";
 import { RecipeDto } from "../dtos/RecipeDto.js";
 import { RecipeIngredientDtoEntityMapper } from "../mappers/RecipeIngredientDtoEntityMapper.js";
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@ const recipeIngredientMapper = new RecipeIngredientDtoEntityMapper();
 const recipeIngredientGroupMapper = new RecipeIngredientGroupDtoEntityMapper(recipeIngredientMapper);
 const recipeInstructionStepMapper = new RecipeInstructionStepDtoEntityMapper();
 const recipeMapper = new RecipeDtoEntityMapper(recipeInstructionStepMapper, recipeIngredientGroupMapper);
-const recipeController = new RecipeController(recipeRepository, recipeMapper);
+const recipeController = new RecipeHandler(recipeRepository, recipeMapper);
 
 /**
  * Create new recipe
+ * Consumes: RecipeDto
+ * Responds with RecipeDto
  */
 router.post(
   "/",
@@ -34,6 +36,10 @@ router.post(
   })
 );
 
+/**
+ * Load recipe by id
+ * Responds with RecipeDto
+ */
 router.get(
   "/:id",
   asyncHandler(async(req, res) => {
@@ -43,6 +49,12 @@ router.get(
   })
 );
 
+/**
+ * Saves existing recipe
+ * Also handles changes to instructions steps and ingredient (groups)
+ * Consumes: RecipeDto
+ * Responds with RecipeDto
+ */
 router.put(
   "/:id",
   asyncHandler(async(req, res) =>{

src/endpoints/UserPoint.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Router } from "express";
-import { UserController } from "../controllers/UserController.js";
+import { UserHandler } from "../handlers/UserHandler.js";
 import { CreateUserRequestDto } from "../dtos/CreateUserRequestDto.js";
 import { UserRepository } from "../repositories/UserRepository.js";
 import { UserDtoEntityMapper } from "../mappers/UserDtoEntityMapper.js";
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ const router = Router();
 // Inject repo + mapper here
 const userRepository = new UserRepository();
 const userMapper = new UserDtoEntityMapper();
-const userController = new UserController(userRepository, userMapper);
+const userController = new UserHandler(userRepository, userMapper);
 
 /**
  * Create a new user
+ * Consumes CreateUserRequestDto
+ * Responds with UserDto
  */
 router.post(
   "/",
@@ -29,6 +31,7 @@ router.post(
 
 /**
  * Get user data for current user
+ * Responds with UserDto
  */
 router.get("/me", 
   asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {

src/entities/AbstractEntity.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ import {
   UpdateDateColumn,
 } from "typeorm";
 
+/**
+ * Abstract entity containing basic fields that all entities have in common
+ */
 export abstract class AbstractEntity {
   @PrimaryGeneratedColumn("uuid")
   id?: string;

src/entities/RecipeEntity.ts

@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ export class RecipeEntity extends AbstractEntity {
 
     // make sure not to induce a circular dependency! user arrow function without brackets!
     @OneToMany(() => RecipeInstructionStepEntity, (instructionStep) => instructionStep.recipe,  {
-        cascade: true,
+        cascade: true
     })
     instructionSteps!: RecipeInstructionStepEntity[];
 
     // make sure not to induce a circular dependency! user arrow function without brackets!
     @OneToMany(() => RecipeIngredientGroupEntity, (ingredientGroup) => ingredientGroup.recipe,  {
-        cascade: true,
+        cascade: true
     })
     ingredientGroups!: Relation<RecipeIngredientGroupEntity>[];
 }

src/entities/RecipeIngredientEntity.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ export class RecipeIngredientEntity extends AbstractEntity {
 
     @JoinColumn({name: "recipe_ingredient_group_id"})
     @ManyToOne(() => RecipeIngredientGroupEntity, (ingredientGroup) => ingredientGroup.ingredients,
-        {onDelete: "CASCADE", nullable: false}
+        {
+            onDelete: "CASCADE", 
+            nullable: false,
+            orphanedRowAction: "delete"
+        }
     )
     ingredientGroup!: Relation<RecipeIngredientGroupEntity>;  
 }

src/entities/RecipeIngredientGroupEntity.ts

@@ -16,12 +16,16 @@ export class RecipeIngredientGroupEntity extends AbstractEntity {
 
     @JoinColumn({name: "recipe_id"})
     @ManyToOne(() => RecipeEntity, (recipe) => recipe.ingredientGroups,
-    {onDelete: "CASCADE", nullable: false}
+    {
+        onDelete: "CASCADE", 
+        nullable: false,
+        orphanedRowAction: "delete" // delete removed groups
+    }
     )
     recipe!: Relation<RecipeEntity>;
 
     @OneToMany(() => RecipeIngredientEntity, (ingredient) => ingredient.ingredientGroup,  {
-        cascade: true,
+        cascade: true
     })
     ingredients!: Relation<RecipeIngredientEntity>[];
     

src/entities/RecipeInstructionStepEntity.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,11 @@ export class RecipeInstructionStepEntity extends AbstractEntity {
 
     @JoinColumn({name: "recipe_id"})
     @ManyToOne(() => RecipeEntity, (recipe) => recipe.instructionSteps,
-    {onDelete: "CASCADE", nullable: false}
+    {
+        onDelete: "CASCADE", 
+        nullable: false,
+        orphanedRowAction: "delete" // delete removed groups
+    }
     )
     recipe!: Relation<RecipeEntity>;
     

src/entities/UserEntity.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import { Entity, Column } from "typeorm";
 import { AbstractEntity } from "./AbstractEntity.js";
 
-// @todo Add migration to update table
+/**
+ * Entity describing a user
+ */
 @Entity({ name: "user" })
 export class UserEntity extends AbstractEntity {
   @Column({ nullable: false, name: "user_name" })

src/handlers/AuthHandler.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { LoginRequestDto } from "../dtos/LoginRequestDto.js";
  * Controller responsible for authentication, e.g., login or issueing a token with extended
  * lifetime
  */
-export class AuthController {
+export class AuthHandler {
   constructor(
     private userRepository: UserRepository,
     private mapper: UserDtoEntityMapper

src/handlers/CompactRecipeHandler.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { RecipeRepository } from "../repositories/RecipeRepository.js";
 /**
  * Responsible for loading recipe header data
  */
-export class CompactRecipeController {
+export class CompactRecipeHandler {
     constructor(
         private repository: RecipeRepository,
         private mapper: CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper
@@ -25,4 +25,19 @@ export class CompactRecipeController {
         });
         return recipeDtos;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Get all recipes matching search
+     * 
+     * Recipe title must contain type string
+     * @todo Full text search??
+     */
+    async getMatchingRecipes(searchString : string){
+        if(!searchString || searchString.length===0){
+            // get all 
+            return this.getAllCompactRecipes();
+        } else {
+            return this.repository.findCompactRecipeBySearch(searchString);
+        }
+    }
 }

src/handlers/RecipeHandler.ts

@@ -5,12 +5,11 @@ import { NotFoundError, ValidationError } from "../errors/httpErrors.js";
 import { RecipeInstructionStepDto } from "../dtos/RecipeInstructionStepDto.js";
 import { RecipeIngredientGroupDto } from "../dtos/RecipeIngredientGroupDto.js";
 import { RecipeIngredientDto } from "../dtos/RecipeIngredientDto.js";
-import { Entity } from "typeorm";
 
 /**
  * Controls all recipe specific actions
  */
-export class RecipeController {
+export class RecipeHandler {
     constructor(
         private recipeRepository: RecipeRepository,
         private mapper: RecipeDtoEntityMapper
@@ -38,9 +37,19 @@ export class RecipeController {
         if (!this.isRecipeDtoValid(dto)) {
             throw new ValidationError("recipe data is not valid!")
         }
-        const recipeEntity = this.mapper.toEntity(dto);
+        const recipeId = dto.id
-        // @todo doesn't create new ingredient groups, ingredients or instruction steps yet
+        if(recipeId === undefined){
-        const savedEntity = await this.recipeRepository.save(recipeEntity);
+            throw new ValidationError("Trying to update recipe without ID!")
+        }
+        // Load current version of recipe from database
+        const recipeEntity = await this.recipeRepository.findById(recipeId);
+        if(!recipeEntity){
+            throw new ValidationError("No recipe with ID " + recipeId + " found in database!")
+        }
+        // merge changes into entity
+        this.mapper.mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto, recipeEntity);
+        // persist changes
+        const savedEntity = await this.recipeRepository.update(recipeEntity);
         return this.mapper.toDto(savedEntity);
     }
     /**

src/handlers/UserHandler.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { UUID } from "crypto";
 /**
  * Controls all user specific actions
  */
-export class UserController {
+export class UserHandler {
   constructor(
     private userRepository: UserRepository,
     private mapper: UserDtoEntityMapper

src/index.ts

@@ -27,6 +27,21 @@ async function startServer() {
     await AppDataSource.runMigrations();
     console.log("Migrations executed");
 
+    // Enable CORS before anything else
+    // @todo move to middleware util
+    app.use((req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
+      res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*');
+      res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET,POST,PUT,DELETE,OPTIONS');
+      res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Content-Type, Authorization');
+      
+      // Handle preflight requests quickly
+      if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') {
+        return res.sendStatus(200);
+      }
+
+      next();
+    });
+
     // Activate Authentication
     app.use(authentication);
     

src/mappers/AbstractDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,57 @@ export abstract class AbstractDtoEntityMapper<
     return entity;
   }
 
-  // Abstract methods to be implemented by subclasses
+  /**
-  abstract toDto(entity: E): D;
+   * Merge entity list  with changes contained in DTO list
-  abstract toEntity(dto: D): E;
+   * @param dtos List of dtos
+   * @param entities List of entities
+   * @returns Merged list
+   * 
+   * elements no longer contained in the dto list will be removed from the entity list
+   * new elements will be mapped to entity and added to the entity list
+   * existing elements will be updated
+   */
+  mergeDtoListIntoEntityList(dtos: D[], entities: E[]) : E[]{
+    const updatedEntities: E[] = [];
+    const existingMap = new Map(entities?.map(e => [e.id, e]) ?? []);
+
+    for (const dto of dtos) {
+      if (dto.id && existingMap.has(dto.id)) {
+        // update existing
+        const entity = existingMap.get(dto.id)!;
+        updatedEntities.push(this.mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto, entity));
+      } else {
+        // create new
+        const newEntity = this.createNewEntity();
+        updatedEntities.push(this.mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto, newEntity));
+      }
+    }
+
+    return updatedEntities;
+  }
+
+  // Abstract methods to be implemented by subclasses
+  /**
+   * Maps an entity to DTO
+   * @param entity Entity that is mapped to DTO
+   */
+  abstract toDto(entity: E): D;
+  /**
+   * Maps a DTO to entity
+   * @param dto DTO to map to entity
+   */
+  abstract toEntity(dto: D): E;
+  /**
+   * Merge changes in DTO into entity
+   * @param dto Dto containing changes
+   * @param entity existing entity 
+   * 
+   * Used for merging user changes (DTO) into the existing entity (database).
+   */
+  abstract mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: D, entity: E): E;
+  /**
+   * Defines how to create a new entity. Required by mergeDtoListIntoEntityList
+   * to add new elements to the list
+   */
+  abstract createNewEntity() : E;
 }

src/mappers/CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -17,4 +17,16 @@ export class CompactRecipeDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMapper<Recipe
     throw new Error("Mapping CompactRecipeDto to RecipeEntity is not allowed!");
   }
 
+  createNewEntity() : RecipeEntity {
+    throw new Error("Mapping CompactRecipeDto to RecipeEntity is not allowed!");
+  }
+
+  mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: CompactRecipeDto, entity: RecipeEntity): RecipeEntity {
+    throw new Error("Mapping CompactRecipeDto to RecipeEntity is not allowed!");
+  }
+
+  mergeDtoListIntoEntityList(dtos: CompactRecipeDto[], entities: RecipeEntity[]) : RecipeEntity[]{
+    throw new Error("Mapping CompactRecipeDto to RecipeEntity is not allowed!");
+  }
+
 }

src/mappers/RecipeDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -21,14 +21,12 @@ export class RecipeDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMapper<RecipeEntity,
         dto.amountDescription = entity.amountDescription;
         
         // map instructions
-        const instructionStepEntities = entity.instructionSteps;
+        dto.instructions = entity.instructionSteps.map((stepEntity) => this.instructionStepMapper.toDto(stepEntity));
-        const instructionStepDtos = instructionStepEntities.map((stepEntity) => this.instructionStepMapper.toDto(stepEntity));
+        // @todo map ids dto.instructions.forEach(step => step.recipeId = entity.id); // set recipe relation explicitly!
-        dto.instructions = instructionStepDtos;
+
 
         // map ingredient groups
-        const ingredientGroupEntities = entity.ingredientGroups;
+        dto.ingredientGroups = entity.ingredientGroups.map((groupEntity) => this.ingredientGroupMapper.toDto(groupEntity));
-        const ingredientGroupDtos = ingredientGroupEntities.map((groupEntity) => this.ingredientGroupMapper.toDto(groupEntity));
-        dto.ingredientGroups = ingredientGroupDtos;
 
         return dto;
     }
@@ -42,16 +40,47 @@ export class RecipeDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMapper<RecipeEntity,
     entity.amountDescription = dto.amountDescription;
 
     // map instructions
-    const instructionStepDtos = dto.instructions;
+    entity.instructionSteps = dto.instructions.map((stepDto) => {
-    const instructionStepEntities = instructionStepDtos.map((stepDto) => this.instructionStepMapper.toEntity(stepDto));
+    const stepEntity = this.instructionStepMapper.toEntity(stepDto);
-    entity.instructionSteps = instructionStepEntities;
+
+    // Always set the relation
+    stepEntity.recipe = entity;
+
+    // If it's a new step (no id from client), let DB generate a new UUID
+    if (!stepDto.id) {
+      delete (stepEntity as any).id;
+    }
+
+    return stepEntity;
+  });
 
     // map ingredient groups
-    const ingredientGroupDtos = dto.ingredientGroups;
+    entity.ingredientGroups = dto.ingredientGroups.map((groupDto) => {
-    const ingredientGroupEntities = ingredientGroupDtos.map((ingredientGroupDto) => this.ingredientGroupMapper.toEntity(ingredientGroupDto));
+    const groupEntity = this.ingredientGroupMapper.toEntity(groupDto);
-    entity.ingredientGroups = ingredientGroupEntities;
+    groupEntity.recipe = entity;
+    if (!groupDto.id) {
+      delete (groupEntity as any).id;
+    }
+    return groupEntity;
+  });
 
   return entity;
   }
 
+  mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: RecipeDto, entity: RecipeEntity): RecipeEntity {
+    entity.title = dto.title;
+    entity.amount = dto.amount;
+    entity.amountDescription = dto.amountDescription;
+
+    // --- Instruction Steps ---
+    entity.instructionSteps = this.instructionStepMapper.mergeDtoListIntoEntityList(dto.instructions, entity.instructionSteps);
+
+    // --- Ingredient Groups ---
+    entity.ingredientGroups = this.ingredientGroupMapper.mergeDtoListIntoEntityList(dto.ingredientGroups, entity.ingredientGroups);
+    return entity
+  }
+
+  createNewEntity(): RecipeEntity {
+    return new RecipeEntity();
+  }
 }

src/mappers/RecipeIngredientDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -29,4 +29,17 @@ export class RecipeIngredientDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMapper<Rec
 
         return entity;
     }
+
+    createNewEntity(): RecipeIngredientEntity {
+        return new RecipeIngredientEntity();
+    }
+
+    mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: RecipeIngredientDto, entity: RecipeIngredientEntity): RecipeIngredientEntity {
+        entity.name = dto.name;
+        entity.amount = dto.amount;
+        entity.unit = dto.unit;
+        entity.subtext = dto.subtext;
+        entity.sortOrder = dto.sortOrder;
+        return entity;
+    }
 }

src/mappers/RecipeIngredientGroupDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -18,9 +18,7 @@ export class RecipeIngredientGroupDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMappe
     dto.sortOrder = entity.sortOrder
 
     // map ingredients
-        const ingredientEntities = entity.ingredients;
+    dto.ingredients = entity.ingredients?.map((ingredientEntity) => this.ingredientMapper.toDto(ingredientEntity));
-        const ingredientDtos = ingredientEntities?.map((ingredientEntity) => this.ingredientMapper.toDto(ingredientEntity));
-        dto.ingredients = ingredientDtos;
 
     return dto;
   }
@@ -33,9 +31,32 @@ export class RecipeIngredientGroupDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMappe
     entity.sortOrder = dto.sortOrder
 
     // map ingredients
-    const ingredientDtos = dto.ingredients;
+    entity.ingredients = dto.ingredients.map((ingredientDto) => {
-    const ingredientEntities = ingredientDtos?.map((ingredientDto) => this.ingredientMapper.toEntity(ingredientDto));
+      const ingredientEntity = this.ingredientMapper.toEntity(ingredientDto);
-    entity.ingredients = ingredientEntities;
+      ingredientEntity.ingredientGroup = entity;
+      // remove id from new entity completely and allow ORM to generate a new one
+      if (!ingredientDto.id) {
+        delete (ingredientEntity as any).id;
+      }
+      return ingredientEntity;
+    });
+
+    return entity;
+  }
+
+  createNewEntity(): RecipeIngredientGroupEntity {
+    return new RecipeIngredientGroupEntity();
+  }
+
+  mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: RecipeIngredientGroupDto, entity: RecipeIngredientGroupEntity): RecipeIngredientGroupEntity {
+        entity.title = dto.title;
+        entity.sortOrder = dto.sortOrder;
+
+        // sync ingredients inside each group
+        entity.ingredients = this.ingredientMapper.mergeDtoListIntoEntityList(
+          dto.ingredients,
+          entity.ingredients,
+        );
 
         return entity;
   }

src/mappers/RecipeInstructionStepDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -24,4 +24,14 @@ export class RecipeInstructionStepDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMappe
     return entity;
   }
 
+  createNewEntity(): RecipeInstructionStepEntity {
+    return new RecipeInstructionStepEntity();
+  }
+
+  mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: RecipeInstructionStepDto, entity: RecipeInstructionStepEntity): RecipeInstructionStepEntity {
+    entity.text = dto.text;
+    entity.sortOrder = dto.sortOrder;
+    return entity;
+  }
+
 }

src/mappers/UserDtoEntityMapper.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,16 @@ export class UserDtoEntityMapper extends AbstractDtoEntityMapper<UserEntity, Use
     const entity = new UserEntity();
     this.mapBaseDtoToEntity(dto, entity);
 
+    this.mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto, entity)
+
+    return entity;
+  }
+
+  createNewEntity(): UserEntity {
+    return new UserEntity;
+  }
+
+  mergeDtoIntoEntity(dto: UserDto, entity: UserEntity): UserEntity {
     entity.userName = dto.userName;
     entity.email = dto.email;
     entity.firstName = dto.firstName;

src/repositories/AbstractRepository.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import { Repository, DeepPartial } from "typeorm";
 import { AppDataSource } from "../data-source.js";
 import { AbstractEntity } from "../entities/AbstractEntity.js";
 
+/**
+ * Basic methods for saving, loading and deleting data
+ */
 export abstract class AbstractRepository<T extends AbstractEntity> {
   protected repo: Repository<T>;
 
@@ -22,20 +25,11 @@ export abstract class AbstractRepository<T extends AbstractEntity> {
     return this.repo.save(entity);
   }
 
-  /* async update(id: string, partialData: DeepPartial<T>): Promise<T> {
-    await this.repo.update(id as any, partialData);
-    const updated = await this.findById(id);
-    if (!updated) {
-      throw new Error("Entity not found after update");
-    }
-    return updated;
-  } */
-
   async delete(id: string): Promise<void> {
     await this.repo.delete(id as any);
   }
 
-  async save(entity: T): Promise<T> {
+  async update(entity: T): Promise<T> {
   return this.repo.save(entity);
 }
 

src/repositories/RecipeRepository.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import { AbstractRepository } from "./AbstractRepository.js";
 import { RecipeEntity } from "../entities/RecipeEntity.js";
+import { AppDataSource } from "../data-source.js";
+import { ILike, Like } from "typeorm";
 
 export class RecipeRepository extends AbstractRepository<RecipeEntity> {
   constructor() {
@@ -20,6 +22,37 @@ export class RecipeRepository extends AbstractRepository<RecipeEntity> {
         'instructionSteps'
       ] 
     });
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Find all recipes matching the search. Currently it only searches on the title. Fetches only recipe header data but no relations.
+   * @param searchString String to search for
+   * @returns List of recipe entities matching the search criteria
+   */
+  async findCompactRecipeBySearch(searchString : string): Promise<RecipeEntity[] | null>{
+    // @todo doesn't work like expected...
+    return this.repo.find(
+      { where: {title: ILike(`%${searchString}%`)}}
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Update recipe and relations
+   * @param entity Updated entity
+   * @returns Updated Entity
+   */
+  async updateRecipe(entity: RecipeEntity): Promise<RecipeEntity> {
+  return AppDataSource.transaction(async (em) => {
+    // load existing data
+    const existing = await this.repo.findOneOrFail({
+      where: { id: entity.id },
+      relations: ["instructionSteps", "ingredientGroups", "ingredientGroups.ingredients"],
+    });
+
+    // merge new entity and existing entity
+    this.repo.merge(existing, entity);
+    return this.repo.save(existing);
+  });
+}
 
 }
-}