Filter generated typings against OData CSDL $metadata

Fetches the OData $metadata on each CRM run and uses it as ground truth
to filter attributes, ManyToOne, OneToMany, and ManyToMany relationships,
ensuring generated typings reflect only what is accessible on the wire.

Virtual attributes (shadow fields, yomi names, metadata-only columns) are
now excluded via CSDL rather than SDK-side heuristics. Duplicate ManyToOne
nav props collapsed by the CSDL no longer produce duplicate interface members.
File-type columns are now typed as GUIDs, reflecting their actual wire format.

Author: Mosh-K

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [Unreleased]
+### Changed
+- Attributes and navigation properties are now filtered against the OData CSDL `$metadata`, ensuring generated typings reflect only what is accessible on the wire
+- Virtual attributes (shadow fields, `yomi*` names, metadata-only columns) are now excluded via CSDL rather than SDK-side heuristics
+- File-type columns are now typed as GUIDs, reflecting their actual wire format
+### Fixed
+- Duplicate ManyToOne navigation properties (collapsed by the CSDL) no longer generate duplicate interface members
+
 ## [1.4.0] - 2026-04-28
 ### Changed
 - WebEntities internal interfaces reorganized into sub-namespaces under `_`: `Scalars`, `Read`, `Write`, `Binds`, and `Lookup`, replacing the previous flat layout

src/CreateTypeScript/CreateWebEntities.fs

@@ -72,23 +72,12 @@ let getScalarType (attr: XrmAttribute) =
 
 (** Variable functions *)
 
-/// True when an attribute on the entity claims the same OData property name as the given
-/// navigation property name. Lookup-style attributes (specialType = EntityReference) are
-/// renamed to `_<name>_value` in the OData CSDL so they don't shadow; everything else
-/// (Uniqueidentifier, File, Image, plain scalars) keeps its natural name and forces
-/// Dataverse to drop the navigation property from the wire.
-let private isShadowedByScalar (attrMap: Map<string, XrmAttribute>) navPropName =
-  Map.tryFind navPropName attrMap
-  |> Option.exists (fun a -> a.specialType <> SpecialType.EntityReference)
 
 let getBindVars (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) (filter: XrmAttribute -> bool) (entity: XrmEntity) =
   let attrMap = entity.attributes |> List.map (fun a -> a.logicalName, a) |> Map.ofList
 
   entity.manyToOneRelationships
-  |> List.filter (fun rel ->
-    not (isNull rel.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName)
-    && Map.tryFind rel.ReferencingAttribute attrMap |> Option.exists filter
-    && not (isShadowedByScalar attrMap rel.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName))
+  |> List.filter (fun rel -> Map.tryFind rel.ReferencingAttribute attrMap |> Option.exists filter)
   |> List.map (fun rel ->
     let eInfo = Map.find rel.ReferencedEntity nameMap
 
@@ -121,13 +110,8 @@ let getLookupValueVars (attrs: XrmAttribute list) =
 let private toInterfaceName forWrite schemaName =
   if forWrite then $"{schemaName}.{CREATE_INTERFACE_NAME}" else schemaName
 
-let getManyToOneVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (entity: XrmEntity) =
-  let attrMap = entity.attributes |> List.map (fun a -> a.logicalName, a) |> Map.ofList
-
-  entity.manyToOneRelationships
-  |> List.filter (fun rel ->
-    not (isNull rel.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName)
-    && not (isShadowedByScalar attrMap rel.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName))
+let getManyToOneVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (rels: OneToManyRelationshipMetadata list) =
+  rels
   |> List.map (fun rel ->
     let eInfo = Map.find rel.ReferencedEntity nameMap
 
@@ -164,7 +148,6 @@ let getManyToOneVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (entity: XrmEnt
 
 let getOneToManyVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (rels: OneToManyRelationshipMetadata list) =
   rels
-  |> List.filter (fun rel -> not (isNull rel.ReferencedEntityNavigationPropertyName))
   |> List.map (fun rel ->
     let eInfo = Map.find rel.ReferencingEntity nameMap
     let inGeneration = schemaNames.Contains eInfo.SchemaName
@@ -190,10 +173,6 @@ let getOneToManyVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (rels: OneToMan
 
 let getManyToManyVars nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) forWrite (entity: XrmEntity) =
   entity.manyToManyRelationships
-  |> List.filter (fun rel ->
-    (entity.logicalName = rel.Entity1LogicalName || entity.logicalName = rel.Entity2LogicalName) // Filter intersect tables
-    && not (isNull rel.Entity1NavigationPropertyName)
-    && not (isNull rel.Entity2NavigationPropertyName))
   |> List.map (fun rel ->
     let navProp, partnerNavProp, otherLogical =
       if entity.logicalName = rel.Entity2LogicalName then
@@ -300,22 +279,12 @@ type EntityInterfaces = {
   read: Interface
 }
 
-let getIntersectEntities (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) (entity: XrmEntity) =
-  if not entity.isIntersect then []
-  else
-    match entity.manyToManyRelationships with
-    | [] -> []
-    | rel :: _ ->
-      [ rel.Entity1LogicalName; rel.Entity2LogicalName ]
-      |> List.map (fun ln -> Map.find ln nameMap)
-
 let getBlankEntityInterfaces (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) (entity: XrmEntity) =
   let comment =
     Comment.Entity(
       entity.displayName,
       setName = entity.setName,
       isIntersect = entity.isIntersect,
-      intersectEntities = getIntersectEntities nameMap entity,
       logicalName = entity.logicalName
     )
 
@@ -402,15 +371,15 @@ let getEntityInterfaceLines nameMap (schemaNames: Set<string>) (entity: XrmEntit
   let readInterfaces =
     [
       entityInterfaces.readRelationships
-      { entityInterfaces.readManyToOne with vars = getManyToOneVars nameMap schemaNames false entity }
+      { entityInterfaces.readManyToOne with vars = getManyToOneVars nameMap schemaNames false entity.manyToOneRelationships }
       { entityInterfaces.readOneToMany with vars = getOneToManyVars nameMap schemaNames false entity.oneToManyRelationships }
       { entityInterfaces.readManyToMany with vars = getManyToManyVars nameMap schemaNames false entity }
     ]
 
   let writeInterfaces =
     [
       entityInterfaces.writeRelationships
-      { entityInterfaces.writeManyToOne with vars = getManyToOneVars nameMap schemaNames true entity }
+      { entityInterfaces.writeManyToOne with vars = getManyToOneVars nameMap schemaNames true entity.manyToOneRelationships }
       { entityInterfaces.writeOneToMany with vars = getOneToManyVars nameMap schemaNames true entity.oneToManyRelationships }
       { entityInterfaces.writeManyToMany with vars = getManyToManyVars nameMap schemaNames true entity }
     ]

src/Generation/DataRetrieval.fs

@@ -1,12 +1,36 @@
 module DG.XrmTypeScript.DataRetrieval
 
+open System.Net.Http
+open System.Xml
+
+open Microsoft.OData.Edm.Csdl
+
 open Utility
 
 open CrmBaseHelper
 open CrmDataHelper
 open Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Metadata
 open Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk
-
+open Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector
+
+
+/// Fetch the OData CSDL $metadata XML from the Web API
+let fetchCsdlXml (proxy: IOrganizationService) =
+  printf "Fetching OData $metadata..."
+  match proxy with
+  | :? CrmServiceClient as client ->
+      let baseUri = client.CrmConnectOrgUriActual
+      let url = $"{baseUri.Scheme}://{baseUri.Host}/api/data/v9.2/$metadata"
+      use http = new HttpClient()
+      http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization <- Headers.AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", client.CurrentAccessToken)
+      let xml = http.GetStringAsync(url).Result
+      use reader = XmlReader.Create(new System.IO.StringReader(xml))
+      let model = CsdlReader.Parse reader
+      printfn "Done!"
+      Some model
+  | _ ->
+      printfn "Skipped (proxy is not CrmServiceClient)"
+      None
 
 /// Connect to CRM with the given authentication
 let connectToCrm xrmAuth =

src/Generation/GenerationMain.fs

@@ -13,22 +13,25 @@ let retrieveRawState xrmAuth rSettings skipForms =
   let mainProxy = connectToCrm xrmAuth
 
   let crmVersion = retrieveCrmVersion mainProxy
+
+  let csdlModel = fetchCsdlXml mainProxy
+
   let entities = 
     getFullEntityList rSettings.entities rSettings.solutions mainProxy
 
   // Retrieve data from CRM
-  retrieveCrmData crmVersion entities mainProxy rSettings.skipInactiveForms skipForms
+  retrieveCrmData crmVersion entities mainProxy rSettings.skipInactiveForms skipForms, csdlModel
 
 /// Main generator function
-let generateFromRaw (gSettings: XdtGenerationSettings) rawState =
+let generateFromRaw (gSettings: XdtGenerationSettings) csdlModel rawState =
   let crmVersion = gSettings.crmVersion ?| rawState.crmVersion
 
   // Pre-generation tasks 
   clearOldOutputFiles gSettings.out
 
   // Interpret data and generate resource files
   let data =
-    interpretCrmData gSettings rawState
+    interpretCrmData gSettings csdlModel rawState
 
   let defs = 
     seq {

src/Generation/Setup.fs

@@ -3,10 +3,13 @@
 open System
 open System.Collections.Generic
 
+open Microsoft.OData.Edm
+
 open IntermediateRepresentation
 open InterpretEntityMetadata
 open InterpretBpfJson
 open InterpretFormXml
+open FilterByCsdl
 
 
 let intersectMappedSets a b = Map.ofSeq (seq {
@@ -67,14 +70,30 @@ let intersectForms formDict formsToIntersect =
   |> Seq.append formDict.Values
   |> Seq.toArray
 
+let private buildEdmTypeMap (model: IEdmModel) =
+  model.SchemaElements
+  |> Seq.choose (function
+    | :? IEdmEntityType as t -> Some(t.Name, t)
+    | _ -> None)
+  |> Map.ofSeq
+
 /// Interprets the raw CRM data into an intermediate state used for further generation
-let interpretCrmData (gSettings: XdtGenerationSettings) (rawState: RawState) =
+let interpretCrmData (gSettings: XdtGenerationSettings) (csdlModel: IEdmModel option) (rawState: RawState) =
   printf "Interpreting data..."
 
-  let nameMap = rawState.info |> Array.map (fun e -> e.LogicalName, e) |> Map.ofArray
+  let infoMap = rawState.info |> Array.map (fun e -> e.LogicalName, e) |> Map.ofArray
 
   let entityMetadata =
-    rawState.metadata |> Array.Parallel.map (interpretEntity nameMap gSettings.labelMapping)
+    let interpreted = rawState.metadata |> Array.Parallel.map (interpretEntity infoMap gSettings.labelMapping)
+    match csdlModel with
+    | None -> interpreted
+    | Some model ->
+      let edmTypes = buildEdmTypeMap model
+      interpreted
+      |> Array.Parallel.choose (fun e ->
+        match Map.tryFind e.logicalName edmTypes with
+        | Some edmType -> Some (filterEntity edmType e)
+        | None -> None)
 
   let bpfControls = interpretBpfs rawState.bpfData
 
@@ -86,5 +105,5 @@ let interpretCrmData (gSettings: XdtGenerationSettings) (rawState: RawState) =
     bpfControls = bpfControls
     forms = forms
     outputDir = gSettings.out
-    nameMap = nameMap
+    nameMap = infoMap
   }

src/Interpretation/FilterByCsdl.fs

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+module internal DG.XrmTypeScript.FilterByCsdl
+
+open Microsoft.OData.Edm
+open IntermediateRepresentation
+
+
+let private toCsdlPropName (attr: XrmAttribute) =
+  match attr.specialType with
+  | SpecialType.EntityReference -> $"_{attr.logicalName}_value"
+  | _ -> attr.logicalName
+
+let filterEntity (edmType: IEdmEntityType) (entity: XrmEntity) : XrmEntity =
+  let csdlProps =
+    edmType.StructuralProperties()
+    |> Seq.map (fun p -> p.Name)
+    |> Set.ofSeq
+
+  let csdlNavProps =
+    edmType.NavigationProperties()
+    |> Seq.map (fun p -> p.Name)
+    |> Set.ofSeq
+
+  { entity with
+      attributes =
+        entity.attributes
+        |> List.filter (fun a -> Set.contains (toCsdlPropName a) csdlProps)
+
+      manyToOneRelationships =
+        entity.manyToOneRelationships
+        |> List.filter (fun r ->
+          Set.contains r.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName csdlNavProps)
+        |> List.distinctBy (fun r -> r.ReferencingEntityNavigationPropertyName)
+
+      oneToManyRelationships =
+        entity.oneToManyRelationships
+        |> List.filter (fun r ->
+          Set.contains r.ReferencedEntityNavigationPropertyName csdlNavProps)
+
+      manyToManyRelationships =
+        entity.manyToManyRelationships
+        |> List.filter (fun r ->
+          let navProp =
+            if entity.logicalName = r.Entity2LogicalName
+            then r.Entity2NavigationPropertyName
+            else r.Entity1NavigationPropertyName
+          Set.contains navProp csdlNavProps) }

src/Interpretation/InterpretEntityMetadata.fs

@@ -41,16 +41,13 @@ let interpretNormalAttribute aType (options:OptionSet option)  =
 
   | XrmAttributeType.Uniqueidentifier     -> TsType.String, SpecialType.Guid
 
-  | XrmAttributeType.File                 -> TsType.String, SpecialType.Default
+  | XrmAttributeType.File                 -> TsType.String, SpecialType.Guid
+  | XrmAttributeType.Image                -> TsType.String, SpecialType.Default
 
   | _                                     -> typeConv aType, SpecialType.Default
 
 let interpretAttribute (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) labelMapping (a: AttributeMetadata) =
   let aType = XrmAttributeType.fromDisplayName a.AttributeTypeName
-  if a.AttributeOf <> null ||
-      aType = XrmAttributeType.Virtual ||
-      a.LogicalName.StartsWith("yomi") then None, None
-  else
 
   let options =
     match a with
@@ -65,7 +62,7 @@ let interpretAttribute (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) labelMapping (a: Attri
 
   let vType, sType = interpretNormalAttribute aType options
 
-  options, Some {
+  options, {
     XrmAttribute.schemaName = a.SchemaName
     logicalName = a.LogicalName
     varType = vType
@@ -88,7 +85,6 @@ let interpretEntity (nameMap: Map<string, EntityInfo>) labelMapping (metadata:En
 
   let attributes = 
     attributes 
-    |> Array.choose id 
     |> Array.toList
 
   let optionSets = 

src/TypeScript/Comment.fs

@@ -11,15 +11,11 @@ type Comment =
     | [ line ] -> [ $"/** {line} */" ]
     | _ -> [ "/**" ] @ (lines |> List.collect (fun l -> [ ""; l ]) |> List.tail |> List.map (sprintf " * %s  ")) @ [ " */" ]
 
-  static member Entity(displayName, setName, ?logicalName, ?isIntersect, ?intersectEntities) =
+  static member Entity(displayName, setName, ?logicalName, ?isIntersect) =
     let logicalName = defaultArg logicalName ""
-    let intersectEntities = defaultArg intersectEntities []
 
     [ 
       if defaultArg isIntersect false then yield "Intersect Table"
-      match intersectEntities with
-      | e1 :: e2 :: _ -> yield $"Intersects: {e1.DisplayName} (`{e1.LogicalName}`) ⟷ {e2.DisplayName} (`{e2.LogicalName}`)"
-      | _ -> () 
       if not (IsNullOrWhiteSpace displayName) then yield $"**{displayName.Trim()}**"
       if not (IsNullOrWhiteSpace logicalName) then yield $"Logical Name: `{logicalName.Trim()}`"
       if not (IsNullOrWhiteSpace setName) then yield $"Set Name: `{setName.Trim()}`"

src/XrmTypeScript.fs

@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ type XrmTypeScript private () =
     try
     #endif 
 
-      retrieveRawState xrmAuth rSettings gSettings.skipForms
-      |> generateFromRaw gSettings
+      let rawState, csdlModel = retrieveRawState xrmAuth rSettings gSettings.skipForms
+      generateFromRaw gSettings csdlModel rawState
       printfn "\nSuccessfully generated all TypeScript declaration files."
 
     #if !DEBUG
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ type XrmTypeScript private () =
       use stream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create)
 
       retrieveRawState xrmAuth rSettings false
-      |> fun state -> serializer.WriteObject(stream, state)
+      |> fun (state, _) -> serializer.WriteObject(stream, state)
       printfn "\nSuccessfully saved retrieved data to file %s." (Path.GetFullPath filePath)
 
     #if !DEBUG
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ type XrmTypeScript private () =
           serializer.ReadObject(stream) :?> RawState
         with ex -> failwithf "\nUnable to parse data file"
 
-      generateFromRaw gSettings rawState
+      generateFromRaw gSettings None rawState
       printfn "\nSuccessfully generated all TypeScript declaration files."
 
     #if !DEBUG

src/XrmTypeScript.fsproj

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Interpretation\InterpretCommon.fs" />
     <Compile Include="Interpretation\InterpretOptionSetMetadata.fs" />
     <Compile Include="Interpretation\InterpretEntityMetadata.fs" />
+    <Compile Include="Interpretation\FilterByCsdl.fs" />
     <Compile Include="Interpretation\InterpretFormXml.fs" />
     <Compile Include="Interpretation\InterpretBpfJson.fs" />
     <Compile Include="CreateTypeScript\CreateCommon.fs" />
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.CrmSdk.XrmTooling.CoreAssembly" Version="9.1.1.65" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.OData.Edm" Version="7.*" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <Reference Include="mscorlib" />