Configurator
Turn one part number into a parametric family. Inputs drive rules that resolve the BOM, routing, and price per order.
Some parts aren't one fixed recipe. A bracket comes in three lengths, a panel in four finishes, a valve in a dozen bore sizes. Carbon's configurator lets a single item carry a set of parameters the ordering user fills in, and rules that read those parameters to resolve the item's at order time: which components go on the bill of materials, how the routing runs, and what the line costs. One part number, a parametric family behind it.
A part becomes configurable when you tick "Requires Configuration" on its manufacturing settings (requiresConfiguration, apps/erp/app/modules/items/ui/Item/ItemManufacturingForm.tsx:82). From then on the part is : its stored method is a template, and every job or quote line built from it runs the rules to produce its own resolved copy.
Parameters — the inputs
Parameters are the questions the configurator asks. Each one is defined on the part (configurationParameterValidator, apps/erp/app/modules/items/items.models.ts:341) with a label, a machine key, and a data type. The key is alphanumeric with underscore separators (length, wall_thickness), lowercase by convention — it's the name your rules reference.
listOptions is required for this type).The base set (text, numeric, boolean, list, material) is configurationParameterDataTypes (items.models.ts:22); date is added by the validator (items.models.ts:347). material was added to the underlying enum in migration 20250809000000_add-material-configurator-type.sql.
Parameters can be sorted into groups so the order form reads as sections (Dimensions, Finish, Tolerances) rather than one flat list. A group is just a named heading with a sort order (configurationParameterGroupValidator, items.models.ts:325); parameters land in an auto-created "Ungrouped" group until you file them. Both groups and parameters reorder by drag-and-drop, and both surfaces edit the same rows (ConfigurationParameters.tsx).
Rules — deriving the method
A rule binds a field of the method to a snippet of code (configurationRuleValidator, items.models.ts:369). The field names which piece of the resolved method the rule sets; the code computes the value from the parameters.
Rules attach per-field right on the embedded method editors. On the bill of materials each component exposes configurable fields — itemId (swap the component), quantity, unitOfMeasureCode, and methodType (BillOfMaterial.tsx:841,866,890,1043); on the bill of process, operation fields like the work center, process, and setup/labor/machine times. A field with a rule shows a "configured" marker instead of a static value.
You author the code in a Monaco editor (ConfigurationEditor.ee.tsx) that generates the function skeleton and type definitions for you from the parameters, with a Run button to test the output before saving. The code is the body of a configure(params) function; params holds your parameters by key, and you return the value for that field:
function configure(params: Params): number {
// one thread every 2mm of engagement, minimum 4
return Math.max(4, Math.ceil(params.engagement_length / 2));
}Rules run in a sandbox — keep them pure
Rule code is transpiled and executed in a restricted sandbox (packages/database/supabase/functions/lib/sandbox.ee.ts): no fetch, no setTimeout/setInterval, no dynamic import, no new Promise, no Function constructor. A rule that trips a banned pattern is neutered to return null, and any rule that throws falls back to the field's default. Rules are for deriving a value from the inputs, not for side effects.
Rules can also filter the method wholesale: a billOfMaterial or billOfProcess rule returns the list of component or operation names to keep, so a boolean parameter can drop a whole subassembly or an outside-processing step from the recipe.
Choosing a configured item at order time
The configurator is exercised where a configured part is put on a quote line or a sales order line, and where a job is created for it. When the picked item requires configuration, the line form shows a "Configure" button (QuoteLineForm.tsx:556, JobForm.tsx) that opens the parameter form. Until it's filled in, "Save" stays disabled — you can't commit a configured line without answering its parameters.
Submitting the configuration stores the answers on the line (quoteLine.configuration / job.configuration, JSON) and calls the get-method engine with those values (x+/quote+/$quoteId.$lineId.configure.tsx). The rules run, and the line gets its own resolved bill of materials, routing, and cost — a concrete instance of the parametric family, not the template. Reconfiguring clears the line's prices and re-derives everything.
A configured item's method can't be hand-overridden
Because the method is resolved from rules, you can't point a job or line at a different method for a configured item — the get-method engine rejects it ("Cannot override method of configured item"). Change the parameters, not the recipe.