Skills

Skill 36 of 38

Encore Service

Implement Encore.ts services and lay out an application using encore.service.ts, service directories, systems, and ~encore/clients.

1 minute · 103 words · 10 sections

Install

$ npx skills add encoredev/skills --skill encore-service

$ npx skills add encoredev/skills

» /plugin marketplace add encoredev/skills

The first command installs just this skill, by the name in its SKILL.md; the second installs the whole repository.

Encore Service Structure

Instructions

Creating a Service

Every Encore service needs an encore.service.ts file:

// encore.service.ts
import { Service } from "encore.dev/service";

export default new Service("my-service");

Minimal Service Structure

my-service/
├── encore.service.ts    # Service definition (required)
├── api.ts               # API endpoints
└── db.ts                # Database (if needed)

Application Patterns

Single Service

A service can be defined at the application root:

my-app/
├── package.json
├── encore.app
├── encore.service.ts
├── api.ts
├── db.ts
└── migrations/
    └── 001_initial.up.sql

Multi-Service

Each service lives in its own directory:

my-app/
├── encore.app
├── package.json
├── user/
│   ├── encore.service.ts
│   ├── api.ts
│   └── db.ts
├── order/
│   ├── encore.service.ts
│   ├── api.ts
│   └── db.ts
└── notification/
    ├── encore.service.ts
    └── api.ts

Large Application (System-based)

Group related services into systems:

my-app/
├── encore.app
├── commerce/
│   ├── order/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   ├── cart/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   └── payment/
│       └── encore.service.ts
├── identity/
│   ├── user/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   └── auth/
│       └── encore.service.ts
└── comms/
    ├── email/
    │   └── encore.service.ts
    └── push/
        └── encore.service.ts

Service-to-Service Calls

Import other services from ~encore/clients:

import { user } from "~encore/clients";

export const getOrderWithUser = api(
  { method: "GET", path: "/orders/:id", expose: true },
  async ({ id }): Promise<OrderWithUser> => {
    const order = await getOrder(id);
    const orderUser = await user.get({ id: order.userId });
    return { ...order, user: orderUser };
  }
);

Guidelines

Services cannot be nested within other services
Use ~encore/clients for cross-service calls (never direct imports)
Each service can have its own database
Service names should be lowercase, descriptive
Don’t create services just for code organization - use folders instead
Use encore-architecture when the service boundaries have not been decided

About this skill

Trigger

Implement Encore.ts services and lay out an application using `encore.service.ts`, service directories, systems, and `~encore/clients`. For service boundaries and architecture decisions, use `encore-architecture`.

The verbatim description from this skill’s front matter — the string an agent matches on to decide whether to load it.

Colophon for this issue

Colophon

How this issue was made

Source

github.com/encoredev/skills, branch main, last pushed 26 October 2026.

Licence

Apache-2.0 — the text of every skill is reproduced unmodified, frontmatter included, under the upstream licence.

Discovery

38 skills found by walking the repository tree for SKILL.md, not by matching a directory convention. One layout observed: encore/*/SKILL.md.

Issue colours

Resolved from a deterministic hash of the owner name. Two accent tones are generated per issue and each is proven against its own ground before it ships: a single accent that passes AA on both light and dark paper is arithmetically impossible.

Heading repairs

1 repair applied to this skill so the document has one h1 and no skipped levels:

Shifted “10 headings” from h1 to h2 so the skill title is the only h1.

Spec compliance

38 editorial notes across 38 of 38 skills. They are printed in the margin of each skill rather than as errors here.

Encore API — 1 note
Encore Architecture — 1 note
Encore Auth — 1 note
Encore Bucket — 1 note
Encore Cache — 1 note
Encore Code Review — 1 note
Encore Create App — 1 note
Encore Cron — 1 note
Encore Database — 1 note
Encore Deploy — 1 note

and 28 more.

Images

Images inside a skill come from the upstream repository. Where the author gave no alternative text we mark the image decorative rather than inventing a description — a plausible caption we made up is worse than none for the reader who depends on it.

Marketplace

A plugin manifest is published at .claude-plugin/marketplace.json by Encore, declaring 1 plugin. It is read for editorial metadata only — never as the skill index, which is always the repository tree.

Signal

Install counts come from skills.sh. They measure downloads, not quality, and an unranked repository is not an unread one.

Agent surfaces

The whole issue is available as one markdown document at /encoredev/skills.md, and each skill at its own .md URL.

Publication

Set by Skills Docs from the source repository. Body text is Literata at the reader’s chosen size and measure; code is Geist Mono. Nothing on this page was written by us except this paragraph.

Encore Service Structure

Every Encore service needs an encore.service.ts file:

// encore.service.ts
import { Service } from "encore.dev/service";

export default new Service("my-service");

my-service/
├── encore.service.ts    # Service definition (required)
├── api.ts               # API endpoints
└── db.ts                # Database (if needed)

A service can be defined at the application root:

my-app/
├── package.json
├── encore.app
├── encore.service.ts
├── api.ts
├── db.ts
└── migrations/
    └── 001_initial.up.sql

Each service lives in its own directory:

my-app/
├── encore.app
├── package.json
├── user/
│   ├── encore.service.ts
│   ├── api.ts
│   └── db.ts
├── order/
│   ├── encore.service.ts
│   ├── api.ts
│   └── db.ts
└── notification/
    ├── encore.service.ts
    └── api.ts

Group related services into systems:

my-app/
├── encore.app
├── commerce/
│   ├── order/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   ├── cart/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   └── payment/
│       └── encore.service.ts
├── identity/
│   ├── user/
│   │   └── encore.service.ts
│   └── auth/
│       └── encore.service.ts
└── comms/
    ├── email/
    │   └── encore.service.ts
    └── push/
        └── encore.service.ts

Import other services from ~encore/clients:

import { user } from "~encore/clients";

export const getOrderWithUser = api(
  { method: "GET", path: "/orders/:id", expose: true },
  async ({ id }): Promise<OrderWithUser> => {
    const order = await getOrder(id);
    const orderUser = await user.get({ id: order.userId });
    return { ...order, user: orderUser };
  }
);

Services cannot be nested within other services

Use ~encore/clients for cross-service calls (never direct imports)

Each service can have its own database

Service names should be lowercase, descriptive

Don’t create services just for code organization - use folders instead

Use encore-architecture when the service boundaries have not been decided