SDK Method Names | Fern Documentation

By default, Fern generates SDK method names based on your gRPC service and method names. You can override this behavior using the x-fern-sdk-method-name extension.

Customize method names

Use x-fern-sdk-method-name to specify custom method names for your gRPC methods:

user_service.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   // Customize the SDK method name
7   rpc GetUserById(GetUserByIdRequest) returns (User) {
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getUser";
9   }
10   
11   // Another customized method name
12   rpc CreateNewUser(CreateNewUserRequest) returns (User) {
13     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "create";
14   }
15   
16   // Remove redundant service name from method
17   rpc UpdateUserProfile(UpdateUserProfileRequest) returns (User) {
18     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "updateProfile";
19   }
20 }

This will generate SDK methods like:

1 // Instead of client.userService.getUserById()
2 const user = await client.userService.getUser({ id: "user_123" });
3 
4 // Instead of client.userService.createNewUser()
5 const newUser = await client.userService.create({ userData: {...} });
6 
7 // Instead of client.userService.updateUserProfile()
8 const updatedUser = await client.userService.updateProfile({ profileData: {...} });

Method naming conventions

Follow these conventions when naming SDK methods:

CRUD operations

Use standard CRUD naming for common operations:

crud_service.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   rpc CreateUser(CreateUserRequest) returns (User) {
7     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "create";
8   }
9   
10   rpc GetUser(GetUserRequest) returns (User) {
11     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "get";
12   }
13   
14   rpc UpdateUser(UpdateUserRequest) returns (User) {
15     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "update";
16   }
17   
18   rpc DeleteUser(DeleteUserRequest) returns (google.protobuf.Empty) {
19     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "delete";
20   }
21   
22   rpc ListUsers(ListUsersRequest) returns (ListUsersResponse) {
23     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "list";
24   }
25 }

Search and query operations

Use descriptive names for search operations:

search_service.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   rpc SearchUsers(SearchUsersRequest) returns (SearchUsersResponse) {
7     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "search";
8   }
9   
10   rpc FindUserByEmail(FindUserByEmailRequest) returns (User) {
11     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "findByEmail";
12   }
13   
14   rpc QueryUsersByRole(QueryUsersByRoleRequest) returns (QueryUsersResponse) {
15     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "queryByRole";
16   }
17 }

Action operations

Use action-oriented names for business operations:

action_service.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   rpc ActivateUserAccount(ActivateUserAccountRequest) returns (User) {
7     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "activate";
8   }
9   
10   rpc DeactivateUserAccount(DeactivateUserAccountRequest) returns (User) {
11     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "deactivate";
12   }
13   
14   rpc ResetUserPassword(ResetUserPasswordRequest) returns (ResetPasswordResponse) {
15     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "resetPassword";
16   }
17   
18   rpc SendVerificationEmail(SendVerificationEmailRequest) returns (google.protobuf.Empty) {
19     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "sendVerification";
20   }
21 }

Language-specific method names

You can specify different method names for different programming languages:

language_specific.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   rpc GetUserPreferences(GetUserPreferencesRequest) returns (UserPreferences) {
7     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_python) = "get_preferences";
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_typescript) = "getPreferences";
9     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_go) = "GetPreferences";
10     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_java) = "getPreferences";
11     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_csharp) = "GetPreferences";
12   }
13   
14   rpc UpdateUserPreferences(UpdateUserPreferencesRequest) returns (UserPreferences) {
15     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_python) = "update_preferences";
16     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_typescript) = "updatePreferences";
17     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_go) = "UpdatePreferences";
18     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_java) = "updatePreferences";
19     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name_csharp) = "UpdatePreferences";
20   }
21 }

Streaming method names

For streaming methods, use appropriate naming:

streaming_service.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserStreamingService {
6   // Server streaming
7   rpc StreamUserEvents(StreamUserEventsRequest) returns (stream UserEvent) {
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "streamEvents";
9   }
10   
11   // Client streaming
12   rpc UploadUserData(stream UploadUserDataRequest) returns (UploadUserDataResponse) {
13     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "upload";
14   }
15   
16   // Bidirectional streaming
17   rpc ChatWithUser(stream ChatMessage) returns (stream ChatMessage) {
18     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "chat";
19   }
20   
21   // Real-time notifications
22   rpc SubscribeToNotifications(SubscribeRequest) returns (stream Notification) {
23     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "subscribe";
24   }
25 }

Service-level naming

Customize the service name for better SDK organization:

service_naming.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserManagementService {
6   option (x_fern_sdk_service_name) = "users";
7   
8   rpc CreateUser(CreateUserRequest) returns (User) {
9     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "create";
10   }
11   
12   rpc GetUser(GetUserRequest) returns (User) {
13     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "get";
14   }
15 }
16 
17 service AuthenticationService {
18   option (x_fern_sdk_service_name) = "auth";
19   
20   rpc LoginUser(LoginUserRequest) returns (LoginResponse) {
21     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "login";
22   }
23   
24   rpc LogoutUser(LogoutUserRequest) returns (google.protobuf.Empty) {
25     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "logout";
26   }
27 }

This generates cleaner SDK interfaces:

1 // Instead of client.userManagementService.createUser()
2 await client.users.create({ userData: {...} });
3 
4 // Instead of client.authenticationService.loginUser()
5 await client.auth.login({ credentials: {...} });

Handling method overloading

For services with similar methods, use descriptive names to avoid conflicts:

overloaded_methods.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   // Get user by ID
7   rpc GetUser(GetUserRequest) returns (User) {
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "get";
9   }
10   
11   // Get user by email
12   rpc GetUserByEmail(GetUserByEmailRequest) returns (User) {
13     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getByEmail";
14   }
15   
16   // Get user by username
17   rpc GetUserByUsername(GetUserByUsernameRequest) returns (User) {
18     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getByUsername";
19   }
20   
21   // Get multiple users
22   rpc GetUsers(GetUsersRequest) returns (GetUsersResponse) {
23     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getMany";
24   }
25 }

Async method naming

For long-running operations, consider async naming:

async_methods.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   // Quick operation
7   rpc GetUser(GetUserRequest) returns (User) {
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "get";
9   }
10   
11   // Long-running operation
12   rpc GenerateUserReport(GenerateUserReportRequest) returns (Operation) {
13     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "generateReportAsync";
14   }
15   
16   // Batch operation
17   rpc BatchUpdateUsers(BatchUpdateUsersRequest) returns (Operation) {
18     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "batchUpdateAsync";
19   }
20 }

Use consistent naming for related operations:

grouped_methods.proto

1 syntax = "proto3";
2 
3 package userservice.v1;
4 
5 service UserService {
6   // Profile operations
7   rpc GetUserProfile(GetUserProfileRequest) returns (UserProfile) {
8     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getProfile";
9   }
10   
11   rpc UpdateUserProfile(UpdateUserProfileRequest) returns (UserProfile) {
12     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "updateProfile";
13   }
14   
15   rpc DeleteUserProfile(DeleteUserProfileRequest) returns (google.protobuf.Empty) {
16     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "deleteProfile";
17   }
18   
19   // Settings operations
20   rpc GetUserSettings(GetUserSettingsRequest) returns (UserSettings) {
21     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "getSettings";
22   }
23   
24   rpc UpdateUserSettings(UpdateUserSettingsRequest) returns (UserSettings) {
25     option (x_fern_sdk_method_name) = "updateSettings";
26   }
27 }

This ensures method names follow the conventions of each target language while maintaining clear and intuitive APIs for developers.