29-Jan-2026 — Understanding InputSource and EventPopulation #110 #119

This article explains the InputSource and EventPopulation enumerations, how they work together, and how their usage evolved through issues #110 and #119.

Overview

NGX-Ramblers supports two main ways for groups to manage their walk and event data:

  1. Local management — Walks are created, imported, and maintained in the local database
  2. Walks Manager sync — Walks are synced from the Ramblers Walks Manager API to the local database

Two key enumerations control this behaviour:

EventPopulation (Group Configuration)

This setting is configured per-group in System Settings and determines how walks/events are sourced.

Before Issue #110

Value Behaviour
LOCAL Walks created/imported locally, stored in local database
WALKS_MANAGER Queried Ramblers API live for every request — slow and lost local enrichments
HYBRID Blended local + live Ramblers data together

After Issue #110

Value Behaviour
LOCAL Unchanged — walks managed locally
WALKS_MANAGER Syncs from Ramblers API to local database, then queries locally — faster and preserves enrichments
HYBRID Removed — no longer needed as WALKS_MANAGER now syncs locally

After Issue #119

Value Behaviour
LOCAL Unchanged
WALKS_MANAGER Queries local database only — all API routing removed. Setting now only controls which sync job runs and UI display logic

InputSource (Per-Event Metadata)

This field is stored on each event and records how that event entered the system.

Before Issue #110

Value Meaning
FILE_IMPORT Imported from a CSV file
WALKS_MANAGER_IMPORT Imported when switching from Walks Manager to Local population
URL_TO_ID_LOOKUP Minimal record linking SEO-friendly slug to Ramblers ID
MANUALLY_CREATED Created manually via the UI
UNKNOWN Legacy or unknown source

After Issue #110

Value Meaning
FILE_IMPORT Unchanged
WALKS_MANAGER_IMPORT Deprecated — redundant with WALKS_MANAGER_CACHE
WALKS_MANAGER_CACHE Added — synced from Ramblers API to local cache
URL_TO_ID_LOOKUP Removed — no longer needed
MANUALLY_CREATED Unchanged
UNKNOWN Unchanged

After Issue #119 (Current)

Value Meaning
FILE_IMPORT Imported from a CSV file
WALKS_MANAGER_CACHE Synced from Ramblers Walks Manager API
MANUALLY_CREATED Created manually via the UI
UNKNOWN Legacy or unknown source

The Problem Solved by #110 and #119

Before #110

Groups configured with EventPopulation.WALKS_MANAGER had a poor experience:

After #110

All Walks Manager data is now synced to the local database:

However, some code still routed queries to the live API based on EventPopulation.

After #119

All routing logic was removed:

Current Valid Combinations

EventPopulation InputSource Values Meaning
LOCAL FILE_IMPORT, MANUALLY_CREATED Group manages walks locally via CSV import or manual entry
WALKS_MANAGER WALKS_MANAGER_CACHE, MANUALLY_CREATED Group syncs from Ramblers, can also create walks locally

Technical Details

The Problematic Code (Before #119)

// WalksAndEventsService - BEFORE
async queryById(walkId: string): Promise<ExtendedGroupEvent> {
  switch (this?.group?.walkPopulation) {
    case EventPopulation.WALKS_MANAGER:
      // PROBLEM: Fetches from live API, losing local enrichments
      return this.ramblersWalksAndEventsService.queryById(walkId);
    case EventPopulation.LOCAL:
      return this.localWalksAndEventsService.queryById(walkId);
  }
}

The Fix (After #119)

// WalksAndEventsService - AFTER
async queryById(walkId: string): Promise<ExtendedGroupEvent> {
  // Always use local database
  return this.localWalksAndEventsService.queryById(walkId);
}

Why Local Data Matters

The local database contains enriched data that the Ramblers API doesn't provide:

Field Local Database Ramblers API
events Edit history with timestamps Not available
migratedFromId Migration tracking Not available
fields.venue Local venue details Not available
fields.riskAssessment Risk assessment data Not available

By always querying locally, we preserve all this enriched data.

Related Issues