Tempstore Strategy Pattern

When to Use

When you need to understand how Plus Suite manages unsaved changes across entities and Layout Builder sections, or when adding custom tempstore strategies.

Problem Solved

Core Layout Builder and entity forms both need temporary storage, but with different key generation, collection naming, and workspace awareness. Tempstore+ solves this with the Strategy pattern.

Architecture

StrategySelector
  ├── EntityTempstoreStrategy (for entities)
  └── LayoutTempstoreStrategy (for section storage)

The StrategySelector iterates strategies by priority and returns the first one that supports($subject).

Strategy Interface

interface TempstoreStrategyInterface {
  public function supports($subject): bool;
  public function get($subject);      // Retrieve from tempstore
  public function set($subject): void; // Store in tempstore
  public function has($subject): bool; // Check existence
  public function delete($subject): void; // Remove
  public function getKey($subject): string;
  public function getCollection($subject): string;
}

EntityTempstoreStrategy

Supports: Any EntityInterface
Collection: entity_tempstore.entity_storage
Key format: {entity_type}.{id}.{language} (+ workspace suffix)
Storage: ['entity' => EntityInterface]
Uses WorkspaceKeyTrait for workspace-aware keys

LayoutTempstoreStrategy

Supports: SectionStorageInterface, layout-compatible entities, NestedSectionStorageInterface
Collection: layout_builder.section_storage.{storage_type}
Key format: From TempStoreIdentifierInterface::getTempstoreKey() (+ workspace suffix)
Storage: ['section_storage' => SectionStorageInterface]
Static cache prevents duplicate loads
Wraps/unwraps NestedAwareSectionStorage transparently

Important: Does NOT auto-bubble nested changes. Consumer must call bubbleChangesToRoot() explicitly.

Workspace Key Generation

// WorkspaceKeyTrait
protected function workspaceKeySuffix(): string {
  if ($this->workspaceManager && $workspace = $this->workspaceManager->getActiveWorkspace()) {
    return '.workspace:' . $workspace->id();
  }
  return '.live';
}

Param Converter Integration

EntityConverter decorates core's entity param converter: 1. Checks TempstoreActivationCheckerInterface::isActive() 2. If active, loads entity from tempstore 3. Compares with original (recursive array diff) 4. If different, returns tempstore version 5. Calls onEntitySwapped() to track swapped entities

Adding a Custom Strategy

// my_module.services.yml
services:
  my_module.custom_strategy:
    class: Drupal\my_module\Strategy\CustomTempstoreStrategy
    tags:
      - { name: tempstore_strategy, priority: 50 }

class CustomTempstoreStrategy implements TempstoreStrategyInterface {
  public function supports($subject): bool {
    return $subject instanceof MyCustomInterface;
  }
  // ... implement remaining methods
}

Decision

Subject	Strategy	When
Node/entity being edited inline	EntityTempstoreStrategy	Edit+ inline editing
Layout Builder sections	LayoutTempstoreStrategy	LB+ layout editing
Entity in LB context	LayoutTempstoreStrategy	Converts entity to section storage
Custom data needing temp storage	Custom strategy	Register tagged service

Common Mistakes

Do not bypass Tempstore+ by using core's tempstore directly — you'll lose workspace awareness.
Do not forget to call bubbleChangesToRoot() when modifying nested layout blocks programmatically.