Writing JSON Schemas for z-schema

Write correct, idiomatic JSON Schemas validated by z-schema. Default target: draft-2020-12.

Schema template

Start every schema with a

$schema

declaration and

type

json

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {},
  "required": [],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Set

additionalProperties: false

explicitly when extra properties should be rejected — z-schema allows them by default.

Object schemas

Basic object with required fields

json

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "name": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 },
    "email": { "type": "string", "format": "email" },
    "age": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 150 }
  },
  "required": ["name", "email"],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Nested objects

json

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "address": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "street": { "type": "string" },
        "city": { "type": "string" },
        "zip": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^\\d{5}(-\\d{4})?$" }
      },
      "required": ["street", "city"]
    }
  }
}

Dynamic property names

Use

patternProperties

to validate property keys by regex:

json

{
  "type": "object",
  "patternProperties": {
    "^x-": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Use

propertyNames

(draft-06+) to constrain all property key strings:

json

{
  "type": "object",
  "propertyNames": { "pattern": "^[a-z_]+$" }
}

Array schemas

Uniform array

json

{
  "type": "array",
  "items": { "type": "string" },
  "minItems": 1,
  "uniqueItems": true
}

Tuple validation (draft-2020-12)

Use

prefixItems

for positional types,

items

for remaining elements:

json

{
  "type": "array",
  "prefixItems": [{ "type": "string" }, { "type": "integer" }],
  "items": false
}

items: false

rejects extra elements beyond the tuple positions.

Contains (draft-06+)

Require at least one matching item:

json

{
  "type": "array",
  "contains": { "type": "string", "const": "admin" }
}

With count constraints (draft-2019-09+):

json

{
  "type": "array",
  "contains": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 10 },
  "minContains": 2,
  "maxContains": 5
}

String constraints

json

{
  "type": "string",
  "minLength": 1,
  "maxLength": 255,
  "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9_]+$"
}

Format validation

z-schema has built-in format validators:

date

date-time

time

email

idn-email

hostname

idn-hostname

ipv4

ipv6

uri

uri-reference

uri-template

iri

iri-reference

json-pointer

relative-json-pointer

regex

duration

uuid

json

{ "type": "string", "format": "date-time" }

Format assertions are always enforced by default (

formatAssertions: null

). For vocabulary-aware behavior in draft-2020-12, set

formatAssertions: true

on the validator.

Numeric constraints

json

{
  "type": "number",
  "minimum": 0,
  "maximum": 100,
  "multipleOf": 0.01
}

Use

exclusiveMinimum

exclusiveMaximum

for strict bounds:

json

{ "type": "integer", "exclusiveMinimum": 0, "exclusiveMaximum": 100 }

Combinators

anyOf

— match at least one

json

{
  "anyOf": [{ "type": "string" }, { "type": "number" }]
}

oneOf

— match exactly one

json

{
  "oneOf": [
    { "type": "string", "maxLength": 5 },
    { "type": "string", "minLength": 10 }
  ]
}

allOf

— match all

Use for schema composition. Combine base schemas with refinements:

json

{
  "allOf": [{ "$ref": "#/$defs/base" }, { "properties": { "extra": { "type": "string" } } }]
}

not

— must not match

json

{ "not": { "type": "null" } }

if

then

else

(draft-07+)

Conditional validation — prefer over complex

oneOf

when the logic is "if X then require Y":

json

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "type": { "type": "string", "enum": ["personal", "business"] },
    "company": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "if": { "properties": { "type": { "const": "business" } } },
  "then": { "required": ["company"] },
  "else": {}
}

When to use which combinator

Scenario	Use
Value can be multiple types	`anyOf`
Exactly one variant must match	`oneOf`
Compose inherited schemas	`allOf`
"if condition then require fields"	`if` / `then` / `else`
Exclude a specific shape	`not`

Prefer

if

then

else

over

oneOf

when the condition is a single discriminator field — it produces clearer error messages.

Schema reuse with

$ref

and

$defs

Local definitions

json

{
  "$defs": {
    "address": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "street": { "type": "string" },
        "city": { "type": "string" }
      },
      "required": ["street", "city"]
    }
  },
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "home": { "$ref": "#/$defs/address" },
    "work": { "$ref": "#/$defs/address" }
  }
}

Cross-schema references

Compile an array of schemas and reference by ID:

typescript

import ZSchema from 'z-schema';

const schemas = [
  {
    $id: 'address',
    type: 'object',
    properties: { city: { type: 'string' } },
    required: ['city'],
  },
  {
    $id: 'person',
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      name: { type: 'string' },
      home: { $ref: 'address' },
    },
    required: ['name'],
  },
];

const validator = ZSchema.create();
validator.validateSchema(schemas);
validator.validate({ name: 'Alice', home: { city: 'Paris' } }, 'person');

Strict schemas with

unevaluatedProperties

(draft-2019-09+)

When combining schemas with

allOf

additionalProperties: false

in a sub-schema blocks properties defined in sibling schemas. Use

unevaluatedProperties

instead — it tracks all properties evaluated across applicators:

json

{
  "allOf": [
    {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": { "name": { "type": "string" } },
      "required": ["name"]
    },
    {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": { "age": { "type": "integer" } }
    }
  ],
  "unevaluatedProperties": false
}

This accepts

{ "name": "Alice", "age": 30 }

but rejects

{ "name": "Alice", "age": 30, "extra": true }

Validating the schema itself

Always validate schemas at startup:

typescript

const validator = ZSchema.create();
try {
  validator.validateSchema(schema);
} catch (err) {
  console.log('Schema errors:', err.details);
}

Common mistakes

Forgetting
additionalProperties
: By default, extra properties are allowed. Set
```
additionalProperties: false
```
or use
```
unevaluatedProperties: false
```
to reject them.
Using
additionalProperties: false
with
allOf
: This blocks properties from sibling schemas. Use
```
unevaluatedProperties: false
```
at the top level instead (draft-2019-09+).
Array
items
in draft-2020-12: Use
```
prefixItems
```
for tuple validation.
```
items
```
now means "schema for remaining items".
Missing
$schema
: Without it, z-schema uses its configured default draft. Include
```
$schema
```
for explicit draft targeting.
definitions
vs
$defs
: Both work, but
```
$defs
```
is the canonical form in draft-2019-09+. Use it consistently.

writing-json-schemas

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Writing JSON Schemas for z-schema

Schema template

Object schemas

Basic object with required fields

Nested objects

Dynamic property names

Array schemas

Uniform array

Tuple validation (draft-2020-12)

Contains (draft-06+)

String constraints

Format validation

Numeric constraints

Combinators

`anyOf`
— match at least one

`oneOf`
— match exactly one

`allOf`
— match all

`not`
— must not match

`if`
/
`then`
/
`else`
(draft-07+)

When to use which combinator

Schema reuse with
`$ref`
and
`$defs`

Local definitions

Cross-schema references

Strict schemas with
`unevaluatedProperties`
(draft-2019-09+)

Validating the schema itself

Common mistakes

writing-json-schemas

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Writing JSON Schemas for z-schema

Schema template

Object schemas

Basic object with required fields

Nested objects

Dynamic property names

Array schemas

Uniform array

Tuple validation (draft-2020-12)

Contains (draft-06+)

String constraints

Format validation

Numeric constraints

Combinators

anyOf — match at least one

oneOf — match exactly one

allOf — match all

not — must not match

if / then / else (draft-07+)

When to use which combinator

Schema reuse with $ref and $defs

Local definitions

Cross-schema references

Strict schemas with unevaluatedProperties (draft-2019-09+)

Validating the schema itself

Common mistakes

`anyOf`
— match at least one

`oneOf`
— match exactly one

`allOf`
— match all

`not`
— must not match

`if`
/
`then`
/
`else`
(draft-07+)

Schema reuse with
`$ref`
and
`$defs`

Strict schemas with
`unevaluatedProperties`
(draft-2019-09+)