conductor/docs/VALIDATION.md

Project Validation

Conductor uses shared/schemas/conductor-project.schema.json plus backend semantic validation as the canonical project-document gate. The same validator is used by JSON Apply, create, update, save, stored-project load checks, and frontend diagnostics.

Compatibility policy

• This release accepts exactly schemaVersion: "0.1.0".
• Other versions fail with SCHEMA_VERSION_UNSUPPORTED; Conductor does not guess, coerce, or migrate them.
• Invalid stored JSON is left untouched and returned as STORED_PROJECT_INVALID when loaded. There is no automatic v0.1.0 migration.
• Missing properties remain missing and explicit JSON values—including null, empty arrays, and empty objects—are preserved. Validation does not apply schema defaults or mutate documents.

Result contract

Validation returns valid, errors, and warnings. Every issue has a stable code, JSON Pointer-style path, actionable message, and severity.

Errors block Apply and persistence. Warnings identify compatibility-only shapes that remain readable but are not executed: ComponentEvent.inputMap, non-empty deprecated action.responseMapping, component-level binding references, and Binding.transform.

Project create/update failures use:

{
  "code": "PROJECT_VALIDATION_FAILED",
  "message": "Project document is invalid.",
  "errors": [],
  "warnings": []
}

No database write occurs until parsing, schema validation, and semantic validation all succeed. The database access layer repeats the validation assertion so future callers cannot bypass the route gate.

Semantic rules

Blocking checks cover:

• unique page, action, binding, and project-wide component identities/names;
• supported page/component events and existing action references;
• existing action, component, variable, binding, and default-page references;
• runtime-supported action-response source paths, triggers, and component target properties;
• variable default-value type compatibility, while preserving explicit null;
• component-specific options, configured values, Table columns, and value types;
• balanced templates, supported component value templates, and declared variables;
• exact schema-version compatibility.

Path parameters follow one contract: frontend runtime interpolation resolves {{components.<name>.value}} and {{variables.<name>}} inside pathParameters values; the backend then substitutes those rendered values into bare URL placeholders such as {{itemId}}.

UI and recovery

Visual Editor, Actions & Bindings, JSON Editor, and Preview display the shared result. A validation/network failure leaves canonical state and JSON Editor draft text unchanged. Save remains dirty after failure. Loading an invalid stored document leaves the currently open project intact. New and Load ask for confirmation before discarding unsaved edits.

Project deletion remains backend-only for v0.1.0. A dedicated Projects screen and deletion control are deferred because project browsing is not yet an implemented MVP surface; the existing API continues to require an explicit project ID.