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Write validation: API

Creating a validation schema​

To validate documents against a JSON schema:

1. Define your schema as a string​

Ensure that the schema you define sets all the constraints needed to validate your documents.

Example: Validate name length

// Ensure that a `Name` property has a maximum length of 7 characters.
string schemaJson = "{\"properties\":{\"Name\":{\"maxLength\":7}}}";

Example: Validate nested elements of an array

// Validate properties of documents in the Orders collection
// Including nested items added to the Lines array
string schemaDefinition = @"{
    ""additionalProperties"": true,
    ""properties"": {
        ""Company"": {
            ""type"": ""string"",
            ""minLength"": 1
        },
        ""Lines"": {
            ""type"": ""array"",
            ""items"": {
                ""type"": ""object"",
                ""additionalProperties"": true,
                ""properties"": {
                    ""Product"": { ""type"": ""string"" },
                    ""Quantity"": { ""type"": ""integer"", ""minimum"": 1 }
                },
                ""required"": [""Product"", ""Quantity""]
            }
        }
    },
    ""required"": [
        ""Company"",
        ""Lines""
    ]
}";

2. Create the schema configuration​

Create a SchemaValidationConfiguration object and use it to enable validation and associate your schema with a document collection.

E.g., to associate your schema with the Users collection:

// Create the configuration
var configuration = new SchemaValidationConfiguration
{
   Disabled = false, // Enable validation for all collections
   ValidatorsPerCollection = new Dictionary<string, SchemaDefinition>
   {
     { "Users", new SchemaDefinition 
       { 
          Disabled = false, // Enable validation for the Users collection
          Schema = schemaJson 
       } 
     }
   }
};

3. Register the schema with the server​

Use ConfigureSchemaValidationOperation to register the schema configuration with the server.

E.g.,

// Register the schema configuration with the server
await store.Maintenance.SendAsync(new ConfigureSchemaValidationOperation(configuration));

Once a schema is enabled for a collection, collection documents are validated when they are saved directly, as well as when they are added or modified by operations such as patching or ETL tasks. (See a list of operations that trigger validation.)

4. Validate documents​

After registering the schema, any document saved to the associated collection will be validated against the schema constraints.

E.g., attempting to save a document that violates the maxLength constraint will result in a SchemaValidationException such as:

Raven.Client.Exceptions.SchemaValidation.SchemaValidationException: The length of the value 'TooLongValue' at 'Name' should not exceed 7, but its actual length is 12.

To handle such exceptions, you can use a try-catch block when saving documents:

using (var session = store.OpenSession())
{
  var user = new User { Name = "TooLongValue" }; // Violates maxLength constraint
  session.Store(user);
  try
  {
    session.SaveChanges(); // This will throw SchemaValidationException
  }
  catch (SchemaValidationException ex)
  {
    // Catch and handle the exception if the validation fails.
  }
}

Example​

Validate documents of the Users collection by JSON schema constraints.

// JSON schema as a string
var schemaJson = @"{
""type"": ""object"",
""properties"": {
   ""Id"": { ""type"": ""string"" },
   ""Name"": { ""type"": ""string"", ""minLength"": 1 },
   ""Email"": { ""type"": ""string"", ""pattern"": ""^[\\w\\.-]+@[\\w\\.-]+\\.\\w+$"" }
},
""required"": [""Id"", ""Name"", ""Email""],
""additionalProperties"": true
}";

var configuration = new SchemaValidationConfiguration
{
   Disabled = false,
   ValidatorsPerCollection = new Dictionary<string, SchemaDefinition>
   {
     { "Users", new SchemaDefinition 
       { 
          Disabled = false,
          Schema = schemaJson 
       } 
     }
   }
};

await store.Maintenance.SendAsync(new ConfigureSchemaValidationOperation(configuration));

Available constraints​

Your validation schema can set the following constraints:

type​

Enforces the data type (e.g., "string", "number", "object", "array", "boolean", "integer").

Example: Name must be a string

{
  "properties": {
    "Name": { "type": "string" }
  }
}

required​

Enforces properties that must be present in the object.

Example: name must be a string, age must be an integer, and both are required.

{
  "properties": {
    "name": { "type": "string" }, 
    "age": { "type": "integer" }
  },
  "required": ["name", "age"]
}

const​

Requires a property to have a specific value.

Example: role must always be admin.

{
  "properties": {
    "role": { "const": "admin" }
  }
}

enum​

Restricts a property to a set of allowed values.

Example: status must be active, inactive, or pending.

{
  "properties": {
    "status": { "enum": ["active", "inactive", "pending"] }
  }
}

minLength​

Minimum number of characters for a string.

Example: username must be at least 3 characters long.

{
  "properties": {
    "username": { "type": "string", "minLength": 3 }
  }
}

maxLength​

Maximum number of characters for a string.

Example: code must be no more than 7 characters long.

{
  "properties": {
    "code": { "type": "string", "maxLength": 7 }
  }
}

pattern​

String must match a regular expression.

Example: email must match a basic email pattern.

{
  "properties": {
    "email": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^[\\w.-]+@[\\w.-]+\\.\\w+$" }
  }
}

minimum​

Minimum value for a number.

Example: age must be at least 18.

{
  "properties": {
    "age": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 18 }
  }
}

maximum​

Maximum value for a number.

Example: score must be no more than 100.

{
  "properties": {
    "score": { "type": "number", "maximum": 100 }
  }
}

minItems​

Minimum number of items in an array.

Example: The tags array must have at least 2 items.

{
  "properties": {
    "tags": { "type": "array", "minItems": 2 }
  }
}

maxItems​

Maximum number of items in an array.

Example: The tags array must have no more than 5 items.

{
  "properties": {
    "tags": { "type": "array", "maxItems": 5 }
  }
}

properties​

Defines schemas for each property of an object.

Example: firstName and lastName must be strings.

{
  "properties": {
    "firstName": { "type": "string" },
    "lastName": { "type": "string" }
  }
}

patternProperties​

Defines validation rules for object properties whose names match a specified regular expression (regex) pattern.

Example: All properties starting with "foo_" must be strings, and those starting with "bar_" must be integers.

{
  "type": "object",
  "patternProperties": {
    "^foo_": { "type": "string" },
    "^bar_": { "type": "integer" }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}

additionalProperties​

Controls whether properties not defined in properties and patternProperties are allowed.

Example: Only id is allowed.

{
  "properties": {
    "id": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}

items​

Defines the schema for items in an array.

Example: scores must be an array of integers.

{
  "properties": {
    "scores": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "integer" }
    }
  }
}

dependencies​

Specifies property dependencies.

Example: If credit_card is present, billing_address must also be present.

{
  "properties": {
    "credit_card": { "type": "string" },
    "billing_address": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "credit_card": ["billing_address"]
  }
}

null​

Allows a type or a property to be set to null (if supported by the implementation).

Example: Setting null for variable types. The value can be either a string or null.

{
  "type": ["string", "null"]
}

Example: Setting null for properties. The middleName property can be either a string or null.

{
  "properties": {
    "middleName": { "type": ["string", "null"] }
  }
}

Syntax​

ConfigureSchemaValidationOperation definition:​

// The schema validation configuration to apply.
// If `configuration` is null, `ArgumentNullException` is generated.
public ConfigureSchemaValidationOperation(SchemaValidationConfiguration configuration)

SchemaValidationConfiguration class:​

public sealed class SchemaValidationConfiguration
{
   // Indicates whether schema validation is globally disabled for the database.
   // When true, validation is disabled for all collections regardless of 
   // individual collection settings.
   // When false, validation is enabled based on the per-collection settings.
   public bool Disabled { get; set; }

   // Mapping of collection names to their corresponding schema definitions.
   // Each entry specifies the JSON schema to be used for validating documents 
   // in the given collection.
   // The collection name comparison is case-insensitive.
   public Dictionary<string, SchemaDefinition> ValidatorsPerCollection { get; set; }
}

SchemaDefinition class:​

public class SchemaDefinition
{
   // Indicates whether schema validation is disabled for this collection.
   // When true, documents will not be validated against the specified schema.
   public bool Disabled { get; set; }

   // The JSON schema definition as a string.
   // Validates collection documents according to the schema specification.
   public string Schema { get; set; }
}

SchemaValidationException message:​

// Initializes a new `SchemaValidationException` instance with an error message
// that explains the reason for the schema validation failure. 
// Typically specifies the document part that didn't comply with the schema.
public SchemaValidationException(string message)

The content of the exception message will vary based on the specific validation error encountered. A missing required property, for example, would yield:

Raven.Client.Exceptions.SchemaValidation.SchemaValidationException: 
The required property 'Company' is missing.

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