Constraints

Constraint rules extend JSON Schema with cross-file and path-aware integrity checks.

Table of contents

1. Overview
2. Selector Basics
3. unique
   1. Why use it
   2. Attributes
   3. Minimal example
4. foreign_key
   1. Why use it
   2. Attributes
   3. Minimal example
5. path_equals_attr
   1. Why use it
   2. Attributes
   3. Minimal example
6. Choosing The Right Constraint

Overview

Constraints are configured under each type’s constraints array in .datacur8. For validation error troubleshooting, see the Conditions page.

Each constraint has:

Field	Type	Required	Description
type	string	yes	Constraint kind (unique, foreign_key, path_equals_attr)
id	string	no	Optional stable identifier used in reporting

Selector Basics

Constraint selectors use the same JSONPath-like selector syntax:

• $.id
• $.team.id
• $.items[*].id

Path-based constraints use path_selector with one of:

• path.file (filename without extension)
• path.parent (direct parent folder)
• path.ext (normalized extension)
• path.<capture> from named regex groups in match.include

unique

Why use it

Use unique to prevent duplicate identifiers in one type, or duplicate values inside a single item.

Attributes

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
type	string	yes	—	Must be unique
key	string	yes	—	Selector for value(s) to check
scope	string	no	type	type = across all items, item = within each item
case_sensitive	boolean	no	true	String comparison mode
id	string	no	—	Optional identifier

Minimal example

constraints:
  - type: unique
    key: "$.id"

foreign_key

Why use it

Use foreign_key to enforce referential integrity between types (for example, service.teamId must exist in team.id).

Attributes

Field	Type	Required	Description
type	string	yes	Must be foreign_key
key	string	yes	Selector on the owning item
references.type	string	yes	Referenced type name
references.key	string	yes	Selector on referenced type items
id	string	no	Optional identifier

Minimal example

constraints:
  - type: foreign_key
    key: "$.teamId"
    references:
      type: team
      key: "$.id"

path_equals_attr

Why use it

Use path_equals_attr to enforce filename/folder conventions against data attributes.

Typical use cases:

• file name must match id
• folder name must match teamId
• named path capture must match an attribute

Attributes

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
type	string	yes	—	Must be path_equals_attr
path_selector	string	yes	—	Path source (path.file, path.parent, path.ext, or path.<capture>)
references.key	string	yes	—	Selector on the same item
case_sensitive	boolean	no	true	String comparison mode
id	string	no	—	Optional identifier

Minimal example

match:
  include:
    - "^configs/teams/(?P<team>[^/]+)/services/[^/]+\\.ya?ml$"
constraints:
  - type: path_equals_attr
    path_selector: "path.team"
    references:
      key: "$.teamId"

Choosing The Right Constraint

Goal	Constraint
Ensure IDs are never duplicated	unique
Ensure a value exists in another type	foreign_key
Ensure path naming matches data fields	path_equals_attr