Apicurio Registry content rule reference

This chapter provides reference information on the supported content rule types, their level of support for artifact types, and order of precedence of artifact-specific and global rules.

Apicurio Registry content rule types
Apicurio Registry content rule maturity
Apicurio Registry content rule precedence

Additional resources

For more information, see the Apicurio Registry REST API documentation.

Apicurio Registry content rule types

You can specify VALIDITY, COMPATIBILITY, and INTEGRITY rule types to govern content evolution in Apicurio Registry. Theses rule types apply to both global rules and artifact-specific rules.

Table 1. Apicurio Registry content rule types
Type	Description
`VALIDITY`	Validate content before adding it to Apicurio Registry. The possible configuration values for this rule are as follows: `FULL`: The validation is both syntax and semantic. `SYNTAX_ONLY`: The validation is syntax only. `NONE`: All validation checks are disabled.
`COMPATIBILITY`	Enforce a compatibility level when updating artifacts (for example, select `BACKWARD` for backwards compatibility). Ensures that new artifacts are compatible with previously added artifact versions or clients. The possible configuration values for this rule are as follows: `FULL`: The new artifact is forward and backward compatible with the most recently added artifact. `FULL_TRANSITIVE`: The new artifact is forward and backward compatible with all previously added artifacts. `BACKWARD`: Clients using the new artifact can read data written using the most recently added artifact. `BACKWARD_TRANSITIVE`: Clients using the new artifact can read data written using all previously added artifacts. `FORWARD`: Clients using the most recently added artifact can read data written using the new artifact. `FORWARD_TRANSITIVE`: Clients using all previously added artifacts can read data written using the new artifact. `NONE`: All backward and forward compatibility checks are disabled.
`INTEGRITY`	Enforce artifact reference integrity when creating or updating artifacts. Enable and configure this rule to ensure that any artifact references provided are correct. The possible configuration values for this rule are as follows: `FULL`: All artifact reference integrity checks are enabled. `NO_DUPLICATES`: Detect if there are any duplicate artifact references. `REFS_EXIST`: Detect if there are any references to non-existent artifacts. `ALL_REFS_MAPPED`: Ensure that all artifact references are mapped. `NONE`: All artifact reference integrity checks are disabled.

Apicurio Registry content rule maturity

Not all content rules are fully implemented for every artifact type supported by Apicurio Registry. The following table shows the current maturity level for each rule and artifact type:

Table 2. Apicurio Registry content rule maturity matrix
Artifact type	Validity rule	Compatibility rule	Integrity rule
Avro	Full	Full	Full
Protobuf	Full	Full	Full
JSON Schema	Full	Full	Mapping detection not supported
OpenAPI	Full	None	Full
AsyncAPI	Syntax Only	None	Full
GraphQL	Syntax Only	None	Mapping detection not supported
Kafka Connect	Syntax Only	None	Mapping detection not supported
WSDL	Full	None	Mapping detection not supported
XML	Full	None	Mapping detection not supported
XSD	Full	None	Mapping detection not supported

Apicurio Registry content rule precedence

When you add or update an artifact, Apicurio Registry applies rules to check the validity, compatibility, or integrity of the artifact content. Configured artifact-specific rules override the equivalent configured global rules, as shown in the following table.

Table 3. Apicurio Registry content rule precedence
Artifact-specific rule	Global rule	Rule applied to this artifact	Global rule available for other artifacts?
Enabled	Enabled	Artifact-specific	Yes
Disabled	Enabled	Global	Yes
Disabled	Disabled	None	No
Enabled, set to None	Enabled	None	Yes
Disabled	Enabled, set to None	None	No