JSON Schema to Validator utility (Support Effect/Schema and others in addition to Zod)

[garrett-hopper]

Instead of the existing Zod specific convex-helpers/server/zod, it'd be nice to have support for other libraries that support https://standardschema.dev. (Namely Effect/Schema for me, though this would allow for many more)

[ianmacartney]

good news! this already shipped last week
https://github.com/get-convex/convex-helpers/blob/main/packages/convex-helpers/README.md#standard-schema

[garrett-hopper]

@ianmacartney, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that is only in the other direction? E.g. creating a standard schema from a convex validation? Ideally I'd be able to use a standard schema as the source of truth and generate the convex validation from that.

[ianmacartney]

Oh I misunderstood. The issue is that standard schema does not have introspection abilities at runtime, so you cannot traverse the tree of validators. And the difference between Convex validation and runtime validators is that Convex validators get serialized and passed to Rust to be used in contexts where js isn’t being executed. And we can’t serialize an opaque function to our json format. I do it for Zod by walking the whole tree and producing a Contacts equivalent

…

On Mon, May 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM Garrett Hopper ***@***.***> wrote: *garrett-hopper* left a comment (get-convex/convex-helpers#604) <#604 (comment)> @ianmacartney <https://github.com/ianmacartney>, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that is only in the other direction? E.g. creating a standard schema from a convex validation? Ideally I'd be able to use a standard schema as the source of truth and generate the convex validation from that. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#604 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACZQW6RR7LQ6IW5YOPUDLD3AM673AVCNFSM6AAAAAB5534GMSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDSMJQGIZTGMJZG4> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[garrett-hopper]

Bummer, I'd assumed standard schema had a standardized inspectable tree similar to Zod, not only at the type level. 😞

Appreciate you taking the time to explain. 🙂

I wonder if accepting a JSON schema would be an option?

Zod V4: https://zod.dev/json-schema
Effect/Schema: https://effect.website/docs/schema/json-schema

I imagine most other validation libraries have similar functionality natively or through shims.

Main goal is to avoid duplication of schemas by allowed Convex to reuse existing schemas defined by Zod, Effect/Schema, or something else. 🙂

[ianmacartney]

You can currently go Zod3 -> Convex (lossy, e.g. for email it becomes string), or Convex -> Zod3. Supporting JSON schema makes a lot of sense. For your usecase doing JSON -> Convex, but I could also see Convex -> JSON for things like AI object specs. Want to take a crack at it? The validate code + zod code should give a good idea of how to go both ways

…

On Mon, May 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM Garrett Hopper ***@***.***> wrote: *garrett-hopper* left a comment (get-convex/convex-helpers#604) <#604 (comment)> Bummer, I'd assumed standard schema had a standardized inspectable tree similar to Zod, not only at the type level. 😞 Appreciate you taking the time to explain. 🙂 I wonder if accepting a JSON schema would be an option? Zod V4: https://zod.dev/json-schema Effect/Schema: https://effect.website/docs/schema/json-schema I imagine most other validation libraries have similar functionality natively or through shims. Main goal is to avoid duplication of schemas by allowed Convex to reuse existing schemas defined by Zod, Effect/Schema, or something else. 🙂 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#604 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACZQW53KH7WHCYUAV63OHD3ANFKFAVCNFSM6AAAAAB5534GMSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDSMJQGMZDCOBRGY> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[garrett-hopper]

Yeah, definitely seems like having both directions would be useful.

Truth be told, I don't have an immediate need for this. I'm just starting on an app using Convex and wanted to see if supporting more than just Zod was on the table. Will put a pin in it and plan to create a PR in the next few months if no one else sees fit to implement sooner. 🙂