fluid validate

Validate a contract against FLUID schema rules and provider-aware checks.

Syntax

fluid validate CONTRACT

Key options

OptionDescription
--envApply an environment overlay
--schema-versionValidate against a specific schema version
--min-versionMinimum acceptable schema version
--max-versionMaximum acceptable schema version
--strictTreat warnings as errors
--offlineUse only cached or bundled schemas
--force-refreshRefresh cached schemas
--clear-cacheClear schema cache first
--cache-dir CACHE_DIRCustom schema cache directory
--verbose, -vDetailed validation output
--quiet, -qMinimal output
--formattext or json
--list-versionsList available schema versions
--show-schemaShow the schema used for validation
--probeRun live external connectivity probes for sources / sinks declared in acquisition builds.
--report PATHWrite the structured validation report to a file (in addition to stdout)

Examples

fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml
fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml --env prod
fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml --strict
fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml --schema-version 0.7.2
fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml --verbose --show-schema

--probe — live external connectivity checks

Available in 0.8.3

--probe ships in 0.8.3 as part of schema 0.7.3 acquisition support.

By default fluid validate is pure schema validation — no network. Set --probe to additionally test connectivity for every source / sink declared in acquisition builds:

fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml --probe

What it checks:

  • Postgres / MySQL / SQLite sources — connect, run a no-op query, drop the connection
  • Filesystem sources — readable, files exist
  • S3 / GCS sinks — bucket exists, current creds can ListObjects
  • Airbyte / Kafka Connect endpoints — health check on the cluster URL
  • Debezium connectors — Kafka cluster reachable

Probe failures emit ConnectivityProbeError (typed CLI errors) with the source coordinate, the underlying network error, and a fix hint. Probes time out at 5 seconds per target so a misconfigured source doesn't hang validation.

Use --probe in CI for any environment that has network access to the declared sources; skip it when you're validating offline or on a build agent without source access (the default behavior — pure schema — works there).

Notes

  • A contract can legitimately use fluidVersion: 0.7.2 even when the installed CLI release is 0.8.3. Schema 0.7.3 is GA as of 0.8.3.
  • For most users, plain fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml is enough. Reach for explicit schema flags when you are debugging compatibility or working across versions.

Extension point: custom validators

As of 0.8.3, fluid validate automatically runs any Validator plugin discovered via Python entry-points. After pip install <some-validator-plugin>, the validator's findings appear in fluid validate output alongside the core schema validation.

This is how teams enforce governance rules (every Gold product MUST declare a steward, every contract MUST have a cost-center label, etc.) without forking the CLI.