94 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Avoid Overusing Optional Fields
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impact: CRITICAL
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impactDescription: Excessive optional fields create schemas that accept almost anything; forces null checks throughout codebase
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tags: schema, optional, nullable, required
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---
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## Avoid Overusing Optional Fields
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Making too many fields optional creates overly permissive schemas that validate almost any input. This pushes validation downstream into business logic, requiring defensive null checks everywhere instead of guaranteeing data shape at the boundary.
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**Incorrect (optional abuse):**
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```typescript
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import { z } from 'zod'
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// Every field optional - almost anything passes
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const userSchema = z.object({
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id: z.string().optional(),
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name: z.string().optional(),
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email: z.string().optional(),
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role: z.string().optional(),
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})
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type User = z.infer<typeof userSchema>
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// { id?: string; name?: string; email?: string; role?: string }
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// Empty object passes validation!
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userSchema.parse({}) // ✓ Valid: {}
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function greetUser(user: User) {
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// Forced to add null checks everywhere
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if (user.name) {
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console.log(`Hello, ${user.name}`)
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} else {
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console.log('Hello, stranger') // Shouldn't happen if data is clean
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}
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}
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```
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**Correct (explicit required vs optional):**
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```typescript
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import { z } from 'zod'
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// Required fields are required, optional fields are intentional
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const userSchema = z.object({
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id: z.string().uuid(), // Required
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name: z.string().min(1), // Required, non-empty
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email: z.string().email(), // Required
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role: z.enum(['admin', 'user', 'guest']), // Required
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nickname: z.string().optional(), // Intentionally optional
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bio: z.string().nullable(), // Can be explicitly null
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})
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type User = z.infer<typeof userSchema>
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// Empty object fails validation
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userSchema.parse({}) // ✗ Throws ZodError
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function greetUser(user: User) {
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// user.name is guaranteed to exist
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console.log(`Hello, ${user.name}`)
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// Only optional fields need checks
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if (user.nickname) {
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console.log(`Also known as: ${user.nickname}`)
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}
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}
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```
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**Use `.partial()` for update schemas:**
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```typescript
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// Base schema with required fields
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const userSchema = z.object({
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id: z.string().uuid(),
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name: z.string().min(1),
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email: z.string().email(),
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})
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// All fields optional for PATCH updates
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const updateUserSchema = userSchema.partial()
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// Only specific fields optional
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const createUserSchema = userSchema.partial({ id: true })
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```
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**When NOT to use this pattern:**
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- When modeling partial updates (PATCH endpoints)
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- When fields genuinely may not exist (legacy data, external APIs)
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Reference: [Zod API - optional](https://zod.dev/api#optional)
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