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Aliases

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Targeting certain parts of an OpenAPI spec is powerful but it can become cumbersome to write and repeat complex JSONPath expressions across multiple rules.

Define aliases for commonly used JSONPath expressions on a global level and then reuse them across the ruleset.

Aliases can be defined in an array of key-value pairs at the root level of the ruleset, or alternatively, within an override.

It’s similar to given, with the notable difference being the possibility to distinguish between different formats.

Example

yaml
aliases:
  HeaderNames:
    - "$..parameters.[?(@.in === 'header')].name"
  Info:
    - "$..info"
  InfoDescription:
    - "#Info.description"
  InfoContact:
    - "#Info.contact"
  Paths:
    - "$.paths[*]~"

If you deal with a variety of different specs, you may find the above approach insufficient, particularly when the shape of the documents are different.

In such a case, you may want to consider using scoped aliases.

yaml
aliases:
  SharedParameterObject:
    description: an optional property describing the purpose of the alias
    targets:
      - formats:
          - oas2
        given:
          - $.parameters[*]
      - formats:
          - oas3
        given:
          - $.components.parameters[*]

Now, if you referenced the SharedParameterObject alias, the chosen path would be determined based on the document you use.

For instance, if a given document matched OpenAPI 2.x, $.parameters[*] would be used as the JSONPath expression.

Having a closer look at the example above, notice that it’d still be complicated to target all Parameter Objects that a specific OpenAPI document may contain. To make it more feasible and avoid overly complex JSONPath expressions, given can be an array.

yaml
aliases:
  PathItemObject:
    - $.paths[*]
  OperationObject:
    - "#PathItemObject[get,put,post,delete,options,head,patch,trace]"
  ParameterObject:
    description: an optional property describing the purpose of the alias
    targets:
      - formats:
          - oas2
        given:
          - "#PathItemObject.parameters[*]"
          - "#OperationObject.parameters[*]"
          - $.parameters[*]
      - formats:
          - oas3
        given:
          - "#PathItemObject.parameters[*]"
          - "#OperationObject.parameters[*]"
          - $.components.parameters[*]

Rulesets can then reference aliases in the given keyword, either in full: "given": "#Paths", or use it as a prefix for further JSONPath syntax, like dot notation: "given": "#ParameterObject.name".

Keep in mind that an alias has to be explicitly defined either at the root level or inside an override. This is to avoid ambiguity.

yaml
aliases:
  Stoplight:
    - "$..stoplight"
overrides:
  - files:
      - "*.yaml"
    rules:
      value-matches-stoplight:
        message: Value must contain Stoplight
        given: "#Stoplight" # valid because declared at the root
        severity: error
        then:
          field: description
          function: pattern
          functionOptions:
            match: Stoplight
  - files:
      - "**/*.json"
    aliases:
      Value:
        - "$..value"
    rules:
      truthy-stoplight-property:
        message: Value must contain Stoplight
        given: "#Value" # valid because declared within the override block
        severity: error
        then:
          function: truthy
  - files:
      - legacy/**/*.json
    rules:
      falsy-value:
        given: "#Value" # invalid because undeclared both at the top-level and the override. Note that this could be technically resolvable for some JSON documents because the previous override block has the alias, but to spare some headaches, we demand an alias to be explicitly defined.
        severity: error
        then:
          function: falsy

Common Aliases

Here’s a reference list of common aliases you can implement to target specific parts of an OpenAPI ruleset.

aliasgiven (OpenAPI 2)given (OpenAPI 3)
API_Description$.info.description$.info.description"
Operation_Object#Path_Item[get,put,post,delete,options,head,patch,trace]#Path_Item[get,put,post,delete,options,head,patch,trace]

This will be followed by the Spectral core rulesets providing a common set of aliases for OpenAPI and AsyncAPI so that users don’t have to do the work at all. If you have ideas about what kind of aliases could be useful leave your thoughts on GitHub Discussions.

Last updated Oct 24, 2026