rf validate

rf validate checks a pipeline definition for structural and type errors without executing any nodes. Run it before rf run to catch problems early, or integrate it into CI.

Usage

rf validate [options]

Options

Flag	Description
--file <path>	Path to the pipeline file. Default: pipeline.rf.yaml.
--format <fmt>	Output format: text (default) or json.

What it checks

Check	Description
Schema compatibility	Output port schemas are compatible with connected input port schemas. Field names and types must match.
Cycle detection	The node graph is a DAG. Circular dependencies are rejected.
Missing references	Every ref() points to a node and port that exist.
Type mismatches	A Value output cannot connect to a Table input. Port data types must be compatible.
Duplicate node IDs	Every node has a unique slug.
Required fields	Nodes have the required type, op, and port declarations.
Unknown operations	The op value is a recognized built-in or registered custom operation.

Example: valid pipeline

$ rf validate

Validating pipeline.rf.yaml...

  read-leads       OK
  score-leads      OK
  filter-top       OK
  write-output     OK

4 nodes validated. No errors.

Example: errors detected

$ rf validate

Validating pipeline.rf.yaml...

  read-leads       OK
  score-leads      OK
  filter-top       ERROR  Type mismatch on input 'data':
                          expected Table, got Value
                          from ref(score-leads.count)
  write-output     ERROR  Missing reference: ref(transform.result)
                          node 'transform' does not exist

2 errors found.

Exit code is 0 when validation passes, 1 when errors are found.

Example: cycle detection

$ rf validate

Validating pipeline.rf.yaml...

  ERROR  Cycle detected: node-a → node-b → node-c → node-a

1 error found.

JSON output

Use --format json for machine-readable output in CI pipelines.

$ rf validate --format json

{
  "valid": false,
  "errors": [
    {
      "type": "type_mismatch",
      "node": "filter-top",
      "port": "data",
      "expected": "Table",
      "actual": "Value",
      "source": "ref(score-leads.count)"
    },
    {
      "type": "missing_ref",
      "node": "write-output",
      "port": "data",
      "ref": "ref(transform.result)",
      "message": "node 'transform' does not exist"
    }
  ],
  "nodes_checked": 4
}

CI integration

Add validation to your CI pipeline to catch errors before merge.

rf validate --format json || exit 1

Pair with rf inspect to review the full graph structure after validation passes.