JSON Schema

abtree publishes a JSON Schema for tree YAML files so editors and validators verify a tree before it ever touches the CLI.

Sources

• CLI — abtree docs schema prints the schema to stdout. Byte-identical to the committed file.
• Repository — tree.schema.json on main.
• Release — every GitHub release ships tree.schema.json as an asset.
• Stable URL — https://abtree.sh/schemas/tree.schema.json.

Configure editor integration

Add a YAML language-server comment at the top of every tree file:

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://abtree.sh/schemas/tree.schema.json
name: my-tree
version: 1.0.0
tree:
  type: action
  name: Greet
  steps:
    - instruct: say hello

VS Code with the Red Hat YAML extension, Neovim with yaml-language-server, and any other LSP client that speaks the same protocol then surfaces completions, type tooltips, and inline error highlights as you author the tree.

The $schema keyword as a top-level YAML field is also accepted by the parser if you prefer to embed it inline rather than as a comment.

CI validation

The repository test suite parses every bundled tree under trees/ through TreeFileSchema to catch malformed trees. A separate CI job regenerates tree.schema.json from the zod source on every push and fails the build if the committed file has drifted — contributors run bun run schema whenever they touch the zod schema in src/schemas.ts.

Source of truth

The schema is generated from src/schemas.ts via src/schemas.ts:buildJsonSchema(), the single function called by both scripts/generate-schema.ts (build time) and cmdDocsSchema (runtime). The committed tree.schema.json is the build output, kept fresh by CI.

Next

• Discover trees — browse the published behaviour-tree packages you can install and run.
• Authoring trees — the field reference the schema enforces.
• Writing trees — tutorial walkthrough that builds the bundled hello-world tree from scratch.