Valibot Usage

This skill helps you work effectively with Valibot, the modular and type-safe schema library for validating structural data.

When to use this skill

• When the user asks about schema validation with Valibot
• When creating or modifying Valibot schemas
• When parsing or validating user input
• When the user mentions Valibot, schema, or validation
• When migrating from Zod to Valibot

CRITICAL: Valibot vs Zod — Do Not Confuse!

Valibot and Zod have different APIs. Never mix them up!

Key Differences

Common Mistakes to Avoid

// ❌ WRONG - This is Zod syntax, NOT Valibot!
const Schema = v.string().email().min(5);
const result = Schema.parse(data);

// ✅ CORRECT - Valibot uses functions and pipelines
const Schema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.email(), v.minLength(5));
const result = v.parse(Schema, data);

// ❌ WRONG - Zod-style optional
const Schema = v.object({
  name: v.string().optional(),
});

// ✅ CORRECT - Valibot wraps with optional()
const Schema = v.object({
  name: v.optional(v.string()),
});

// ❌ WRONG - Zod-style default
const Schema = v.string().default("hello");

// ✅ CORRECT - Valibot uses second argument
const Schema = v.optional(v.string(), "hello");

Installation

npm install valibot     # npm
yarn add valibot        # yarn
pnpm add valibot        # pnpm
bun add valibot         # bun

Import with a wildcard (recommended):

import * as v from "valibot";

Or with individual imports:

import { object, string, pipe, email, parse } from "valibot";

Mental Model

Valibot’s API is divided into three main concepts:

1. Schemas

Schemas define the expected data type. They are the starting point.

import * as v from "valibot";

// Primitive schemas
const StringSchema = v.string();
const NumberSchema = v.number();
const BooleanSchema = v.boolean();
const DateSchema = v.date();

// Complex schemas
const ArraySchema = v.array(v.string());
const ObjectSchema = v.object({
  name: v.string(),
  age: v.number(),
});

2. Methods

Methods help you use or modify schemas. The schema is always the first argument.

// Parsing
const result = v.parse(StringSchema, "hello");
const safeResult = v.safeParse(StringSchema, "hello");

// Type guard
if (v.is(StringSchema, data)) {
  // data is typed as string
}

3. Actions

Actions validate or transform data within a pipe(). They MUST be used inside pipelines.

// Actions are used in pipe()
const EmailSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.trim(),
  v.email(),
  v.endsWith("@example.com"),
);

Pipelines

Pipelines extend schemas with validation and transformation actions. A pipeline always starts with a schema, followed by actions.

import * as v from "valibot";

const UsernameSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.trim(),
  v.minLength(3, "Username must be at least 3 characters"),
  v.maxLength(20, "Username must be at most 20 characters"),
  v.regex(
    /^[a-z0-9_]+$/i,
    "Username can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores",
  ),
);

const AgeSchema = v.pipe(
  v.number(),
  v.integer("Age must be a whole number"),
  v.minValue(0, "Age cannot be negative"),
  v.maxValue(150, "Age cannot exceed 150"),
);

Common Validation Actions

String validations:

• v.email() — Valid email format
• v.url() — Valid URL format
• v.uuid() — Valid UUID format
• v.regex(pattern) — Match regex pattern
• v.minLength(n) — Minimum length
• v.maxLength(n) — Maximum length
• v.length(n) — Exact length
• v.nonEmpty() — Not empty string
• v.startsWith(str) — Starts with string
• v.endsWith(str) — Ends with string
• v.includes(str) — Contains string

Number validations:

• v.minValue(n) — Minimum value (>=)
• v.maxValue(n) — Maximum value (<=)
• v.gtValue(n) — Greater than (>)
• v.ltValue(n) — Less than (<)
• v.integer() — Must be integer
• v.finite() — Must be finite
• v.safeInteger() — Safe integer range
• v.multipleOf(n) — Must be multiple of n

Array validations:

• v.minLength(n) — Minimum items
• v.maxLength(n) — Maximum items
• v.length(n) — Exact item count
• v.nonEmpty() — At least one item
• v.includes(item) — Contains item
• v.excludes(item) — Does not contain item

Custom Validation with check()

const PasswordSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.minLength(8),
  v.check(
    (input) => /[A-Z]/.test(input),
    "Password must contain an uppercase letter",
  ),
  v.check((input) => /[0-9]/.test(input), "Password must contain a number"),
);

Value Transformations

These actions modify the value without changing its type:

String transformations:

• v.trim() — Remove leading/trailing whitespace
• v.trimStart() — Remove leading whitespace
• v.trimEnd() — Remove trailing whitespace
• v.toLowerCase() — Convert to lowercase
• v.toUpperCase() — Convert to uppercase

Number transformations:

• v.toMinValue(n) — Clamp to minimum value (if less than n, set to n)
• v.toMaxValue(n) — Clamp to maximum value (if greater than n, set to n)

const NormalizedEmailSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.trim(),
  v.toLowerCase(),
  v.email(),
);

// Clamp number to range 0-100
const PercentageSchema = v.pipe(v.number(), v.toMinValue(0), v.toMaxValue(100));

Type Transformations

For converting between data types, use these built-in transformation actions:

• v.toNumber() — Convert to number
• v.toString() — Convert to string
• v.toBoolean() — Convert to boolean
• v.toBigint() — Convert to bigint
• v.toDate() — Convert to Date

// Convert string to number
const PortSchema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.toNumber(), v.integer(), v.minValue(1));

// Convert ISO string to Date
const TimestampSchema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.isoDateTime(), v.toDate());

// Convert to boolean
const FlagSchema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.toBoolean());

Custom Transformations

For custom transformations, use v.transform():

const DateStringSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.isoDate(),
  v.transform((input) => new Date(input)),
);

// Custom object transformation
const UserSchema = v.pipe(
  v.object({
    firstName: v.string(),
    lastName: v.string(),
  }),
  v.transform((input) => ({
    ...input,
    fullName: `${input.firstName} ${input.lastName}`,
  })),
);

Object Schemas

Basic Object

const UserSchema = v.object({
  id: v.number(),
  name: v.string(),
  email: v.pipe(v.string(), v.email()),
  age: v.optional(v.number()),
});

type User = v.InferOutput<typeof UserSchema>;

Object Variants

// Regular object - strips unknown keys (default)
const ObjectSchema = v.object({ key: v.string() });

// Loose object - allows and preserves unknown keys
const LooseObjectSchema = v.looseObject({ key: v.string() });

// Strict object - throws on unknown keys
const StrictObjectSchema = v.strictObject({ key: v.string() });

// Object with rest - validates unknown keys against a schema
const ObjectWithRestSchema = v.objectWithRest(
  { key: v.string() },
  v.number(), // unknown keys must be numbers
);

Optional and Nullable Fields

const ProfileSchema = v.object({
  // Required
  name: v.string(),

  // Optional (can be undefined or missing)
  nickname: v.optional(v.string()),

  // Optional with default
  role: v.optional(v.string(), "user"),

  // Nullable (can be null)
  avatar: v.nullable(v.string()),

  // Nullish (can be null or undefined)
  bio: v.nullish(v.string()),

  // Nullish with default
  theme: v.nullish(v.string(), "light"),
});

Object Methods

const BaseSchema = v.object({
  id: v.number(),
  name: v.string(),
  email: v.string(),
  password: v.string(),
});

// Pick specific keys
const PublicUserSchema = v.pick(BaseSchema, ["id", "name"]);

// Omit specific keys
const UserWithoutPasswordSchema = v.omit(BaseSchema, ["password"]);

// Make all optional
const PartialUserSchema = v.partial(BaseSchema);

// Make all required
const RequiredUserSchema = v.required(PartialUserSchema);

// Merge objects
const ExtendedUserSchema = v.object({
  ...BaseSchema.entries,
  createdAt: v.date(),
});

Cross-Field Validation

const RegistrationSchema = v.pipe(
  v.object({
    password: v.pipe(v.string(), v.minLength(8)),
    confirmPassword: v.string(),
  }),
  v.forward(
    v.partialCheck(
      [["password"], ["confirmPassword"]],
      (input) => input.password === input.confirmPassword,
      "Passwords do not match",
    ),
    ["confirmPassword"],
  ),
);

Arrays and Tuples

Arrays

const TagsSchema = v.pipe(
  v.array(v.string()),
  v.minLength(1, "At least one tag required"),
  v.maxLength(10, "Maximum 10 tags allowed"),
);

// Array of objects
const UsersSchema = v.array(
  v.object({
    id: v.number(),
    name: v.string(),
  }),
);

Tuples

// Fixed-length array with specific types
const CoordinatesSchema = v.tuple([v.number(), v.number()]);
// Type: [number, number]

// Tuple with rest
const ArgsSchema = v.tupleWithRest(
  [v.string()], // first arg is string
  v.number(), // rest are numbers
);
// Type: [string, ...number[]]

Unions and Variants

Union

const StringOrNumberSchema = v.union([v.string(), v.number()]);

const StatusSchema = v.union([
  v.literal("pending"),
  v.literal("active"),
  v.literal("inactive"),
]);

Picklist (for string/number literals)

// Simpler than union of literals
const StatusSchema = v.picklist(["pending", "active", "inactive"]);

const PrioritySchema = v.picklist([1, 2, 3]);

Variant (discriminated union)

Use variant for better performance with discriminated unions:

const EventSchema = v.variant("type", [
  v.object({
    type: v.literal("click"),
    x: v.number(),
    y: v.number(),
  }),
  v.object({
    type: v.literal("keypress"),
    key: v.string(),
  }),
  v.object({
    type: v.literal("scroll"),
    direction: v.picklist(["up", "down"]),
  }),
]);

Parsing Data

parse() — Throws on Error

import * as v from "valibot";

const EmailSchema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.email());

try {
  const email = v.parse(EmailSchema, "jane@example.com");
  console.log(email); // 'jane@example.com'
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error); // ValiError
}

safeParse() — Returns Result Object

const result = v.safeParse(EmailSchema, input);

if (result.success) {
  console.log(result.output); // Valid data
} else {
  console.log(result.issues); // Array of issues
}

is() — Type Guard

if (v.is(EmailSchema, input)) {
  // input is typed as string
}

Configuration Options

// Abort early - stop at first error
v.parse(Schema, data, { abortEarly: true });

// Abort pipe early - stop pipeline at first error
v.parse(Schema, data, { abortPipeEarly: true });

Type Inference

import * as v from "valibot";

const UserSchema = v.object({
  name: v.string(),
  age: v.pipe(v.string(), v.transform(Number)),
  role: v.optional(v.string(), "user"),
});

// Output type (after transformations and defaults)
type User = v.InferOutput<typeof UserSchema>;
// { name: string; age: number; role: string }

// Input type (before transformations)
type UserInput = v.InferInput<typeof UserSchema>;
// { name: string; age: string; role?: string | undefined }

// Issue type
type UserIssue = v.InferIssue<typeof UserSchema>;

Error Handling

Custom Error Messages

const LoginSchema = v.object({
  email: v.pipe(
    v.string("Email must be a string"),
    v.nonEmpty("Please enter your email"),
    v.email("Invalid email format"),
  ),
  password: v.pipe(
    v.string("Password must be a string"),
    v.nonEmpty("Please enter your password"),
    v.minLength(8, "Password must be at least 8 characters"),
  ),
});

Flattening Errors

const result = v.safeParse(LoginSchema, data);

if (!result.success) {
  const flat = v.flatten(result.issues);
  // { nested: { email: ['Invalid email format'], password: ['...'] } }
}

Issue Structure

Each issue contains:

• kind: ‘schema’ | ‘validation’ | ‘transformation’
• type: Function name (e.g., ‘string’, ’email’, ‘min_length’)
• input: The problematic input
• expected: What was expected
• received: What was received
• message: Human-readable message
• path: Array of path items for nested issues

Fallback Values

// Static fallback
const NumberSchema = v.fallback(v.number(), 0);
v.parse(NumberSchema, "invalid"); // Returns 0

// Dynamic fallback
const DateSchema = v.fallback(v.date(), () => new Date());

Recursive Schemas

import * as v from "valibot";

type TreeNode = {
  value: string;
  children: TreeNode[];
};

const TreeNodeSchema: v.GenericSchema<TreeNode> = v.object({
  value: v.string(),
  children: v.lazy(() => v.array(TreeNodeSchema)),
});

Async Validation

For async operations (e.g., database checks), use async variants:

import * as v from "valibot";

const isUsernameAvailable = async (username: string) => {
  // Check database
  return true;
};

const UsernameSchema = v.pipeAsync(
  v.string(),
  v.minLength(3),
  v.checkAsync(isUsernameAvailable, "Username is already taken"),
);

// Must use parseAsync
const username = await v.parseAsync(UsernameSchema, "john");

JSON Schema Conversion

import { toJsonSchema } from "@valibot/to-json-schema";
import * as v from "valibot";

const EmailSchema = v.pipe(v.string(), v.email());
const jsonSchema = toJsonSchema(EmailSchema);
// { type: 'string', format: 'email' }

Naming Conventions

Convention 1: Same Name (Recommended for simplicity)

export const User = v.object({
  name: v.string(),
  email: v.pipe(v.string(), v.email()),
});

export type User = v.InferOutput<typeof User>;

// Usage
const users: User[] = [];
users.push(v.parse(User, data));

Convention 2: With Suffixes (Recommended when input/output differ)

export const UserSchema = v.object({
  name: v.string(),
  age: v.pipe(v.string(), v.transform(Number)),
});

export type UserInput = v.InferInput<typeof UserSchema>;
export type UserOutput = v.InferOutput<typeof UserSchema>;

Common Patterns

Login Form

const LoginSchema = v.object({
  email: v.pipe(
    v.string(),
    v.nonEmpty("Please enter your email"),
    v.email("Invalid email address"),
  ),
  password: v.pipe(
    v.string(),
    v.nonEmpty("Please enter your password"),
    v.minLength(8, "Password must be at least 8 characters"),
  ),
});

API Response

const ApiResponseSchema = v.variant("status", [
  v.object({
    status: v.literal("success"),
    data: v.unknown(),
  }),
  v.object({
    status: v.literal("error"),
    error: v.object({
      code: v.string(),
      message: v.string(),
    }),
  }),
]);

Environment Variables

const EnvSchema = v.object({
  NODE_ENV: v.picklist(["development", "production", "test"]),
  PORT: v.pipe(v.string(), v.transform(Number), v.integer(), v.minValue(1)),
  DATABASE_URL: v.pipe(v.string(), v.url()),
  API_KEY: v.pipe(v.string(), v.minLength(32)),
});

const env = v.parse(EnvSchema, process.env);

Date Handling

// String to Date
const DateFromStringSchema = v.pipe(
  v.string(),
  v.isoDate(),
  v.transform((input) => new Date(input)),
);

// Date validation
const FutureDateSchema = v.pipe(
  v.date(),
  v.minValue(new Date(), "Date must be in the future"),
);

Additional Resources

• Valibot Documentation
• Valibot GitHub
• API Reference
• Migration from Zod