DAPR Configuration Validator

This skill automatically validates DAPR configuration files to catch errors before runtime.

When to Use

Claude automatically uses this skill when:

• A YAML file in components/ directory is created or modified
• A dapr.yaml file is created or modified
• User asks to validate DAPR configuration
• Before deployment to catch issues early

Validation Rules

dapr.yaml Validation

# Required structure
version: 1
common:
  resourcesPath: ./components
apps:
  - appId: my-service      # Required: unique identifier
    appDirPath: ./src      # Required: path to app
    appPort: 8000          # Required: application port
    command: ["python", "main.py"]

Checks performed:

• version field present and valid
• apps array is not empty
• Each app has required fields: appId, appDirPath, appPort
• appPort values don't conflict
• Referenced paths exist
• Commands are valid

Component YAML Validation

# Required structure
apiVersion: dapr.io/v1alpha1   # Must be exact
kind: Component                 # Must be exact
metadata:
  name: component-name         # Required: valid name
spec:
  type: state.redis            # Required: valid type
  version: v1                  # Required: valid version
  metadata:                    # Component-specific fields
  - name: redisHost
    value: localhost:6379

Checks performed:

• apiVersion is dapr.io/v1alpha1
• kind is Component
• metadata.name is valid (lowercase, alphanumeric, hyphens)
• spec.type is a valid DAPR component type
• spec.version is specified
• Required metadata fields for component type are present
• No secrets in plain text (warn if found)
• Secret references are properly formatted

Valid Component Types

State Stores:

• state.redis
• state.azure.cosmosdb
• state.postgresql
• state.mongodb
• state.azure.tablestorage

Pub/Sub:

• pubsub.redis
• pubsub.azure.servicebus.topics
• pubsub.kafka
• pubsub.rabbitmq

Secret Stores:

• secretstores.azure.keyvault
• secretstores.local.file
• secretstores.kubernetes

Bindings:

• bindings.azure.blobstorage
• bindings.azure.eventgrid
• bindings.cron
• bindings.http

Validation Process

1. Find Configuration Files

   Scan for:
   - dapr.yaml in project root
   - components/*.yaml
   - components/**/*.yaml
   

2. Parse YAML

   • Validate YAML syntax
   • Check for duplicate keys
   • Verify proper indentation

3. Schema Validation

   • Check required fields
   • Validate field types
   • Verify enum values

4. Cross-Reference Checks

   • Components referenced in dapr.yaml exist
   • Secret stores exist if secrets are referenced
   • No conflicting ports or app-ids

5. Security Checks

   • No hardcoded secrets
   • Secret references properly formatted
   • Scopes defined for sensitive components

Output Format

DAPR Configuration Validation Report
=====================================

✓ dapr.yaml - Valid
  - 2 applications defined
  - Resources path: ./components

✓ components/statestore.yaml - Valid
  - Type: state.redis
  - Name: statestore

⚠ components/pubsub.yaml - Warnings
  - Type: pubsub.azure.servicebus.topics
  - Warning: connectionString appears to contain a secret value
  - Recommendation: Use secretKeyRef instead

✗ components/secrets.yaml - Invalid
  - Error: Missing required field 'spec.type'
  - Error: 'metadata.name' contains invalid characters

Summary: 2 valid, 1 warning, 1 error

Common Issues and Fixes

Missing Required Field

# Bad
spec:
  metadata:
  - name: host
    value: localhost

# Good
spec:
  type: state.redis
  version: v1
  metadata:
  - name: redisHost
    value: localhost:6379

Secret in Plain Text

# Bad (security risk)
- name: password
  value: mysecretpassword

# Good (use secret reference)
- name: password
  secretKeyRef:
    name: redis-secrets
    key: password

Invalid Component Name

# Bad
metadata:
  name: My State Store   # No spaces, uppercase

# Good
metadata:
  name: my-state-store   # Lowercase, hyphens only

Wrong apiVersion

# Bad
apiVersion: v1

# Good
apiVersion: dapr.io/v1alpha1

Integration Points

This skill integrates with:

• config-specialist agent for deeper configuration help
• dapr-debugger agent when validation errors cause runtime issues
• /dapr:component command to generate valid configs