GitLab · API Governance Rules

GitLab API Rules

Spectral linting rules defining API design standards and conventions for GitLab.

26 Rules error 14 warn 9 info 3
Generated by API Evangelist Written by API Evangelist tooling for GitLab's APIs. It is a starting point, not a ruleset GitLab publishes or enforces.
View Rules File View on GitHub

Rule Categories

get info no openapi operation operationid parameter paths query request response schema security servers tags

Rules

error
info-title-required
API title must be present.
$.info
warn
info-title-format
Title should start with "GitLab".
$.info.title
error
info-description-required
API description must be present.
$.info
error
info-version-required
API version must be specified.
$.info
error
openapi-version-3
OpenAPI version must be 3.0.x.
$
error
servers-defined
At least one server must be defined.
$
error
servers-https-only
Server URLs must use HTTPS.
$.servers[*].url
error
paths-no-trailing-slash
Paths must not have trailing slashes.
$.paths
info
paths-snake-case
Path segments should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
$.paths
error
operation-description-required
Every operation must have a description.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
error
operation-operationid-required
Every operation must have an operationId.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
warn
operation-tags-required
Every operation must have at least one tag.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
info
tags-title-case
Tag names should use Title Case.
$.tags[*].name
error
parameter-description-required
All parameters must have a description.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[*]
warn
parameter-snake-case
Parameter names should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[*]
warn
request-body-json
Request bodies should use application/json.
$.paths[*][post,put,patch].requestBody.content
error
response-success-required
Every operation must define a success response.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].responses
error
response-description-required
All responses must have a description.
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].responses[*]
warn
schema-names-pascalcase
Schema names should use PascalCase.
$.components.schemas
info
schema-properties-snake-case
Schema properties should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
$.components.schemas[*].properties
warn
security-schemes-defined
Security schemes should be defined.
$.components
error
get-no-request-body
GET operations must not have a request body.
$.paths[*].get
error
no-empty-descriptions
Descriptions must not be empty.
$..description
warn
servers-expected-domain
Server URLs should be on the gitlab.com domain.
$.servers[*].url
warn
query-params-casing
Query parameters should be snake_case (the dominant convention in this API).
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[?(@.in=='query')]
warn
operationid-casing
Operation IDs should be camelCase (the dominant convention in this API).
$.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].operationId

Spectral Ruleset

Raw ↑
# authorship: generated by API Evangelist tooling. Stamped 2026-08-18
# on the file's own generator header (roadmap#64). An unmarked file is
# NOT assumed to be ours -- absence of evidence was never stamped.
x-method: generated
# gitlab — Spectral ruleset (strengthened)
# Plain Spectral. Existing hand-authored rules preserved; measured rules added
# from this provider's own OpenAPI conventions by strengthen_ruleset.py,
# then self-validated against the spec.
#
# Provenance:
#   - servers-https-only: 100% of servers already https (error)
#   - servers-expected-domain: 13/13 servers on gitlab.com
#   - path-params-casing: snake @ 100% (n=189)
#   - query-params-casing: snake @ 100% (n=96)
#   - operationid-casing: camel @ 100% (n=167)
#   - schema-properties-casing: snake @ 100% (n=511)
#   - security: global (root) — NOT emitting operation-security-required
#   - pagination params observed: ['page', 'page_token', 'per_page', 'size']
#   - merge: kept 24 existing, added 3 measured, upgraded 0
#   - added: servers-expected-domain, query-params-casing, operationid-casing
extends:
- spectral:oas
rules:
  info-title-required:
    description: API title must be present.
    severity: error
    given: $.info
    then:
      field: title
      function: truthy
  info-title-format:
    description: Title should start with "GitLab".
    severity: warn
    given: $.info.title
    then:
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: '^GitLab '
  info-description-required:
    description: API description must be present.
    severity: error
    given: $.info
    then:
      field: description
      function: truthy
  info-version-required:
    description: API version must be specified.
    severity: error
    given: $.info
    then:
      field: version
      function: truthy
  openapi-version-3:
    description: OpenAPI version must be 3.0.x.
    severity: error
    given: $
    then:
      field: openapi
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^3\.0\.
  servers-defined:
    description: At least one server must be defined.
    severity: error
    given: $
    then:
      field: servers
      function: truthy
  servers-https-only:
    description: Server URLs must use HTTPS.
    severity: error
    given: $.servers[*].url
    then:
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^https://
  paths-no-trailing-slash:
    description: Paths must not have trailing slashes.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths
    then:
      field: '@key'
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        notMatch: \/$
  paths-snake-case:
    description: Path segments should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
    severity: info
    given: $.paths
    then:
      field: '@key'
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        notMatch: \/[a-z]+[A-Z]
  operation-description-required:
    description: Every operation must have a description.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
    then:
      field: description
      function: truthy
  operation-operationid-required:
    description: Every operation must have an operationId.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
    then:
      field: operationId
      function: truthy
  operation-tags-required:
    description: Every operation must have at least one tag.
    severity: warn
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete]
    then:
      field: tags
      function: truthy
  tags-title-case:
    description: Tag names should use Title Case.
    severity: info
    given: $.tags[*].name
    then:
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*(\s[A-Za-z0-9]+)*$
  parameter-description-required:
    description: All parameters must have a description.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[*]
    then:
      field: description
      function: truthy
  parameter-snake-case:
    description: Parameter names should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
    severity: warn
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[*]
    then:
      field: name
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^[a-z][a-z0-9_]*$
  request-body-json:
    description: Request bodies should use application/json.
    severity: warn
    given: $.paths[*][post,put,patch].requestBody.content
    then:
      field: application/json
      function: truthy
  response-success-required:
    description: Every operation must define a success response.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].responses
    then:
      function: schema
      functionOptions:
        schema:
          anyOf:
          - required:
            - '200'
          - required:
            - '201'
          - required:
            - '204'
  response-description-required:
    description: All responses must have a description.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].responses[*]
    then:
      field: description
      function: truthy
  schema-names-pascalcase:
    description: Schema names should use PascalCase.
    severity: warn
    given: $.components.schemas
    then:
      field: '@key'
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*$
  schema-properties-snake-case:
    description: Schema properties should use snake_case (GitLab convention).
    severity: info
    given: $.components.schemas[*].properties
    then:
      field: '@key'
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^[a-z][a-z0-9]*(_[a-z0-9]+)*$
  security-schemes-defined:
    description: Security schemes should be defined.
    severity: warn
    given: $.components
    then:
      field: securitySchemes
      function: truthy
  get-no-request-body:
    description: GET operations must not have a request body.
    severity: error
    given: $.paths[*].get
    then:
      field: requestBody
      function: falsy
  no-empty-descriptions:
    description: Descriptions must not be empty.
    severity: error
    given: $..description
    then:
      function: truthy
  servers-expected-domain:
    description: Server URLs should be on the gitlab.com domain.
    severity: warn
    given: $.servers[*].url
    then:
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: gitlab\.com
  query-params-casing:
    description: Query parameters should be snake_case (the dominant convention in this API).
    severity: warn
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].parameters[?(@.in=='query')]
    then:
      field: name
      function: casing
      functionOptions:
        type: snake
  operationid-casing:
    description: Operation IDs should be camelCase (the dominant convention in this API).
    severity: warn
    given: $.paths[*][get,post,put,patch,delete].operationId
    then:
      function: pattern
      functionOptions:
        match: ^[a-z][A-Za-z0-9]*$

Work with this as data

Every ruleset here is available over the APIs.io API and to AI agents over MCP.

MCP server

One button, every client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code and the rest.

https://apis.io/mcp

Tools for spectral rules

4 MCP tools reach this
  • find_rulesBrowse and filter every ruleset in the catalog.
  • apis_io_searchSTART HERE — APIs, providers and tags for one query, each with its total.
  • resolveTurn a domain, URL or GitHub org into the provider it belongs to.
  • find_cohortsEvery scored population of providers in the catalog.
All 92 tools →

Call it yourself

curl for this page
This ruleset
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/rules/gitlab-spectral-rules"
All spectral rules
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/rules?limit=25"

Discovery needs no key. Ratings and market analysis are Pro.

Get an API key

Free tier, no form to fill in. Signing in shares your email address with us — we store it to create your key and to recognise you if you sign in with another provider. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.

A second provider on the same verified email joins the account you already have.