openFDA · API Governance Rules

openFDA API Rules

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

2 Rules warn 2
View Rules File View on GitHub

Rule Categories

no property

Rules

warn
property-name-casing
Schema properties should be snake_case (the dominant convention in this API).
$..properties
warn
no-empty-descriptions
Descriptions must not be empty strings.
$..description

Spectral Ruleset

open-fda-jsonschema-spectral-rules.yml 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
# open-fda — JSON Schema Spectral ruleset (strengthened)
# Plain Spectral. Rules measured from this provider's own JSON Schema
# conventions by strengthen_jsonschema.py, then self-validated against them.
#
# Provenance:
#   - property-name-casing: snake @ 100% (n=1007)
rules:
  property-name-casing:
    description: Schema properties should be snake_case (the dominant convention in this API).
    severity: warn
    given: $..properties
    then:
      field: '@key'
      function: casing
      functionOptions:
        type: snake
  no-empty-descriptions:
    description: Descriptions must not be empty strings.
    severity: warn
    given: $..description
    then:
      function: truthy

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/open-fda-jsonschema-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.