Validate Dev Proxy Sample

This skill guides validation of Dev Proxy samples to catch common mistakes before submission. Run through these checks to ensure the sample meets repository standards.

⚠️ MANDATORY: You MUST run jsonck to validate all JSON files against their schemas. Do NOT skip this step or rely on VS Code's JSON validation alone — it misses errors that Dev Proxy will catch at runtime. Install jsonck first: npm install -g jsonck

Quick Validation Command

jsonck reads the $schema property from JSON files automatically, downloads remote schemas, and validates in one step — no temp files or manual schema wrangling needed.

# Validate all standalone config files at once
sample="samples/{sample-name}"
jsonck "$sample"/.devproxy/*.json

For structured output (useful in CI or scripts), add --json:

jsonck "$sample"/.devproxy/*.json --json

Note: Install jsonck first with npm install -g jsonck. Requires Node.js >= 20.

Validating Plugin Config Sections

Dev Proxy configs have embedded plugin config sections with their own $schema. Extract each section with jq and pipe to jsonck — it picks up the $schema from the piped JSON automatically:

sample="samples/{sample-name}"
f="$sample/.devproxy/devproxyrc.json"

# Find all config sections that have a $schema and validate each
jq -r '[keys[] as $k | select((.[$k] | type) == "object" and (.[$k]["$schema"] // null) != null) | $k] | .[]' "$f" | while read -r section; do
  echo "Validating $section..."
  jq ".\"$section\"" "$f" | jsonck - || echo "❌ FAILED: $section"
done

Validation Checklist

1. Directory Structure

Verify required files exist:

samples/{sample-name}/
├── .devproxy/
│   ├── devproxyrc.json                  ✓
│   └── [mocks.json, errors.json, etc.]  (if needed)
├── README.md                            ✓
└── assets/
    └── sample.json                      ✓

Important: All Dev Proxy config files go in .devproxy/ folder.

2. Schema Validation

Check: Every Dev Proxy config file has a $schema defined.

Required schemas:

• Main config file (devproxyrc.json) must have $schema
• Each plugin config section must have its own $schema
• Standalone data files (mocks, errors) must have $schema

Exception: CRUD API data files don't require schemas.

Example of proper schema coverage:

{
  "$schema": ".../rc.schema.json",           // ✓ Main config schema
  "plugins": [...],
  "mockResponsePlugin": {
    "$schema": ".../mockresponseplugin.schema.json",  // ✓ Plugin config schema
    "mocksFile": "mocks.json"
  }
}

Check: All $schema URLs validate against their schemas. Run jsonck on all files and plugin config sections.

Common issues:

• Missing $schema on main config file
• Missing $schema on plugin config sections
• Wrong schema version (use MCP to get current)
• Wrong schema type:
  • mockresponseplugin.schema.json = plugin config (needs mocksFile)
  • mockresponseplugin.mocksfile.schema.json = mock data (needs mocks array)
• body: null not allowed (use body: "")
• Missing required fields

3. Metadata Validation (assets/sample.json)

Field	Check
name	Matches pnp-devproxy-{folder-name}
source	Is "pnp"
url	Matches https://github.com/pnp/proxy-samples/tree/main/samples/{folder-name}
downloadUrl	Matches https://pnp.github.io/download-partial/?url=...
shortDescription	Non-empty, describes the sample
longDescription[0]	Identical to shortDescription
creationDateTime	Format YYYY-MM-DD
updateDateTime	Format YYYY-MM-DD
products	Contains ["Dev Proxy"]
SAMPLE ID	Matches folder name
PROXY VERSION	Matches README badge version
thumbnails[0].url	Points to existing screenshot or has placeholder
authors	Has at least one author with gitHubAccount, name

4. PRESET Metadata

Check: Is PRESET value correct?

• "Yes" = Sample is reusable for other APIs (generic config)
• "No" = Sample is specific to a particular API or scenario

Common mistake: Setting PRESET to "Yes" just because it has a config file. Most samples should be "No".

5. README Validation

Element	Check
Title	Descriptive, not technical
Summary	Explains what and why
Screenshot	Exists or has placeholder
Badge URL	Must use https://aka.ms/devproxy/badge/vX.X.X (not shields.io)
Badge version	Matches PROXY VERSION in sample.json
Contributors	GitHub profile links
Version history	Date matches updateDateTime in sample.json
Minimal path	Steps are complete and correct
Startup command	Correct (see below)
curl commands	Include -ikx http://127.0.0.1:8000
Tracking pixel	

6. Startup Command Validation

Check: Is the startup command correct?

Default config locations (just use devproxy):

• devproxyrc.json
• devproxyrc.jsonc
• .devproxy/devproxyrc.json
• .devproxy/devproxyrc.jsonc

Custom config (use devproxy --config-file custom.json):

• Any other filename or location

Common mistake: Using devproxy --config-file devproxyrc.json — unnecessary!

7. Date Consistency

Check: Dates match between files.

Location	Format	Example
sample.json → updateDateTime	YYYY-MM-DD	2026-01-18
README → Version history	Month DD, YYYY	January 18, 2026

Both should represent the same date.

8. curl Command Validation

Check: All curl commands route through Dev Proxy.

Correct:

curl -ikx http://127.0.0.1:8000 https://api.example.com/endpoint

Incorrect:

curl https://api.example.com/endpoint  # Bypasses Dev Proxy!

Flags explained:

• -i = Include response headers
• -k = Allow insecure (for SSL issues)
• -x http://127.0.0.1:8000 = Route through proxy

9. Demo App vs curl

Check: For scenarios requiring multiple requests, is there a demo app?

Use demo app when:

• Rate limiting (needs many requests)
• Retry logic testing
• Throttling scenarios
• Any behavior requiring loops

Acceptable curl when:

• Single request/response
• Quick verification

10. URL Domain Validation

Check: Do URLs use proxy-friendly domains?

Avoid these TLDs — they're often excluded from system proxy settings:

• .local — Reserved for mDNS/Bonjour, typically bypasses proxy
• .localhost — Loopback, excluded by most systems
• .internal — Often excluded in enterprise environments
• .test — Reserved TLD, may have issues

Use instead:

• .contoso.com — Microsoft's example domain (safe, won't resolve)
• .example.com — IANA reserved for documentation
• .fabrikam.com — Another Microsoft example domain
• Real API domains you're mocking

Why this matters: When browsers/apps detect .local domains, they often skip the proxy entirely, making Dev Proxy unable to intercept requests.

Check in files:

• urlsToWatch in devproxyrc.json
• baseUrl in CRUD API files
• API URLs in frontend code (JavaScript, HTML)
• Mock response URLs

Common Mistakes Summary

Mistake	How to Fix
Missing $schema on main config	Add $schema to devproxyrc.json
Missing $schema on plugin config section	Add $schema to each plugin config section
PRESET: "Yes" for specific samples	Change to "No" unless truly reusable
--config-file devproxyrc.json	Remove --config-file, just use devproxy
Config files not in .devproxy/	Move all Dev Proxy files to .devproxy/ folder
shortDescription ≠ longDescription[0]	Make them identical
Wrong date format	Use YYYY-MM-DD in JSON, Month DD, YYYY in README
Dates don't match	Sync dates between sample.json and README
curl without proxy	Add -ikx http://127.0.0.1:8000
Wrong schema type	Match schema to file purpose
Missing tracking pixel	Add at end of README
Using .local TLD	Change to .contoso.com or similar
Wrong badge URL (shields.io)	Use https://aka.ms/devproxy/badge/vX.X.X

Validation Script

Run this to check common issues:

sample="samples/{sample-name}"

# Check required files
echo "=== Required Files ==="
[ -d "$sample/.devproxy" ] && echo "✓ .devproxy/" || echo "✗ .devproxy/ folder missing"
[ -f "$sample/.devproxy/devproxyrc.json" ] && echo "✓ .devproxy/devproxyrc.json" || echo "✗ .devproxy/devproxyrc.json missing"
[ -f "$sample/README.md" ] && echo "✓ README.md" || echo "✗ README.md missing"
[ -f "$sample/assets/sample.json" ] && echo "✓ assets/sample.json" || echo "✗ assets/sample.json missing"

# Check metadata name matches folder
echo -e "\n=== Metadata Check ==="
folder=$(basename "$sample")
name=$(grep -o '"name": "[^"]*"' "$sample/assets/sample.json" | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4)
expected="pnp-devproxy-$folder"
[ "$name" = "$expected" ] && echo "✓ name matches folder" || echo "✗ name '$name' should be '$expected'"

# Check date format
echo -e "\n=== Date Format ==="
grep -E '"(creation|update)DateTime"' "$sample/assets/sample.json" | grep -qE '[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}' && echo "✓ Date format OK" || echo "✗ Check date format"

# Check shortDescription equals longDescription
echo -e "\n=== Description Match ==="
short=$(grep '"shortDescription"' "$sample/assets/sample.json" | cut -d'"' -f4)
long=$(grep -A1 '"longDescription"' "$sample/assets/sample.json" | tail -1 | tr -d '[]"' | xargs)
[ "$short" = "$long" ] && echo "✓ Descriptions match" || echo "✗ shortDescription ≠ longDescription[0]"

# Check tracking pixel
echo -e "\n=== Tracking Pixel ==="
grep -q "m365-visitor-stats.azurewebsites.net/SamplesGallery/pnp-devproxy-$folder" "$sample/README.md" && echo "✓ Tracking pixel OK" || echo "✗ Missing/wrong tracking pixel"

# Check badge URL uses aka.ms
echo -e "\n=== Badge URL ==="
grep -q "https://aka.ms/devproxy/badge/" "$sample/README.md" && echo "✓ Badge uses aka.ms" || echo "✗ Badge should use https://aka.ms/devproxy/badge/vX.X.X"

Pre-Submission Final Check

Before creating a PR:

1. Run jsonck validation on ALL JSON files (mandatory — don't skip!)
2. Dev Proxy config files are in .devproxy/ folder
3. All JSON files pass schema validation
4. Metadata name = pnp-devproxy-{folder-name}
5. Descriptions match (short = long[0])
6. Dates are in correct format and match
7. PRESET is correct (usually "No")
8. Startup command is correct
9. curl commands include proxy flag
10. README has tracking pixel
11. Badge uses https://aka.ms/devproxy/badge/vX.X.X
12. Badge version matches PROXY VERSION
13. URLs don't use .local or other excluded TLDs
14. VS Code shows no Problems