swagger-api / swagger-api/swagger-parser

Can't reference parent through child

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Dominant language
Java
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Description

Here's a simplified version of my code. I have this file structure:

└─ openapi
      ├─ index.yaml
      ├─ schemas.yaml
      └─ paths.yaml

Here is index.yaml:

openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  version: 1.0.0
  title: Test API

components:
  schemas:
    $ref: './schemas.yaml'

paths:
  $ref: './paths.yaml'

Here is schemas.yaml:

User:
  description: A user of the current system
  type: object
  properties:
    name:
      type: string
  required:
    - name

Here is paths.yaml:

/user:
  get:
    summary: Get current user
    responses:
      200:
        description: OK
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'

This is the returned error from paths.yaml: MissingPointerError: Token "components" does not exist. As soon as I remove the reference, it's working.

According to the specifications:

Reference – $ref: '#/definitions/myElement' # means go to the root of the current document and then find elements definitions and myElement one after one.`

This should work.

I just made a (non)working exemple: https://github.com/jumpman255/swagger-parser-child-bug

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked reproduction and its openapi/index.yaml, schemas.yaml, and paths.yaml files; run the example to reproduce the MissingPointerError for the child document reference. Trace how swagger-parser resolves $ref values across these files, and consider the issue done when '#/components/schemas/User' resolves successfully from paths.yaml without removing the reference.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java, openapi, yaml
Domain
api, backend-api-design
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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