Issues with Empty Objects in Optional Fields and Nested Schema Validation

[fdelgadodeleon]

Hello everyone,

I’m experiencing two issues related to handling empty objects in optional fields. I’d appreciate any guidance on how to address these scenarios.

Problem 1: Optional Object with Required Fields Fails Validation When Empty

When I have a schema with an optional object containing required fields, if I enter text into one of these fields and then delete it, the form validation fails because the object remains as an empty object ({}) in formData, even though it’s supposed to be optional. Here’s an example schema:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "address": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "street_address": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "city": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "state": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "street_address",
        "city",
        "state"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Expected output:

{}

Received output:

{ 
  "address": {}
}

The empty address object prevents validation from passing, as it appears in formData even when all fields are cleared. I’m looking for a way to remove the address object entirely if all its required fields are empty so that validation will pass.

Playground link with the example schema above.

Problem 2: Unnecessary Empty Object in Nested Schema

In another schema, I have a nested structure where I define a fields array that can contain items of various types (in this case, "string" or "list" types). Here’s the schema:

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "title": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "fields": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "$ref": "#/definitions/FormField"
      }
    }
  },
  "definitions": {
    "FormField": {
      "anyOf": [
        {
          "$ref": "#/definitions/StringField"
        },
        {
          "$ref": "#/definitions/ListField"
        }
      ]
    },
    "StringField": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "name": { "type": "string" },
        "label": { "type": "string" },
        "type": {
          "type": "string",
          "const": "string",
          "default": "string",
          "readOnly": true
        }
      },
      "required": ["label", "name", "type"],
      "title": "string"
    },
    "ListField": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "name": { "type": "string" },
        "label": { "type": "string" },
        "dependsOn": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": { "ref": { "type": "string" } }
        },
        "type": {
          "type": "string",
          "const": "list",
          "default": "list",
          "readOnly": true
        }
      },
      "required": ["label", "name", "type"],
      "title": "list"
    }
  }
}

Here si the playground link with this second example.

When I add a field of type "list", the output includes dependsOn as an empty object by default:
Received output:

{
  "fields": [
    {
      "type": "list",
      "dependsOn": {}
    }
  ]
}

Expected output:

{
  "fields": [
    {
      "type": "list"
    }
  ]
}

I would like dependsOn to only appear in the output if it has properties set. Is there a way to prevent dependsOn from being included as an empty object?

Thank you in advance for any insights on these two issues!