Write rules

Use semantic() to tell EDcheck what a “good value” means.

A rule is a sentence that describes what you want. It is not validation code. It is an instruction for the AI.

The short form (yes or no)

If you pass a string, EDcheck asks a yes/no question. This is called a Noul rule.

fullName: semantic("A plausible full name for a real person")

That is enough to start. Write in your users’ language. Be concrete.

The full form

If you want more control, pass an object.

bio: semantic({  intent: "A meaningful professional biography",  valid: "Describes the person's work or background",  invalid: "Meaningless text or something clearly unrelated",  severity: "warning",  message: "The bio is unclear or does not talk about the person",  id: "bio_quality",})

Field	What it is for
`intent`	The question. Required.
`valid`	An example of “this is good”. It helps the AI.
`invalid`	An example of “this is bad”.
`severity`	`error` (flips `success`), `warning`, or `info`. Default is `error`.
`message`	The text your app will see on the issue. If you skip it, EDcheck uses a generic one.
`id`	A stable name for this rule. If you skip it, the field path is used (`fullName`).

When it is not just yes or no

Sometimes you want a scale: bad, okay, good. Then use kind: "score" and a list of levels.

description: semantic({  kind: "score",  intent: "How well does the description explain the software project?",  levels: [    {      label: "meaningless",      description: "Random, spam-like, or unrelated text",      outcome: "fail",    },    {      label: "vague",      description: "On topic, but too vague to act on",      outcome: "warning",    },    {      label: "clear",      description: "You can tell what to build or which problem it solves",      outcome: "pass",    },  ],})

The winning level is the one with the highest probability. If there is a tie, the first one in the list wins.

If the AI is not sure enough (minConfidence, default 0.6), the outcome becomes warning even if the winning level was a pass or a fail.

Use Noul (yes/no) for “is this a name?”. Use Score when the degree matters: vague vs clear.

Where the rules go

In define, each key in rules is a field name from the schema. That field must exist on the Zod object.

const UserSemantic = edcheck.define(User, {  rules: {    fullName: semantic("A plausible full name for a real person"),    bio: semantic("A coherent professional biography"),  },});

You do not need a rule on every field. Zod already owns the shape. EDcheck only steps in where meaning matters.