fix: migrate resourceLocator validation to schema-driven approach (#304, #306)

- Replace hardcoded ['list', 'id', 'url'] modes with schema-based validation
- Read allowed modes from prop.typeOptions.resourceLocator.modes
- Support both object and array mode definition formats
- Add Google Sheets range/columns flexibility for v4+ nodes
- Implement Set node JSON structure validation
- Update tests to verify schema-based validation

Fixes #304 (Google Sheets "name" mode false positive)
Fixes #306 (Set node validation gaps)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/services/config-validator.ts

@@ -268,16 +268,36 @@ export class ConfigValidator {
               type: 'invalid_type',
               property: `${key}.mode`,
               message: `resourceLocator '${key}.mode' must be a string, got ${typeof value.mode}`,
-              fix: `Set mode to "list" or "id"`
-            });
-          } else if (!['list', 'id', 'url'].includes(value.mode)) {
-            errors.push({
-              type: 'invalid_value',
-              property: `${key}.mode`,
-              message: `resourceLocator '${key}.mode' must be 'list', 'id', or 'url', got '${value.mode}'`,
-              fix: `Change mode to "list", "id", or "url"`
+              fix: `Set mode to a valid string value`
             });
+          } else if (prop.typeOptions?.resourceLocator?.modes) {
+            // Schema-based validation: Check if mode exists in the modes definition
+            // Modes can be defined in different ways:
+            // 1. Object with mode keys: { list: {...}, id: {...}, url: {...}, name: {...} }
+            // 2. Array of mode objects: [{name: 'list', ...}, {name: 'id', ...}]
+            const modes = prop.typeOptions.resourceLocator.modes;
+            let allowedModes: string[] = [];
+
+            if (typeof modes === 'object' && !Array.isArray(modes)) {
+              // Extract keys from modes object
+              allowedModes = Object.keys(modes);
+            } else if (Array.isArray(modes)) {
+              // Extract name property from array of mode objects
+              allowedModes = modes.map(m => typeof m === 'string' ? m : m.name).filter(Boolean);
+            }
+
+            // Only validate if we found allowed modes
+            if (allowedModes.length > 0 && !allowedModes.includes(value.mode)) {
+              errors.push({
+                type: 'invalid_value',
+                property: `${key}.mode`,
+                message: `resourceLocator '${key}.mode' must be one of [${allowedModes.join(', ')}], got '${value.mode}'`,
+                fix: `Change mode to one of: ${allowedModes.join(', ')}`
+              });
+            }
           }
+          // If no typeOptions.resourceLocator.modes defined, skip mode validation
+          // This prevents false positives for nodes with dynamic/runtime-determined modes
 
           if (value.value === undefined) {
             errors.push({

src/services/enhanced-config-validator.ts

@@ -318,7 +318,11 @@ export class EnhancedConfigValidator extends ConfigValidator {
       case 'nodes-base.mysql':
         NodeSpecificValidators.validateMySQL(context);
         break;
-        
+
+      case 'nodes-base.set':
+        NodeSpecificValidators.validateSet(context);
+        break;
+
       case 'nodes-base.switch':
         this.validateSwitchNodeStructure(config, result);
         break;

src/services/node-specific-validators.ts

@@ -269,13 +269,15 @@ export class NodeSpecificValidators {
   
   private static validateGoogleSheetsAppend(context: NodeValidationContext): void {
     const { config, errors, warnings, autofix } = context;
-    
-    if (!config.range) {
+
+    // In Google Sheets v4+, range is only required if NOT using the columns resourceMapper
+    // The columns parameter is a resourceMapper introduced in v4 that handles range automatically
+    if (!config.range && !config.columns) {
       errors.push({
         type: 'missing_required',
         property: 'range',
-        message: 'Range is required for append operation',
-        fix: 'Specify range like "Sheet1!A:B" or "Sheet1!A1:B10"'
+        message: 'Range or columns mapping is required for append operation',
+        fix: 'Specify range like "Sheet1!A:B" OR use columns with mappingMode'
       });
     }
     
@@ -1556,4 +1558,59 @@ export class NodeSpecificValidators {
       });
     }
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Validate Set node configuration
+   */
+  static validateSet(context: NodeValidationContext): void {
+    const { config, errors, warnings } = context;
+
+    // Validate jsonOutput when present (used in JSON mode or when directly setting JSON)
+    if (config.jsonOutput !== undefined && config.jsonOutput !== null && config.jsonOutput !== '') {
+      try {
+        const parsed = JSON.parse(config.jsonOutput);
+
+        // Set node with JSON input expects an OBJECT {}, not an ARRAY []
+        // This is a common mistake that n8n UI catches but our validator should too
+        if (Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+          errors.push({
+            type: 'invalid_value',
+            property: 'jsonOutput',
+            message: 'Set node expects a JSON object {}, not an array []',
+            fix: 'Either wrap array items as object properties: {"items": [...]}, OR use a different approach for multiple items'
+          });
+        }
+
+        // Warn about empty objects
+        if (typeof parsed === 'object' && !Array.isArray(parsed) && Object.keys(parsed).length === 0) {
+          warnings.push({
+            type: 'inefficient',
+            property: 'jsonOutput',
+            message: 'jsonOutput is an empty object - this node will output no data',
+            suggestion: 'Add properties to the object or remove this node if not needed'
+          });
+        }
+      } catch (e) {
+        errors.push({
+          type: 'syntax_error',
+          property: 'jsonOutput',
+          message: `Invalid JSON in jsonOutput: ${e instanceof Error ? e.message : 'Syntax error'}`,
+          fix: 'Ensure jsonOutput contains valid JSON syntax'
+        });
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Validate mode-specific requirements
+    if (config.mode === 'manual') {
+      // In manual mode, at least one field should be defined
+      const hasFields = config.values && Object.keys(config.values).length > 0;
+      if (!hasFields && !config.jsonOutput) {
+        warnings.push({
+          type: 'missing_common',
+          message: 'Set node has no fields configured - will output empty items',
+          suggestion: 'Add fields in the Values section or use JSON mode'
+        });
+      }
+    }
+  }
 }

tests/unit/services/config-validator-basic.test.ts

@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ describe('ConfigValidator - Basic Validation', () => {
       expect(result.errors[0].fix).toContain('{ mode: "id", value: "gpt-4o-mini" }');
     });
 
-    it('should reject invalid mode values', () => {
+    it('should reject invalid mode values when schema defines allowed modes', () => {
       const nodeType = '@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi';
       const config = {
         model: {
@@ -690,7 +690,16 @@ describe('ConfigValidator - Basic Validation', () => {
         {
           name: 'model',
           type: 'resourceLocator',
-          required: true
+          required: true,
+          typeOptions: {
+            resourceLocator: {
+              modes: {
+                list: { displayName: 'List' },
+                id: { displayName: 'ID' },
+                url: { displayName: 'URL' }
+              }
+            }
+          }
         }
       ];
 
@@ -700,7 +709,7 @@ describe('ConfigValidator - Basic Validation', () => {
       expect(result.errors.some(e =>
         e.property === 'model.mode' &&
         e.type === 'invalid_value' &&
-        e.message.includes("must be 'list', 'id', or 'url'")
+        e.message.includes('must be one of [list, id, url]')
       )).toBe(true);
     });