OpenAI JSON Schema Validation

Master structured outputs and function calling with OpenAI's JSON Schema support. Achieve 100% schema compliance for production AI applications.

100% Compliance

OpenAI's strict mode ensures outputs always match your schema

Type Safety

Eliminate parsing errors with validated JSON structures

Function Calling

Build reliable AI agents with schema-validated tool use

OpenAI Schema Implementation

1. Structured Output Mode

from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI()

# Define your JSON Schema
response_schema = {
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "summary": {"type": "string"},
    "sentiment": {
      "type": "string", 
      "enum": ["positive", "neutral", "negative"]
    },
    "key_points": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {"type": "string"}
    }
  },
  "required": ["summary", "sentiment", "key_points"]
}

# Use with structured output
response = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
  messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Analyze this text..."}],
  response_format={
    "type": "json_schema",
    "json_schema": {
      "name": "text_analysis",
      "strict": True,  # Ensures 100% compliance
      "schema": response_schema
    }
  }
)

2. Function Calling with Schema

# Define function schema
functions = [{
  "name": "get_weather",
  "description": "Get weather for a location",
  "parameters": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "location": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "City and state"
      },
      "unit": {
        "type": "string",
        "enum": ["celsius", "fahrenheit"]
      }
    },
    "required": ["location"]
  }
}]

# Call with function
response = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="gpt-4",
  messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in NYC?"}],
  functions=functions,
  function_call="auto"
)

# Response will include validated function call:
# {
#   "name": "get_weather",
#   "arguments": {"location": "New York, NY", "unit": "fahrenheit"}
# }

3. Best Practices

Use Strict Mode

Set strict: true to guarantee schema compliance

Include Descriptions

Add descriptions to properties for better AI understanding

Add Reasoning Fields

Include a "reasoning" field to improve accuracy by 40%

Validate Responses

Always validate API responses against your schema

Common OpenAI Schemas

Content Generation

For blog posts, articles, and creative content

Use Template →

Data Extraction

Extract structured data from unstructured text

Use Template →

Function Calling

Build AI agents with tool use capabilities

Use Template →

RAG Systems

Retrieval-augmented generation with citations

Use Template →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is OpenAI's structured output mode?

Structured output mode ensures that OpenAI models generate JSON that exactly matches your provided schema. When you set strict: true, the model guarantees 100% compliance with your schema definition.

Which OpenAI models support JSON Schema?

GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-3.5 Turbo all support JSON mode and structured outputs. GPT-4 Turbo (gpt-4-turbo-preview) offers the best schema compliance with strict mode.

How do I handle schema validation errors?

With strict mode enabled, OpenAI will retry generation if the output doesn't match the schema. For additional safety, always validate responses client-side using libraries like Ajv or Zod.

What's the difference between JSON mode and structured outputs?

JSON mode only guarantees valid JSON syntax. Structured outputs with schemas ensure the JSON matches your exact structure, including required fields, types, and constraints.

Start Validating OpenAI Outputs

Use our free validator to test your schemas with OpenAI-specific templates and examples

Open JSON Schema Validator