Validation

---
name: instrument-data-allotrope-validation
description: 'Sub-skill of instrument-data-allotrope: Validation.'
version: 1.0.0
category: science
type: reference
scripts_exempt: true
---

# Validation

## Validation


Always validate ASM output before delivering to the user:

```bash
python scripts/validate_asm.py output.json
python scripts/validate_asm.py output.json --reference known_good.json  # Compare to reference
python scripts/validate_asm.py output.json --strict  # Treat warnings as errors
```

**Validation Rules:**
- Based on Allotrope ASM specification (December 2024)
- Last updated: 2026-01-07
- Source: https://gitlab.com/allotrope-public/asm

**Soft Validation Approach:**
Unknown techniques, units, or sample roles generate **warnings** (not errors) to allow for forward compatibility. If Allotrope adds new values after December 2024, the validator won't block them--it will flag them for manual verification. Use `--strict` mode to treat warnings as errors if you need stricter validation.

**What it checks:**
- Correct technique selection (e.g., multi-analyte profiling vs plate reader)
- Field naming conventions (space-separated, not hyphenated)
- Calculated data has traceability (`data-source-aggregate-document`)
- Unique identifiers exist for measurements and calculated values
- Required metadata present
- Valid units and sample roles (with soft validation for unknown values)