# The `allOf` keyword
Source: https://speakeasy.com/docs/sdks/customize/data-model/allof-schemas

import { Callout } from "@/mdx/components";



The OpenAPI `allOf` keyword enables schema composition by merging multiple schema definitions into a single schema. Speakeasy provides two strategies for handling `allOf` merging: shallow merge and deep merge.

## Merge strategies

The `schemas.allOfMergeStrategy` configuration option in `gen.yaml` controls how Speakeasy merges `allOf` schemas. This setting is located under the `generation` section of the configuration file.

```yaml
generation:
  schemas:
    allOfMergeStrategy: deepMerge # or shallowMerge
```

### Available strategies

**`deepMerge` (default for new SDKs)**: Recursively merges nested properties within objects, preserving properties from all schemas in the `allOf` array.

**`shallowMerge` (legacy behavior)**: Replaces entire property blocks when merging, which can result in lost properties from earlier schemas.

<Callout title="Default behavior" type="info">
New SDKs default to `deepMerge`. Existing SDKs continue to use `shallowMerge` unless explicitly changed. Switching from `shallowMerge` to `deepMerge` may be a breaking change for existing SDKs.
</Callout>

## Deep merge behavior

With `deepMerge` enabled, nested properties are recursively combined rather than replaced. This is particularly useful when extending base schemas with additional nested properties.

Consider this OpenAPI definition:

```yaml
components:
  schemas:
    Base:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
        metadata:
          type: object
          properties:
            createdAt:
              type: string
            updatedAt:
              type: string
    Extended:
      allOf:
        - $ref: '#/components/schemas/Base'
        - type: object
          properties:
            name:
              type: string
            metadata:
              type: object
              properties:
                deletedAt:
                  type: string
```

With `deepMerge`, the resulting merged schema preserves all metadata properties:

```yaml
components:
  schemas:
    Extended:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
        metadata:
          type: object
          properties:
            createdAt:
              type: string
            updatedAt:
              type: string
            deletedAt:
              type: string
        name:
          type: string
```

The `metadata` object includes all three timestamp properties: `createdAt`, `updatedAt`, and `deletedAt`.

## Shallow merge behavior

With `shallowMerge`, entire property blocks are replaced during merging. When the same property name appears in multiple schemas, only the last occurrence is retained.

Using the same example from above with `shallowMerge`:

```yaml
components:
  schemas:
    Extended:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
        metadata:
          type: object
          properties:
            deletedAt:
              type: string
        name:
          type: string
```

The `metadata` properties `createdAt` and `updatedAt` from the `Base` schema are lost because the entire `metadata` properties block was replaced by the one in the `Extended` schema.

## Configuration

To configure the merge strategy, add the `schemas.allOfMergeStrategy` option to the `generation` section of the `gen.yaml` file:

```yaml
generation:
  schemas:
    allOfMergeStrategy: deepMerge
```

### Switching strategies

Changing from `shallowMerge` to `deepMerge` may affect the generated SDK's type definitions and could be a breaking change. Review the impact on existing generated code before making this change in production SDKs.

To explicitly use the legacy behavior:

```yaml
generation:
  schemas:
    allOfMergeStrategy: shallowMerge
```

## Use cases

### Deep merge use cases

Deep merge is beneficial when:

- Extending base schemas with additional nested properties
- Combining request and response schemas with shared metadata objects
- Working with APIs that use `allOf` to compose complex nested structures
- Maintaining all properties across schema inheritance hierarchies

### Shallow merge use cases

Shallow merge may be appropriate when:

- Maintaining backward compatibility with existing SDKs
- Intentionally replacing entire nested objects from base schemas
- Working with simple schema compositions without nested property conflicts

## Advanced example

This pattern is common in APIs that separate shared components from operation-specific requirements and examples:

```yaml
paths:
  /clusters:
    post:
      operationId: createCluster
      requestBody:
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              allOf:
                - $ref: '#/components/schemas/Cluster'
                - type: object
                  required:
                    - spec
                  properties:
                    spec:
                      type: object
                      required:
                        - displayName
                        - availability
                - type: object
                  properties:
                    spec:
                      type: object
                      properties:
                        environment:
                          example: { id: 'env-00000' }
                        network:
                          example: { id: 'n-00000' }
```

With `deepMerge`, the final `spec` object combines the required fields from the second schema with the examples from the third schema, while preserving all properties from the referenced `Cluster` component.

With `shallowMerge`, the `spec` properties from the second schema would be lost entirely, replaced by only the example properties from the third schema.