Content Model Guide - Schema Design Patterns

Overview

This guide covers best practices for designing content schemas in Astro using Content Collections. Well-designed schemas ensure type safety, content consistency, and excellent developer experience.

Core Principles

1. Type Safety First: Leverage Zod for runtime validation
2. Future-Proof: Design for content evolution
3. DRY: Reuse schema components
4. Validation: Catch errors at build time
5. Flexibility: Support various content needs

Schema Design Patterns

1. Base Schema Pattern

Create reusable base schemas for common fields:

src/content/config.ts

import { z, defineCollection } from 'astro:content';

// Reusable schema components
const seoSchema = z.object({
  metaTitle: z.string().max(60).optional(),
  metaDescription: z.string().max(160).optional(),
  ogImage: z.string().optional(),
  noindex: z.boolean().default(false),
});

const authorSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string(),
  email: z.string().email().optional(),
  avatar: z.string().optional(),
  bio: z.string().optional(),
  social: z.object({
    twitter: z.string().optional(),
    github: z.string().optional(),
    linkedin: z.string().optional(),
  }).optional(),
});

const