Options

Options hold settings for filtering, validation, export behavior, and code generation.

Category	Description
Filtering Options	Give each run of a subcommand (enum, export, struct) its own view of the input data	View
Validation Options	Verify field values against configured constraints during data export to prevent invalid data	View
Other Options	Cover options outside the filtering and validation groups	View

Where Options Are Defined

Options can be defined in:

• Spreadsheets:
  • Regular Table: Options row(s)
  • Property Sheet: Options column(s)
• Tree-structured data: Meta Nodes (field options)

In Spreadsheets

Syntax

Each option follows the form:

name=value

The equals sign (=) separates the name from the value.

Option names are case-insensitive.

Table

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Desc	Player name	Level
Name	name	level
Type	string	int
Options	maxLen=20	interval=[1,100]
1	Alice	10
2	Bob	55

If a value contains && or other delimiter characters, it must be quoted:

regexp=`^\d+&&\w+$`
whitelist="abc,xyz",foo,bar

Specifying Multiple Options

There are two ways to specify multiple options for a field:

1. Single cell: Separate options with &&. Line breaks between options are allowed for readability but do not act as delimiters.
2. Additional cells: Add more Options rows (regular table) or Options columns (property sheet). Each cell holds only one option.

Single cell

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Desc	Player name	Score
Name	name	score
Type	string	int
Options	minLen=2 && maxLen=20	interval=[0,9999] && nonzero && tags=demo
1	Alice	100
2	Bob	250

Multiple rows

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Desc	Player name	Score
Name	name	score
Type	string	int
Options	minLen=2	interval=[0,9999]
Options	maxLen=20	nonzero
Options		tags=demo
1	Alice	100
2	Bob	250

Dedicated Option

When an option applies to many fields, entering the full name=value pair in every cell is tedious. A dedicated option solves this — in regular tables, label a superheader row as $>xyz, where xyz is the option name, and each cell in that row requires only the option value.

In property sheets, the same mechanism applies but uses columns instead of rows.

Table

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Desc	Name	HP	Server note	Title
Name	name	hp	serverNote	title
Type	string	int	string	string
Options		interval=[0,100)
$>xflags	c,s	c,s	s
1	Warrior	500	tank	Guardian
2	Mage	300	dps	Arcane Architect

Target Modifier

A target modifier is a prefix on the option name. It selects the type-hierarchy layer the option applies to.

Modifier	Target Layer
(none)	Auto-resolved (see below)
!!	Basic Type
>>	Compact Type
~~	Multi-Column Type
**	Subtable Type

Auto-resolved (no modifier): Archmage determines which layers — Basic Type, Compact Type, or Multi-Column Type — are compatible with the option. If exactly one match is found, the option applies there. If multiple layers match, Archmage asks you to add a modifier to specify the intended layer. Auto-resolution does not reach the Subtable Type layer — use ** to target it explicitly (e.g., **minLen=3).

A layer is targetable only if it contains exactly one candidate. For example, a compact tuple’s sub-fields all belong to the Basic Type layer and therefore constitute multiple candidates. Even with !!, an option cannot be applied to those sub-fields.

Note

>> and ** also serve as type name prefixes (>>tuple, **[]). The shared symbols aid recall, though their interpretation depends on where they’re used.

Table

Copy Table to ClipboardCopy Table (Spread Merged Cells)

Desc	Categories	Rewards	Skills
Name	categories	rewards	skills
Type	>>[]string	>>[]string	[]string
Options	!!minLen=1	>>maxLen=5	~~maxLen=3
1	epic	sword|shield|bow	slash	thrust	guard
2	common|daily	potion	bash

Multi-Column Types

Each column of a multi-column type may carry identical or different options. Archmage collects them from all columns, deduplicates, and applies each option to its target.

For minmax, vector, tuple, and bitflags, their child-level options are the exception — Archmage resolves them per column instead. For example, the min and max columns of a minmax type can have different validation options.

Table

Copy Table to ClipboardCopy Table (Spread Merged Cells)

Desc	Level range
Name	lvlRange
Type	minmax|int
Options	interval=[1,20]	interval=[50,100]
1	5	50
2	10	70

In Tree-Structured Data

Options appear as the options {...} field inside a Meta Node. Keys define option names; values define their settings, written in the format’s natural key-value syntax.

YAML

demo: 1357-88-99
demo__meta__:
  type: string
  options:
    regexp: \d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}
    tags: demo

JSON

{
  "demo": "1357-88-99",
  "demo__meta__": {
    "type": "string",
    "options": {
      "regexp": "\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}",
      "tags": "demo"
    }
  }
}

Target modifiers (!!, >>, ~~, **) are not supported here. Each meta node binds to a specific data node, so there is no type-hierarchy ambiguity to resolve.