zod-4

Schema validation in TypeScript enforces strict input shapes using type-safe validators. Zod 4 provides primitives like z.string and z.email, complex objects with z.object, and error handling via safeParse to catch validation failures before they propagate through your application.

Yes. Zod 4 validates both API payloads and form data by defining schemas for expected shapes, then parsing incoming data with parse or safeParse. It integrates with form libraries like React Hook Form and returns detailed error reports for each field.

Zod 4's z.union and z.discriminatedUnion allow schemas to accept multiple valid shapes. Discriminated unions use a shared field to efficiently route data to the correct schema, useful for polymorphic APIs and event-driven systems.

Parse throws an exception on validation failure; safeParse returns a result object with success status and either parsed data or detailed errors. SafeParse is safer for production code because it avoids try-catch blocks and provides structured error information.

Yes. Zod 4's z.transform applies custom functions to reshape data, z.coerce converts types, and z.refine or z.superRefine add custom validation rules. This lets you normalize input, enforce business logic, and generate precise error messages in one step.

Basic TypeScript familiarity helps, but Zod 4 infers types automatically from schemas, so you write validation once and get type safety for free. Beginners can start with simple primitives and progress to unions and transformations.