DataContractGate

Official registry Cloud and DevOps

Infer, dry-run, deploy, and inspect DataContractGate semantic data contracts.

What can you do with DataContractGate?

  • Semantic YAML Contracts — entities, types, patterns, enums, required fields, glossary, and computed metrics
  • Real-time Validation — at ingestion (Kafka, HTTP, batch) with sub-millisecond per-event validation
  • Visual Contract Builder — intuitive UI + live YAML preview (Cloud)
  • AI-Powered Inference — paste sample JSON → instantly generates a full contract (Cloud)
  • Quarantine + Replay — automatically hold and replay violating events (Cloud)
  • Versioned Contracts — draft → stable → deprecated with compliance mode (Cloud)
  • High Performance — Rust + Axum core, 86k+ events/sec/core
  • Polyglot — Rust engine, Python SDK, CLI, Kafka Connect, Zapier, Next.js dashboard

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

NPM package @nightmoose/contractgate-mcp-server
Claude Code
claude mcp add datacontractgate -e 'CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY=<your contractgate_api_key>' -e 'CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL=<CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL>' -- npx -y @nightmoose/contractgate-mcp-server@0.4.0
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code)
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "datacontractgate": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@nightmoose/contractgate-mcp-server@0.4.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY": "<your contractgate_api_key>",
                "CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL": "<CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY required secret DataContractGate API key (cg_live_...). Create one at https://app.datacontractgate.com/account
  • CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL Gateway base URL. Defaults to https://api.datacontractgate.com

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. DataContractGate
  2. Using Claude, Cursor, or Codex? Paste this
  3. Try it in 10 minutes (Self-Hosted Free)
  4. Real login (self-host)
  5. Key Features
  6. Self-Hosted Free vs Cloud
  7. Other Quickstarts
  8. Architecture
  9. Comparison
  10. Contributing
  11. License

DataContractGate

Semantic Contract Enforcement at Ingestion — Patent Pending

Stop bad data before it reaches your warehouse, lakehouse, or ML pipeline.

DataContractGate is a high-performance validation gateway that enforces rich semantic data contracts in real time. Built in Rust for sub-millisecond per-event validation (86k+ events/sec/core), it goes far beyond JSON Schema or basic type checks — ontology, glossary, patterns, enums, computed metrics, and automatic inference.

The same contract can gate what leaves your system. POST /egress/{contract_id} runs the identical engine on any outbound payload — a reverse-ETL row, a notebook export, a state object headed to a decision model. Failing records are blocked, declared PII is masked, and the caller forwards only the returned payload. See docs/egress-validation-reference.md.

Validating LLM output? The same engine powers AISchemaGate (pip install aischemagate / npm install @nightmoose/aischemagate). One-line wrapper over OpenAI / Anthropic / vLLM / Ollama responses — extracts the structured JSON, validates against your contract, optionally re-prompts on violation. Non-streaming only in v1. See docs/llm-output-validation.md, docs/llm-sdk-reference.md, and the copy-paste guides in docs/integrations/ (Vercel AI SDK, structured outputs, LangGraph). Ingest recipes: examples/recipes/.

Live demo → app.datacontractgate.com/stream-demo


Using Claude, Cursor, or Codex? Paste this

https://app.datacontractgate.com/llm-integration.md
https://github.com/nightmoose/contractgate

implement this in my repo

Your agent reads the integration playbook (source), finds your event shape, infers a contract from real samples, deploys it, wires your producer to /v1/ingest, and verifies with a dry run before anything is written. Machine index: /llms.txt.

MCP (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Copilot, Codex):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contractgate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@nightmoose/contractgate-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY": "${CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools and auth: docs/mcp-reference.md.

Claude Code / Cursor plugin:

/plugin marketplace add nightmoose/contractgate
/plugin install contractgate@contractgate

Redpanda Connect (HTTP processor, no custom plugin): docs/examples/redpanda-connect/.

Zapier — validate the record a Zap just pulled, before the next step writes it. A failure is quarantined and the Zap stops. A pass continues with the payload DataContractGate returned. Setup and the zapier-platform push commands: docs/zapier.md. Source: zapier/.


Try it in 10 minutes (Self-Hosted Free)

No Supabase account. No API keys. No sign-up.

git clone https://github.com/nightmoose/contractgate.git
cd contractgate
make demo

Opens at **http://localhost:3000** — dashboard pre-loaded with three starter contracts and a live event stream. First build ~3 min, subsequent runs instant (Docker layer cache).

make demo-reset   # wipe + reseed (clean slate)
make demo-down    # stop and remove volumes
make demo-logs    # follow all service logs

Self-Hosted Free (make demo) runs the real gateway binary with auth off. Unlimited local events, full YAML editor, playground, audit log. Feature comparison below ↓

Real login (self-host)

Auth on, dashboard sign-up, and every paid feature unlocked. From a fresh clone:

git clone https://github.com/nightmoose/contractgate.git
cd contractgate
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.selfhost.yml up --build

Sign up at http://localhost:3000/auth/signup, then sign in at http://localhost:3000/auth/login. Mail is not configured; confirmation is automatic. Do not combine this with --profile demo. First boot generates keys and binds ports to 127.0.0.1. Exact steps: docs/self-host-reference.md.

The comparison table below is the zero-auth demo. With CONTRACTGATE_SELF_HOSTED=true the stored plan stays free and paid gates open.


Key Features

  • Semantic YAML Contracts — entities, types, patterns, enums, required fields, glossary, and computed metrics
  • Real-time Validation — at ingestion (Kafka, HTTP, batch) with sub-millisecond per-event validation
  • Visual Contract Builder — intuitive UI + live YAML preview (Cloud)
  • AI-Powered Inference — paste sample JSON → instantly generates a full contract (Cloud)
  • Quarantine + Replay — automatically hold and replay violating events (Cloud)
  • Versioned Contracts — draft → stable → deprecated with compliance mode (Cloud)
  • High Performance — Rust + Axum core, 86k+ events/sec/core
  • Polyglot — Rust engine, Python SDK, CLI, Kafka Connect, Zapier, Next.js dashboard

Self-Hosted Free vs Cloud

CapabilitySelf-Hosted FreeCloud (Free / Pro / Enterprise)
Validation engine✅ Unlimited (local)✅ 100K / 25M / Unlimited events/month
Starter contracts✅ 3✅ 3 / Unlimited / Unlimited
Playground✅✅
Audit log✅ Local Postgres✅ 7 / 90 / Custom days retention
Live event stream✅✅
Auth & API keys❌✅
Multi-tenancy❌ Single org✅
Visual contract builder❌✅ Growth+
AI inference (JSON → YAML)❌✅ Growth+
Quarantine + replay❌✅ Growth+
PII transform rules❌✅ Growth+
Semantic versioning UI❌✅ Growth+
GitHub sync❌✅ Growth+
Team invites & roles❌✅ Growth+
SSO / SAML❌✅ Enterprise
Managed hosting + SLA❌ Self-hosted✅

→ Full pricing → Talk to sales


Other Quickstarts

Docker (gateway + Postgres only):

docker compose up

Python SDK:

pip install contractgate
from contractgate import Client
client = Client(api_url="http://localhost:8080", api_key="cg_demo_key")
client.validate(contract_id="...", event={"user_id": "u1", "event_type": "click"})

CLI:

cargo install --git https://github.com/nightmoose/contractgate contractgate
contractgate validate --contract examples/nested-order.yaml events.json

GitHub Action (compile every YAML under contracts/ on PRs):

- uses: nightmoose/contractgate/actions/validate@main
  with:
    path: contracts

pre-commit (same compile, no network):

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/nightmoose/contractgate
    rev: main   # pin to a git sha
    hooks:
      - id: contractgate-validate

Architecture

LayerTech
Validation engineRust + Axum (sub-millisecond per-event, see note)
DashboardNext.js 15 + TypeScript + Tailwind
StorageSupabase (Postgres + Auth)
ConnectorsKafka Connect, HTTP, batch, Python SDK, CLI
ObservabilityPrometheus + Grafana

Full RFCs and design docs live in docs/rfcs/. For a quick shipped-vs-draft view, see docs/STATUS.md.


Comparison

FeatureDataContractGateGreat ExpectationsSodaMonte Carlodbt
Validation timingAt ingestionPost-hoc / batchMix (mostly batch)ObservabilityDuring dbt runs
PerformanceSub-ms per-event, 86k+ ev/s (Rust, see note)Python-basedVariesNot a validatorNot real-time
Semantic depthOntology + glossary + metricsBasic expectationsChecks + rulesNo contractsBasic schema
Visual builderYes + live YAMLPartialLimitedNoYAML only
Inference from sample dataOne-click JSON → YAMLProfiler (basic)LimitedNoNo
Quarantine + replayBuilt-inNoNoNoNo
VersioningDraft → stable → deprecatedManualBasicNoBasic
Self-hosted OSSYes (make demo)YesOpen coreCommercialYes
LicenseMITApache 2.0Open coreCommercialApache 2.0

Contributing

PRs welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md and the reference docs in docs/.

Active RFCs: docs/rfcs/ · RFC status index: docs/STATUS.md


License

MIT — see LICENSE. Free to use, fork, and build on top (commercial use welcome).

The semantic contract enforcement algorithm is the subject of a pending patent. The patent covers the invention — your right to use, modify, and distribute the code under the MIT license is unaffected. See NOTICE for details.


Built with ❤️ in Florida by NightMoose

Frequently asked questions

What is DataContractGate?

Infer, dry-run, deploy, and inspect DataContractGate semantic data contracts.

How do I install DataContractGate?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add datacontractgate -e 'CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY=<your contractgate_api_key>' -e 'CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL=<CONTRACTGATE_BASE_URL>' -- npx -y @nightmoose/contractgate-mcp-server@0.4.0. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does DataContractGate need an API key?

Yes. It expects CONTRACTGATE_API_KEY, which you set in its configuration.

Is DataContractGate open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.

Who maintains DataContractGate?

It is published by nightmoose. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.