peppol-validation

Validate Peppol BIS 3.0 e-business documents (the UBL formats used for trade across DK and the EU) and tell whether a file is the current standard or an outdated schema. The bundled PowerShell script

SKILL.md

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Peppol BIS 3.0 Validation

Validates Peppol BIS 3.0 documents and reports OK or the exact errors, and tells you whether a file is the current standard or an outdated schema. The bundled script scripts/Invoke-PeppolValidation.ps1 does the work end-to-end (identify → pick ruleset → validate → report); you (the agent) interpret the result and guide next steps. Read REFERENCE.md for the document-type/VESID map, gotchas, and verification.

SCRIPT = this skill's scripts/Invoke-PeppolValidation.ps1.

What it does

For every XML file (single file, folder, or wildcard) it:

  1. Auto-identifies the document from its root element + cbc:CustomizationID.
  2. Tells you if it's the standard — maps to a Peppol BIS 3.0 ruleset, or flags it NOT a recognized Peppol BIS 3.0 document (e.g. an old CENBII/peppol28a order, OIOUBL, or UN/CEFACT CII).
  3. Validates against the full official stack (UBL 2.1 XSD + Peppol Schematron) via the OpenPeppol/Helger validation web service.
  4. Reports OK or each error with its Peppol rule ID and the offending element path.

How to run

Run with pwsh (PowerShell 7) or Windows PowerShell 5.1.

# One document
pwsh -File SCRIPT invoice.xml

# A whole folder (all *.xml) or a wildcard, keeping the raw validation reports
pwsh -File SCRIPT C:\Peppol\Out -ReportFolder C:\Peppol\Reports

# Pipeline + a self-hosted validator (no data leaves the network, no rate limit).
# Pipe INSIDE a PowerShell session (dot/relative call) — not `| pwsh -File`, which would
# send objects to stdin instead of the -Path pipeline parameter.
Get-ChildItem C:\Peppol\Out\*.xml | & SCRIPT -Endpoint http://phive:8080/wsdvs

For several explicit files at once, use a wildcard/folder or an array call (& SCRIPT a.xml, b.xml); pwsh -File SCRIPT a.xml b.xml binds only the first.

Parameter Purpose
-Path (pos. 0, pipeline) File, folder (all *.xml), or wildcard. Required.
-Endpoint Validation web service. Default = public OpenPeppol/Helger. Point at a self-hosted phive-ws for production/PII/batch.
-VesId Force a specific VESID, skipping auto-detection (e.g. to validate against a deprecated ruleset).
-ReportFolder Write the raw validation response (<file>.validation.xml) per document.
-ConfigPath Explicit config.json path. If omitted: ~/.peppol-validation/config.json, then a skill-folder config.json, else the Helger default.

Self-hosted validator (config.json)

By default the public OpenPeppol/Helger service is used — you only get a local validator if you explicitly ask for one via config.json. To validate against a local phive-ws instead (no data leaves the network, no rate limit), copy config.example.json → config.json in the skill folder and set the endpoint (rename _endpoint → endpoint):

{ "endpoint": "http://localhost:8080/wsdvs" }

A config.json without an endpoint key still uses Helger — so copying the example verbatim changes nothing until you deliberately set it.

Guided setup (like the 7pace skill's auth step): the installer offers to run scripts/Set-PeppolConfig.ps1, or run it yourself:

pwsh -File scripts/Set-PeppolConfig.ps1            # Enter = keep public Helger; or type a URL
pwsh -File scripts/Set-PeppolConfig.ps1 -Endpoint http://localhost:8080/wsdvs   # non-interactive

It writes ~/.peppol-validation/config.json (machine-local, never committed), which the validator auto-discovers ahead of any skill-folder config.json. Pressing Enter writes nothing and keeps the public Helger default — the install never silently switches you to localhost.

The script auto-loads config.json from the skill folder (or -ConfigPath). You can also pin ruleset versions there via vesByArtifact (handy when OpenPeppol bumps a release). config.json is gitignored and preserved across skill updates; an explicit -Endpoint/-VesId still wins.

Output contract

Per file: Type (root + CustomizationID), Standard ([OK] Peppol BIS 3.0 - <type> or [WARN] NOT a recognized Peppol BIS 3.0 document), Ruleset (the VESID used), then Result: [OK] valid or [FAIL] N error(s) with each error listed. Ends with a one-line batch summary. Exit code (for automation):

Code Meaning
0 All documents valid
1 Validation errors found
3 Non-standard document detected (not Peppol BIS 3.0 — e.g. an old schema)
2 Technical/usage problem (file missing, not well-formed, service unreachable)

Precedence in a mixed batch: 2 > 1 > 3 > 0.

What you (the agent) do with the result

  1. Run the script on the file/folder. Read its per-file lines and the exit code.
  2. Lead with the verdict: valid, invalid (and why — quote the rule IDs and element paths), or non-standard (name the schema you detected and that it isn't BIS 3.0).
  3. For errors, group by Peppol rule ID and translate the rule text into the concrete fix (which element to add/remove/correct). Don't dump raw XML — point at the failing path.
  4. For a non-standard file, say what it actually is (e.g. CENBII peppol28a ver1.0 = pre-BIS-3 Peppol) and that it can't be auto-validated against BIS 3.0; offer -VesId if they genuinely need to validate against the old ruleset.
  5. Fail loud on coverage: if any file hit a technical error (exit 2) or the service rate-limited, say so explicitly — never imply a file passed when it wasn't actually checked.

Gotchas

See REFERENCE.md — required reading before trusting a result (the auto VESID trap, rate limiting, quarterly ruleset versions, the data-egress note).

Verification

See REFERENCE.md for the before/after checks. In short: confirm the script parses and reaches the endpoint with a known-good file first, and treat a result as trustworthy only when the run reports the document was actually validated (XSD + Schematron artefacts ran) — not skipped or interrupted.

Errors

  • Validation service problem: ... 429 — the public instance rate-limited you. The script retries with backoff; for batch/production self-host phive-ws and use -Endpoint.
  • Syntactically invalid VESID — a forced -VesId is malformed, or auto-detection produced no ruleset (the document isn't BIS 3.0). Check the CustomizationID.
  • Not well-formed XML — the input isn't valid XML at all (exit 2), unrelated to Peppol rules.