pyruleset

Conditional values that compose with | and can be defined as JSON: the first branch whose condition matches decides.

price = (
    when(tier__eq("gold"), subtotal * Decimal("0.80"), label="gold 20%")
    | when(items__ge(10), subtotal * Decimal("0.95"), label="bulk 5%")
    | otherwise(subtotal)
)

price(order)  # Decimal('142.5000')
price.explain(order)  # 'bulk 5%'

Conditions are any T -> bool callable, such as a pyspecification Predicate. Values are any T -> V callable, such as a pyformula Formula, a pyflowstep Flow, or a plain function.

Piece	What it does
when, otherwise	Build branches and the fallback, chained with |
Ruleset	Callable: returns the value of the first matching branch; explain and decide say which one
PartialRuleset	Branches without a fallback: composes, but is not callable
RulesetCompiler	Builds a Ruleset from JSON, delegating when and then to compilers you inject
get_ruleset_json_schema	The JSON Schema of that JSON, embedding your condition and value schemas

Installation

pyruleset is not on PyPI yet. Install it from GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/aaltatan/pyruleset

or with uv:

uv add git+https://github.com/aaltatan/pyruleset

Python 3.12+. The only runtime dependency is pyvocabulary. pyspecification, pyformula and pyflowstep are optional: pyruleset only needs callables.

Quick start

The examples in this README build on each other and run as doctests.

>>> from dataclasses import dataclass
>>> from decimal import Decimal
>>> from pyformula import variable
>>> from pyspecification import object_rule
>>> from pyruleset import otherwise, when

>>> @dataclass(frozen=True)
... class Order:
...     tier: str
...     subtotal: Decimal
...     items: int

>>> @object_rule()
... def tier__eq(order: Order, tier: str) -> bool:
...     return order.tier == tier

>>> @object_rule()
... def items__ge(order: Order, count: int) -> bool:
...     return order.items >= count

>>> @variable()
... def subtotal(order: Order) -> Decimal:
...     return order.subtotal

>>> price = (
...     when(tier__eq("gold"), subtotal * Decimal("0.80"), label="gold 20%")
...     | when(items__ge(10), subtotal * Decimal("0.95"), label="bulk 5%")
...     | otherwise(subtotal)
... )
>>> price
Ruleset(gold 20% | bulk 5% | otherwise)

>>> order = Order("regular", Decimal("150.00"), 12)
>>> price(order)
Decimal('142.5000')

Branches are tried in order and the first match wins. Conditions after the match are not evaluated. When nothing matches, the otherwise value is used.

Deciding and explaining

explain(subject) names the branch that decided, e.g. for an audit log: its label, else the condition's name, else "otherwise". decide(subject) returns the Branch (or Otherwise) itself.

>>> price.explain(order)
'bulk 5%'
>>> price.explain(Order("regular", Decimal("60.00"), 1))
'otherwise'
>>> price.decide(order)
Branch(condition=..., label='bulk 5%')

>>> unlabelled = when(items__ge(10), subtotal) | otherwise(subtotal)
>>> unlabelled.explain(order), unlabelled
('items__ge', Ruleset(items__ge | otherwise))

A condition can return any value: truthy counts as a match.

>>> size = when(len, lambda items: f"{len(items)} items") | otherwise(lambda _: "empty")
>>> size([1, 2]), size([])
('2 items', 'empty')

A missing fallback is a type error

when(...) | when(...) is a PartialRuleset. It composes, but it has no __call__, so a type checker flags a call to it, and at run time it fails instead of returning None. Only | otherwise(...) (or | ruleset) makes it callable.

>>> partial = when(tier__eq("gold"), subtotal * Decimal("0.80"), label="gold")
>>> partial
PartialRuleset(gold)
>>> partial(order)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
TypeError: 'PartialRuleset' object is not callable

A Ruleset is closed: it has no |, so nothing can be added after its fallback by accident.

Overrides on top of a base policy

partial | ruleset puts the partial's branches first. The base policy stays unchanged, and the override is easy to drop later.

>>> black_friday = when(items__ge(5), subtotal * Decimal("0.70"), label="black friday")
>>> today = black_friday | price
>>> today
Ruleset(black friday | gold 20% | bulk 5% | otherwise)
>>> today(order), price(order)
(Decimal('105.0000'), Decimal('142.5000'))

Every operator returns a new object; rulesets are frozen dataclasses.

Any callable as a value

Values do not have to be formulas. A pyflowstep Flow turns the ruleset into "pick a procedure and run it":

>>> from pyflowstep import step
>>> @step
... def add(total: int, amount: int) -> int:
...     return total + amount

>>> bonus = when(lambda n: n >= 100, add(10) >> add(5), label="big") | otherwise(add(0))
>>> bonus(100), bonus(7)
(115, 7)

From JSON

A definition has branches (optional) and otherwise (required). Each branch has when, then and an optional label:

{
  "branches": [
    {"label": "gold 20%",
     "when": {"name": "tier__eq", "args": ["gold"], "kwargs": {}, "inverse": false},
     "then": {"operator": "multiply", "expressions": ["subtotal", 0.80]}}
  ],
  "otherwise": "subtotal"
}

pyruleset does not know the languages inside when and then. RulesetCompiler delegates them to the compilers you pass in: anything with a compile(definition) method, such as pyspecification's PredicateCompiler and pyformula's FormulaCompiler.

>>> import json
>>> from pyformula import FormulaCompiler
>>> from pyspecification import Predicate, PredicateCompiler
>>> from pyruleset import RulesetCompiler

>>> rules = {"tier__eq": tier__eq, "items__ge": items__ge}
>>> compiler = RulesetCompiler(
...     PredicateCompiler(
...         rules,
...         lambda wrapper: Predicate(lambda _: wrapper["operator"] == "all", operator="logical"),
...     ),
...     FormulaCompiler({"subtotal": subtotal}),
... )

>>> stored = '''
... {
...   "branches": [
...     {"label": "gold 20%",
...      "when": {"name": "tier__eq", "args": ["gold"], "kwargs": {}, "inverse": false},
...      "then": {"operator": "multiply", "expressions": ["subtotal", 0.80]}}
...   ],
...   "otherwise": "subtotal"
... }
... '''
>>> policy = compiler.compile(json.loads(stored, parse_float=Decimal))
>>> policy
Ruleset(gold 20% | otherwise)
>>> policy(Order("gold", Decimal("120.00"), 2))
Decimal('96.0000')

Errors

The whole definition is checked when it is compiled, before any subject is evaluated.

A wrong shape raises InvalidRulesetDefinitionError (also a ValueError) with its JSON path:

>>> compiler.compile({"branches": []})
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
pyruleset.exceptions.InvalidRulesetDefinitionError: Invalid ruleset at $: missing 'otherwise'

Errors from the injected compilers keep their own type. pyruleset only adds a note with the full JSON path, nested paths included (e.g. at $.branches[1].when.expressions[0]):

>>> from pyspecification import RuleDoesNotExistError
>>> typo = json.loads(stored.replace("tier__eq", "tier__is"), parse_float=Decimal)
>>> try:
...     compiler.compile(typo)
... except RuleDoesNotExistError as error:
...     print(f"{type(error).__name__}: {error}", error.__notes__)
RuleDoesNotExistError: Rule 'tier__is' does not exist. Available rules: tier__eq, items__ge ['at $.branches[0].when']

Money

json.loads turns 0.80 into a binary float, which then leaks into every Decimal it touches. Keep money exact in one of two ways:

• Parse with json.loads(text, parse_float=Decimal), as above, so every JSON number with a decimal point becomes a Decimal before it reaches the compiler.
• Or, with pyformula 0.2+, build the value compiler with FormulaCompiler(variables, literal=decimal_literal), which converts each number literal through str (Decimal("0.8"), not Decimal(0.8)), whoever parsed the JSON.

JSON Schema

get_ruleset_json_schema(condition_schema, value_schema) describes a definition, e.g. to validate an admin form or to get completion in an editor. The two schemas describe one when and one then/otherwise. Each is embedded under its own $id, so the #/$defs/... refs inside it keep pointing into itself.

>>> from jsonschema import Draft202012Validator
>>> from pyspecification import get_expression_json_schema
>>> from pyruleset import get_ruleset_json_schema

>>> formula_schema = {"anyOf": [{"const": "subtotal"}, {"type": "number"}, {"type": "object"}]}
>>> schema = get_ruleset_json_schema(get_expression_json_schema(rules), formula_schema)
>>> validator = Draft202012Validator(schema)
>>> validator.is_valid(json.loads(stored))
True
>>> validator.is_valid(json.loads(stored.replace("tier__eq", "tier__is")))
False

jsonschema is only used here to show the schema at work; pyruleset does not depend on it.

First match only

A ruleset picks exactly one value. There is no "all matches" mode, on purpose: each ruleset stays easy to read and to explain. To stack several decisions, give each part its own ruleset and add the results:

>>> shipping = (
...     when(items__ge(10), lambda _: Decimal("0.00"), label="free shipping")
...     | otherwise(lambda _: Decimal("5.00"))
... )
>>> def total(order: Order) -> Decimal:
...     return price(order) + shipping(order)
>>> small = Order("regular", Decimal("60.00"), 1)
>>> total(small), [price.explain(small), shipping.explain(small)]
(Decimal('65.00'), ['otherwise', 'otherwise'])

Progressive brackets (tax bands) are not a ruleset either: they are a sum of clamped terms, one per band.

Examples

Runnable scripts in examples/, each asserting its own results:

• pricing_policy.py: a JSON policy from an admin panel, rejected on save with the JSON path of a typo, and explain for the audit log.
• expense_approvals.py: who approves an expense, with a temporary "CFO on leave" override on top of the base policy.
• ticket_routing.py: each branch's value is a pyflowstep Flow that assigns, prioritizes and tags the ticket.

uv run python examples/pricing_policy.py

API reference

Name	Kind	Summary
when(condition, value, /, *, label=None) -> PartialRuleset	function	One branch; chain more with |
otherwise(value, /) -> Otherwise	function	The fallback that closes a ruleset
Ruleset(branches, fallback)	class	__call__(subject), decide(subject), explain(subject)
PartialRuleset(branches)	class	| with a partial, an Otherwise or a Ruleset; not callable
Branch(condition, value, label=None)	class	One when pair; str() is its label or condition name
Otherwise(value)	class	What decide returns when no branch matches
FALLBACK_LABEL	constant	"otherwise", what explain returns for the fallback
Condition[T], Value[T, V]	type	Callable[[T], Any], Callable[[T], V]
RulesetCompiler(conditions, values, /)	class	compile(definition) -> Ruleset
Compiler[F]	protocol	Anything with compile(definition, /) -> F
RulesetDict, BranchDict	type	TypedDicts of the JSON shape
get_ruleset_json_schema(condition_schema, value_schema, /) -> dict	function	JSON Schema of a definition
PyrulesetError	exception	Base class of pyruleset's errors
InvalidRulesetDefinitionError	exception	Wrong definition shape; also a ValueError

Development

uv sync
uv run pytest --cov --cov-branch     # tests, doctests in src/ and this README, examples
uv run --python 3.13 pytest
uvx ruff check . && uvx ruff format --check .
uvx pyright src

License

GPL-3.0-only.