fix: make service config optional in API design

[rshoemaker]

Summary

• Remove config from required fields in the Goa service spec DSL
• Add omitempty to the config JSON tag so responses omit empty configs
• Normalize nil config to map[string]any{} in the API-to-domain conversion layer
• Update docs to reflect config is now optional
• Add test coverage for nil config across all service types and for the normalizeConfig helper

Test plan

• make test passes
• Create MCP service without config field — should use defaults
• Create PostgREST service without config field — should use defaults
• Create RAG service without config field — should return validation error (pipelines required)
• Existing services with explicit config still work as before

PLAT-530

[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Made the config field optional in ServiceSpec by updating its JSON tag to include omitempty and removing it from the required fields list. Updated documentation and added helper function to normalize nil configs to empty maps with test coverage.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Database Schema api/apiv1/design/database.go	Updated config field JSON tag to config,omitempty and removed it from ServiceSpec required fields list, making the field optional.
Conversion Logic server/internal/api/apiv1/convert.go, convert_test.go	Added normalizeConfig helper function to convert nil maps to empty maps; updated apiToServiceSpec to use it. New test suite validates behavior for nil and non-nil inputs.
Validation Coverage server/internal/api/apiv1/validate_test.go	Extended TestValidateServiceSpec with test cases covering omitted/nil config across service types (mcp, postgrest, rag) with expected validation outcomes.
Documentation docs/services/managing.md	Updated service spec documentation to mark config field as optional with description of sensible default behavior when omitted.

Poem

🐰 Config fields hopping to optional shores,
Empty maps dance through conversion's doors,
Tests verify each service type with care,
From mcp to rag, defaults everywhere!
Sensible simplicity, refactored with glee,
Optional configs set the services free! ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 2 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 50.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (2 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically summarizes the main change: making the service config field optional in the API design.
Description check	✅ Passed	The pull request description follows the required template structure with Summary, Test plan, and issue reference, and clearly articulates the changes and testing performed.

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✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/PLAT-530/optional-config

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[codacy-production]

Up to standards ✅

🟢 Issues 0 issues

Results:
0 new issues

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🟢 Metrics 0 complexity · 0 duplication

Metric	Results
Complexity	0
Duplication	0

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