Defaults and forced values

PayloadStash builds each effective request from three layers.

1. Defaults supplies inherited settings.
2. The request supplies its own settings and supported overrides.
3. Forced merges last and wins on collisions.

For Headers, Body, and Query, a request section replaces the corresponding default section when present, then Forced keys are merged into the result. Nested maps are merged where the schema defines deep merging, notably AMQP configuration and property headers.

StashConfig:
  Name: PrecedenceExample
  Defaults:
    URLRoot: https://api.example.com
    FlowControl: { DelaySeconds: 0, TimeoutSeconds: 10 }
    Headers:
      Accept: application/json
      X-Environment: test
    Body:
      team: blue
  Forced:
    Headers:
      X-Environment: production
    Body:
      team: green
  Sequences:
    - Name: Demo
      Type: Sequential
      Requests:
        - Send:
            Method: POST
            URLPath: /items
            Headers:
              Content-Type: application/json
            Body:
              name: example
              team: red

The effective request has request-defined Content-Type, forced X-Environment: production, request-defined name, and forced team: green. Because the request supplied Headers, the default Accept header is not copied automatically; use YAML anchors when you want explicit reusable maps.

YAML anchors

YAML anchors are handled before PayloadStash applies its own layers:

common_headers: &common_headers
  Accept: application/json
  Content-Type: application/json

Headers:
  <<: *common_headers
  X-Request-Scope: catalog

Inspect the final result with payloadstash validate CONFIG --writeResolved.