ChangePropertyKey does not construct nested YAML structure, inserts flat keys instead

[vudayani]

What version of OpenRewrite are you using?

I am using rewrite - v8.47.4

What is the smallest, simplest way to reproduce the problem?

    @Test
    void test() {
        rewriteRun(
                spec -> spec.recipe(new ChangePropertyKey(
                        "management.server.accesslog.prefix",
                        "management.server.jetty.accesslog.prefix",
                        true,
                        null,
                        null
                )),
                yaml(
                        """
                        management:
                            server:
                                accesslog:
                                    prefix: logs
                        """,
                        """
                        management:
                            server:
                                jetty:
                                    accesslog:
                                        prefix: logs
                        """,
                        spec -> spec.path("src/main/resources/application.yml")
                )
        );
    }

We encountered an issue when using org.openrewrite.yaml.ChangePropertyKey to move keys in a .yaml file. The expected behavior is for the recipe to move a YAML block and construct a proper nested structure. However, it results in a flat key instead of creating a properly nested YAML hierarchy.

Input YAML:

management:
  server:
    accesslog:
      prefix: logs

What did you expect to see?

management:
  server:
    jetty:
      accesslog:
        prefix: logs

What did you see instead?

management:
    server:
            jetty.accesslog.prefix: logs

Analysis:

Looking closely at the implementation of org.openrewrite.yaml.ChangePropertyKey, the issue appears to be with the behavior of the InsertSubpropertyVisitor. The subproperty is being treated as a literal scalar key — the InsertSubpropertyVisitor does not split the subproperty key (e.g., jetty.accesslog.prefix) into nested keys based on the dots (.). This results in a flat key rather than a properly nested structure.

Are you interested in contributing a fix to OpenRewrite?

Yes, I would be happy to give it a try with some guidance or feedback from the maintainers.

[timtebeek]

Hi @vudayani ; good to see you here again. Do I understand correct that you landed here from following how rewrite-spring's ChangeSpringPropertyKey uses the ChangePropertyKey defined here? Since your title mentions the first, but the test uses the second, and one uses the other to complicate matters further. 😅 Either way @sambsnyd is our resident expert on Yaml wrangling; let's see if he can chime in here. We're also available to help in our OSS Slack if that helps you there.

[vudayani]

Thanks, and sorry for the confusion! :-) Yes, you're right — I originally encountered the issue while working with ChangeSpringPropertyKey, which internally delegates to ChangePropertyKey. That’s how I ended up tracing the behavior here. I will update the title to clarify it.

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