- Concept
- Version · 6.0
- Deliver
What are policy checks packages?
Last updated: August 21, 2026
You can create a YAML checks package file to organize your checks settings files. Using a checks package makes it easy to specify policies for different workflows all in one place. Then you can apply all your checks with a single checks run or checks show command, just like you would when running checks from a single settings file.
A package file contains one or more package objects, such as for DEV, QA, and PROD environments; or for security-checks and code-standardization-checks workflows. Each package object contains one or more checks settings files. Checks settings files specify which policy checks are enabled (ready to run) as well as any custom check behavior. The checks settings file can have the .conf or .yaml extensions.
Checks packages are available in Liquibase 4.25.0 and later.
Default and custom packages
Policy check packages come in two types:
Default packages are the eight YAML files that
init projectgenerates automatically. They cover common governance areas and are ready to use without additional setup. See What are the default policy check packages?.Custom packages are package files you author yourself, organizing your own checks settings files for specific pipelines, environments, or teams.
Uses
Checks packages allow different teams to own, control, update, and automatically synchronize their checks with their dependent teams. The checks packages file is the central hub that reaches out to the local and remote checks settings files needed for different jobs, pipelines, and teams.
For example, if your security team stores their checks in one place, the checks package file that points to that security checks file will pick up the latest version. This allows your distinct teams to reproduce the same outcome even if files are located separately.
Rules
Checks packages are supported for the checks run and checks show commands. They are not supported for checks bulk-set, checks copy, checks create, checks customize, checks delete, checks disable, checks enable, or checks reset. If you specify a package file as the value of --checks-settings-file while running any of these unsupported commands, Liquibase returns an error. To use a settings file with these commands, specify it directly instead of specifying a package file containing it.
Checks package objects are collections of checks settings files. Liquibase ensures that checks are not duplicated within a particular package, though two checks with the same name can appear in the same package if they come from different settings files. If you include the same checks settings file multiple times in a package, Liquibase only runs it once.