Merge pull request #272 from contentstack/fix/DX-29683-serialize-nulls

feat: add opt-in Builder.setSerializeNulls to send explicit nulls (DX-29683)

Author: reeshika-h

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v1.15.0
+
+### Oct 21, 2026
+
+- Feat: Added the opt-in `Contentstack.Builder.setSerializeNulls(boolean)` option. When enabled, `null` values in request bodies are sent to the API instead of being dropped, so a field's value (for example a Number field on a localized entry) can be cleared. Off by default; existing behavior is unchanged.
+
 ## v1.14.1
 
 ### Aug 26, 2026

pom.xml

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     <artifactId>cms</artifactId>
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
     <name>contentstack-management-java</name>
-    <version>1.14.1</version>
+    <version>1.15.0</version>
     <description>Contentstack Java Management SDK for Content Management API, Contentstack is a headless CMS with an
         API-first approach
     </description>

src/main/java/com/contentstack/cms/Contentstack.java

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 import com.contentstack.cms.stack.Stack;
 import com.contentstack.cms.user.User;
 import com.google.gson.Gson;
+import com.google.gson.GsonBuilder;
 import com.contentstack.cms.core.RetryConfig;
 import okhttp3.ConnectionPool;
 import okhttp3.OkHttpClient;
@@ -696,6 +697,7 @@ public static class Builder {
         private Integer readTimeoutSeconds;
         private Integer writeTimeoutSeconds;
         private Boolean retry = Util.RETRY_ON_FAILURE;// Default base url for contentstack
+        private boolean serializeNulls = false;
         private RetryConfig retryConfig = RetryConfig.defaultConfig();
         /**
          * Default ConnectionPool holds up to 5 idle connections which will be
@@ -744,6 +746,22 @@ public Builder setRetry(@NotNull Boolean retry) {
             return this;
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Controls whether {@code null} values in request bodies are sent to the API.
+         * <p>
+         * By default {@code null} values are dropped before the request is sent, so
+         * {@code "field": null} behaves exactly like leaving the field out. Enable this
+         * to send {@code null} explicitly, for example to clear a Number field's value
+         * on an entry. It applies to every request made through this client.
+         *
+         * @param serializeNulls {@code true} to send {@code null} values, {@code false} (default) to drop them
+         * @return the Builder
+         */
+        public Builder setSerializeNulls(boolean serializeNulls) {
+            this.serializeNulls = serializeNulls;
+            return this;
+        }
+
         /**
          * Set host for client instance
          *
@@ -1015,8 +1033,12 @@ private void validateClient(Contentstack contentstack) {
             // of how the hostname was set (setHost, region resolution, or default).
             String validatedHost = validateHostname(this.hostname);
             String baseUrl = Util.PROTOCOL + "://" + validatedHost + "/" + version + "/";
+            GsonBuilder gson = new GsonBuilder();
+            if (serializeNulls) {
+                gson.serializeNulls();
+            }
             this.instance = new Retrofit.Builder().baseUrl(baseUrl)
-                    .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
+                    .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create(gson.create()))
                     .client(httpClient(contentstack, this.retry)).build();
             contentstack.instance = this.instance;
 

src/test/java/com/contentstack/cms/ContentstackUnitTest.java

@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 import com.contentstack.cms.core.AuthInterceptor;
 import com.contentstack.cms.organization.Organization;
+import com.contentstack.cms.stack.Entry;
 import com.contentstack.cms.stack.Stack;
+import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
+import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
 import okhttp3.Headers;
 import okhttp3.OkHttpClient;
 import okhttp3.Protocol;
@@ -12,7 +15,10 @@
 import okhttp3.mockwebserver.MockWebServer;
 import okhttp3.mockwebserver.RecordedRequest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
+import okio.Buffer;
+import org.json.simple.JSONObject;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import retrofit2.Call;
 import retrofit2.Response;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -412,4 +418,71 @@ public void testEarlyAccessHeaderEmpty() {
         Assertions.assertEquals(0, client.earlyAccess.length);
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void localizeBodyKeepsNullFieldWhenSerializeNullsEnabled() throws IOException {
+        Contentstack client = new Contentstack.Builder().setSerializeNulls(true).build();
+
+        JsonObject entry = sentEntry(entryOf(client).localize(entryBody(fieldsWith("position", null)), "de-de"));
+
+        Assertions.assertTrue(entry.has("position"));
+        Assertions.assertTrue(entry.get("position").isJsonNull());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void localizeBodyDropsNullFieldByDefault() throws IOException {
+        Contentstack client = new Contentstack.Builder().build();
+
+        JsonObject entry = sentEntry(entryOf(client).localize(entryBody(fieldsWith("position", null)), "de-de"));
+
+        Assertions.assertFalse(entry.has("position"));
+        Assertions.assertEquals("example", entry.get("title").getAsString());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void localizeBodyKeepsNullInsideGroupFieldWhenSerializeNullsEnabled() throws IOException {
+        Contentstack client = new Contentstack.Builder().setSerializeNulls(true).build();
+        Map<String, Object> group = new HashMap<>();
+        group.put("label", "kept");
+        group.put("position", null);
+
+        JsonObject entry = sentEntry(entryOf(client).localize(entryBody(fieldsWith("group", group)), "de-de"));
+
+        JsonObject sentGroup = entry.getAsJsonObject("group");
+        Assertions.assertTrue(sentGroup.get("position").isJsonNull());
+        Assertions.assertEquals("kept", sentGroup.get("label").getAsString());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void updateBodyKeepsNullFieldWhenSerializeNullsEnabled() throws IOException {
+        Contentstack client = new Contentstack.Builder().setSerializeNulls(true).build();
+
+        JsonObject entry = sentEntry(entryOf(client).update(entryBody(fieldsWith("position", null))));
+
+        Assertions.assertTrue(entry.has("position"));
+        Assertions.assertTrue(entry.get("position").isJsonNull());
+    }
+
+    private static Map<String, Object> fieldsWith(String field, Object value) {
+        Map<String, Object> fields = new HashMap<>();
+        fields.put("title", "example");
+        fields.put(field, value);
+        return fields;
+    }
+
+    private static JSONObject entryBody(Map<String, Object> fields) {
+        Map<String, Object> body = new HashMap<>();
+        body.put("entry", fields);
+        return new JSONObject(body);
+    }
+
+    private static Entry entryOf(Contentstack client) {
+        return client.stack("api_key", "management_token").contentType("newspage").entry("entry_uid");
+    }
+
+    private static JsonObject sentEntry(Call<ResponseBody> call) throws IOException {
+        Buffer buffer = new Buffer();
+        call.request().body().writeTo(buffer);
+        return JsonParser.parseString(buffer.readUtf8()).getAsJsonObject().getAsJsonObject("entry");
+    }
+
 }