diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index 73e26c53e..d70c9aa58 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
         "patch-db-client": "file: ../../../patch-db/client",
         "pbkdf2": "^3.1.2",
         "rxjs": "^7.5.6",
-        "start-sdk": "^0.4.0-lib0.beta3",
+        "start-sdk": "^0.4.0-lib0.beta5",
         "swiper": "^8.2.4",
         "ts-matches": "^5.2.1",
         "tslib": "^2.3.0",
@@ -13771,9 +13771,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/start-sdk": {
-      "version": "0.4.0-lib0.beta3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/start-sdk/-/start-sdk-0.4.0-lib0.beta3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-MuKc4QB6rR2UOVZaT3MApJf5jGtIzUmKGLS4mm6Zqvmud+MP/FQTRB8y7CZjyBmBGXQZcSyFUcEBkR/hQTmLXA==",
+      "version": "0.4.0-lib0.beta5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/start-sdk/-/start-sdk-0.4.0-lib0.beta5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-dHWn7urjTXtS+CujkRp7U/CiSk/mTuvXjmFt8WMhnPExu2FFdmn72LDOICn5hf8kS0oi1qcYtjzq4juD8HlVFQ==",
       "dependencies": {
         "@iarna/toml": "^2.2.5",
         "lodash": "^4.17.21",
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 4655d0eac..7681c4af0 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
     "patch-db-client": "file: ../../../patch-db/client",
     "pbkdf2": "^3.1.2",
     "rxjs": "^7.5.6",
-    "start-sdk": "^0.4.0-lib0.beta3",
+    "start-sdk": "^0.4.0-lib0.beta5",
     "swiper": "^8.2.4",
     "ts-matches": "^5.2.1",
     "tslib": "^2.3.0",
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/backup-drives/backup-drives.component.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/backup-drives/backup-drives.component.ts
index 738c29939..4b63da2e4 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/backup-drives/backup-drives.component.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/backup-drives/backup-drives.component.ts
@@ -286,7 +286,6 @@ const CifsSpec: InputSpec = {
     nullable: false,
     masked: false,
     default: null,
-    textarea: false,
     warning: null,
   },
   path: {
@@ -299,7 +298,6 @@ const CifsSpec: InputSpec = {
     nullable: false,
     masked: false,
     default: null,
-    textarea: false,
     warning: null,
   },
   username: {
@@ -312,7 +310,6 @@ const CifsSpec: InputSpec = {
     nullable: false,
     masked: false,
     default: null,
-    textarea: false,
     warning: null,
   },
   password: {
@@ -325,7 +322,6 @@ const CifsSpec: InputSpec = {
     nullable: true,
     masked: true,
     default: null,
-    textarea: false,
     warning: null,
   },
 }
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.html b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.html
index 639d425bd..6fcc76973 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.html
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.html
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 ></form-label>
 <ion-item [color]="(theme$ | async) === 'Light' ? 'light' : 'dark'">
   <ion-textarea
-    *ngIf="spec.type === 'string' && spec.textarea; else notTextArea"
+    *ngIf="spec.type === 'textarea'; else notTextArea"
     formWarning
     #warning="formWarning"
     [placeholder]="spec.placeholder"
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.ts
index 551608bbb..c7ebe504e 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/controls/form-input/form-input.component.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { THEME } from '@start9labs/shared'
 })
 export class FormInputComponent {
   @Input() name!: string
-  @Input() spec!: ValueSpecOf<'string' | 'number'>
+  @Input() spec!: ValueSpecOf<'string' | 'textarea' | 'number'>
   @Input() control!: FormControl
 
   @Output() onInputChange = new EventEmitter<void>()
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/form-object.component.html b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/form-object.component.html
index 0ba9b727a..1e0b4d3c6 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/form-object.component.html
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-object/form-object.component.html
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@
       ></form-file>
       <!-- string or number -->
       <form-input
-        *ngIf="spec.type === 'string' || spec.type === 'number'"
+        *ngIf="
+          spec.type === 'string' ||
+          spec.type === 'textarea' ||
+          spec.type === 'number'
+        "
         [spec]="spec"
         [name]="entry.key"
         [control]="$any(entry.value)"
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.html b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.html
index e6cad5650..1a44787b7 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.html
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.html
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@
       </ion-select-option>
     </ion-select>
   </ion-item-divider>
+  <p class="error-message">
+    <span *ngIf="unionControl?.errors as errors">
+      {{ errors | getError }}
+    </span>
+  </p>
 
   <tui-elastic-container [id]="objectId | toElementId : 'union'" class="indent">
     <form-object
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.scss b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.scss
index 41a0c3e89..71943c417 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.scss
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.scss
@@ -22,3 +22,9 @@ ion-item-divider {
 .indent {
   margin-left: 24px;
 }
+
+.error-message {
+  margin-top: 2px;
+  font-size: small;
+  color: var(--ion-color-danger);
+}
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.ts
index 064be5660..a75ae8c57 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/components/form-object/form-union/form-union.component.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { ChangeDetectionStrategy, Component, Input } from '@angular/core'
-import { UntypedFormGroup } from '@angular/forms'
+import { AbstractControl, UntypedFormGroup } from '@angular/forms'
 import { v4 } from 'uuid'
 import { FormService } from 'src/app/services/form.service'
 import {
@@ -22,16 +22,20 @@ export class FormUnionComponent {
   @Input() current?: Record<string, any>
   @Input() original?: Record<string, any>
 
+  get unionControl(): AbstractControl | null {
+    return this.formGroup.get(unionSelectKey)
+  }
+
   get selectedVariant(): string {
-    return this.formGroup.get(unionSelectKey)?.value
+    return this.unionControl?.value || ''
   }
 
   get variantName(): string {
-    return this.spec.variants[this.selectedVariant].name
+    return this.spec.variants[this.selectedVariant]?.name || ''
   }
 
   get variantSpec(): InputSpec {
-    return this.spec.variants[this.selectedVariant].spec
+    return this.spec.variants[this.selectedVariant]?.spec || {}
   }
 
   get hasNewOptions(): boolean {
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/modals/marketplace-settings/marketplace-settings.page.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/modals/marketplace-settings/marketplace-settings.page.ts
index 58f53c662..552d77b9f 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/modals/marketplace-settings/marketplace-settings.page.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/modals/marketplace-settings/marketplace-settings.page.ts
@@ -279,7 +279,6 @@ function getMarketplaceValueSpec(): ValueSpecObject {
         patternDescription: 'Must be a valid URL',
         placeholder: 'e.g. https://example.org',
         default: null,
-        textarea: false,
         warning: null,
       },
     },
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-list/developer-list.page.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-list/developer-list.page.ts
index b006e6caa..c164ce51f 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-list/developer-list.page.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-list/developer-list.page.ts
@@ -229,7 +229,6 @@ const SAMPLE_CONFIG: InputSpec = {
     pattern: '^[a-zA-Z0-9! _]+$',
     patternDescription: 'Must be alphanumeric (may contain underscore).',
     default: null,
-    textarea: false,
     warning: null,
   },
   'sample-number': {
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-menu/form-info.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-menu/form-info.ts
index 56b318f0a..c38e652bc 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-menu/form-info.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/developer-routes/developer-menu/form-info.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       pattern: '^([a-z][a-z0-9]*)(-[a-z0-9]+)*$',
       patternDescription: 'Must be kebab case',
       default: basicInfo?.id || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     title: {
@@ -43,7 +42,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       pattern: null,
       patternDescription: null,
       default: basicInfo ? basicInfo.title : devData.name,
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     'service-version-number': {
@@ -57,7 +55,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       pattern: '^([0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+)$',
       patternDescription: 'Must be valid Emver version',
       default: basicInfo?.['service-version-number'] || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     description: {
@@ -74,23 +71,17 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
           placeholder: null,
           nullable: false,
           masked: false,
-          textarea: true,
           default: basicInfo?.description?.short || '',
           pattern: '^.{1,320}$',
           patternDescription: 'Must be shorter than 320 characters',
           warning: null,
         },
         long: {
-          type: 'string',
+          type: 'textarea',
           name: 'Long Description',
           description: `This description will display with additional details in the service's individual marketplace page`,
           placeholder: null,
           nullable: false,
-          masked: false,
-          textarea: true,
-          default: basicInfo?.description?.long || '',
-          pattern: '^.{1,5000}$',
-          patternDescription: 'Must be shorter than 5000 characters',
           warning: null,
         },
       },
@@ -105,7 +96,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       masked: false,
       pattern: null,
       patternDescription: null,
-      textarea: true,
       default: basicInfo?.['release-notes'] || '',
       warning: null,
     },
@@ -139,7 +129,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       nullable: false,
       masked: false,
       default: basicInfo?.['wrapper-repo'] || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     'upstream-repo': {
@@ -152,7 +141,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       nullable: true,
       masked: false,
       default: basicInfo?.['upstream-repo'] || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     'support-site': {
@@ -165,7 +153,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       nullable: true,
       masked: false,
       default: basicInfo?.['support-site'] || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
     'marketing-site': {
@@ -178,7 +165,6 @@ export function getBasicInfoSpec(devData: DevProjectData): InputSpec {
       nullable: true,
       masked: false,
       default: basicInfo?.['marketing-site'] || '',
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
     },
   }
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/server-routes/wifi/wifi.page.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/server-routes/wifi/wifi.page.ts
index afe928b43..f9aeb7a68 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/server-routes/wifi/wifi.page.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/pages/server-routes/wifi/wifi.page.ts
@@ -365,7 +365,6 @@ function getWifiValueSpec(
         nullable: false,
         masked: false,
         default: ssid || null,
-        textarea: false,
         warning: null,
       },
       password: {
@@ -378,7 +377,6 @@ function getWifiValueSpec(
         pattern: '^.{8,}$',
         patternDescription: 'Must be longer than 8 characters',
         default: null,
-        textarea: false,
         warning: null,
       },
     },
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/api/api.fixures.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/api/api.fixures.ts
index b923f18bb..d554fcebc 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/api/api.fixures.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/api/api.fixures.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   Manifest,
 } from '@start9labs/marketplace'
 import { Log } from '@start9labs/shared'
+import { unionSelectKey } from 'start-sdk/lib/config/config-types'
 
 export module Mock {
   export const ServerUpdated: ServerStatusInfo = {
@@ -718,7 +719,7 @@ export module Mock {
           description:
             '<p>The Bitcoin Core node to connect to over the peer-to-peer (P2P) interface:</p><ul><li><strong>Bitcoin Core</strong>: The Bitcoin Core service installed on this device</li><li><strong>External Node</strong>: A Bitcoin node running on a different device</li></ul>',
           warning: null,
-          default: 'internal',
+          default: null,
           nullable: false,
           variants: {
             internal: { name: 'Internal', spec: {} },
@@ -734,7 +735,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -781,7 +781,6 @@ export module Mock {
               pattern: '^[a-zA-Z]+$',
               patternDescription: 'must contain only letters.',
               masked: false,
-              textarea: false,
             },
             rpcuser: {
               name: 'RPC Username',
@@ -794,7 +793,6 @@ export module Mock {
               pattern: '^[a-zA-Z]+$',
               patternDescription: 'must contain only letters.',
               masked: false,
-              textarea: false,
             },
             rpcpass: {
               name: 'RPC User Password',
@@ -810,7 +808,6 @@ export module Mock {
               masked: true,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
             },
             rpcpass2: {
               name: 'RPC User Password',
@@ -826,12 +823,19 @@ export module Mock {
               masked: true,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
             },
           },
         },
       },
     },
+    bio: {
+      name: 'Bio',
+      type: 'textarea',
+      description: 'Your personal bio',
+      placeholder: 'Tell the world about yourself',
+      warning: null,
+      nullable: true,
+    },
     testnet: {
       name: 'Testnet',
       type: 'boolean',
@@ -882,7 +886,6 @@ export module Mock {
             placeholder: null,
             pattern: null,
             patternDescription: null,
-            textarea: false,
             warning: null,
             default: null,
           },
@@ -899,7 +902,6 @@ export module Mock {
             patternDescription: 'must contain only letters.',
             masked: false,
             placeholder: null,
-            textarea: false,
             warning: null,
           },
           age: {
@@ -994,7 +996,6 @@ export module Mock {
               placeholder: null,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
               default: null,
             },
@@ -1007,7 +1008,6 @@ export module Mock {
               placeholder: null,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
               default: null,
             },
@@ -1038,7 +1038,6 @@ export module Mock {
                 placeholder: null,
                 pattern: null,
                 patternDescription: null,
-                textarea: false,
                 warning: null,
               },
               rulemakerip: {
@@ -1052,7 +1051,6 @@ export module Mock {
                 patternDescription: 'may only contain numbers and periods',
                 masked: false,
                 placeholder: null,
-                textarea: false,
                 warning: null,
               },
             },
@@ -1068,7 +1066,6 @@ export module Mock {
           patternDescription: 'must contain only letters.',
           masked: false,
           placeholder: null,
-          textarea: false,
           warning: null,
         },
         rpcpass: {
@@ -1084,7 +1081,6 @@ export module Mock {
           placeholder: null,
           pattern: null,
           patternDescription: null,
-          textarea: false,
           warning: null,
         },
       },
@@ -1116,7 +1112,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   pattern: '^[a-zA-Z]+$',
                   patternDescription: 'Must contain only letters.',
                   placeholder: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1129,7 +1124,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1145,7 +1139,6 @@ export module Mock {
               patternDescription: 'anything',
               masked: false,
               placeholder: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
             },
             'private-domain': {
@@ -1157,7 +1150,6 @@ export module Mock {
               placeholder: null,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
               default: null,
             },
@@ -1188,7 +1180,6 @@ export module Mock {
       placeholder: null,
       pattern: null,
       patternDescription: null,
-      textarea: false,
       warning: null,
       default: null,
     },
@@ -1253,7 +1244,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1266,7 +1256,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1279,7 +1268,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1308,7 +1296,6 @@ export module Mock {
                         placeholder: null,
                         pattern: null,
                         patternDescription: null,
-                        textarea: false,
                         warning: null,
                       },
                       lawagency: {
@@ -1323,7 +1310,6 @@ export module Mock {
                           'may only contain numbers and periods',
                         masked: false,
                         placeholder: null,
-                        textarea: false,
                         warning: null,
                       },
                     },
@@ -1338,7 +1324,6 @@ export module Mock {
                   placeholder: null,
                   pattern: null,
                   patternDescription: null,
-                  textarea: false,
                   warning: null,
                   default: null,
                 },
@@ -1369,7 +1354,6 @@ export module Mock {
                     placeholder: null,
                     pattern: null,
                     patternDescription: null,
-                    textarea: false,
                     warning: null,
                   },
                   rulemakerip: {
@@ -1383,7 +1367,6 @@ export module Mock {
                     patternDescription: 'may only contain numbers and periods',
                     masked: false,
                     placeholder: null,
-                    textarea: false,
                     warning: null,
                   },
                 },
@@ -1399,7 +1382,6 @@ export module Mock {
               patternDescription: 'must contain only letters.',
               masked: false,
               placeholder: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
             },
             rpcpass: {
@@ -1415,7 +1397,6 @@ export module Mock {
               placeholder: null,
               pattern: null,
               patternDescription: null,
-              textarea: false,
               warning: null,
             },
           },
@@ -1455,7 +1436,7 @@ export module Mock {
       rulemakers: [],
     },
     'bitcoin-node': {
-      type: 'internal',
+      [unionSelectKey]: 'internal',
     },
     port: 20,
     rpcallowip: undefined,
@@ -1524,7 +1505,6 @@ export module Mock {
             masked: false,
             pattern: '^[a-zA-Z]+$',
             patternDescription: 'Must contain only letters.',
-            textarea: false,
             warning: null,
             default: null,
           },
diff --git a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/form.service.ts b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/form.service.ts
index 46447a580..b0865e275 100644
--- a/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/form.service.ts
+++ b/frontend/projects/ui/src/app/services/form.service.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import {
   ValueSpecString,
   ValueSpecUnion,
   unionSelectKey,
+  ValueSpecTextarea,
 } from 'start-sdk/lib/config/config-types'
 import { getDefaultString, Range } from '../util/config-utilities'
 const Mustache = require('mustache')
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ export class FormService {
   ): UntypedFormGroup {
     const { name, description, warning, variants, nullable } = spec
 
-    const enumSpec: ValueSpecSelect = {
+    const selectSpec: ValueSpecSelect = {
       type: 'select',
       name,
       description,
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ export class FormService {
     const selectedSpec = selection ? variants[selection].spec : {}
 
     return this.getFormGroup({
-      ['selectedVariant']: enumSpec,
+      [unionSelectKey]: selectSpec,
       ...selectedSpec,
     })
   }
@@ -111,6 +112,9 @@ export class FormService {
           value = spec.default ? getDefaultString(spec.default) : null
         }
         return this.formBuilder.control(value, stringValidators(spec))
+      case 'textarea':
+        value = currentValue || null
+        return this.formBuilder.control(value, textareaValidators(spec))
       case 'number':
         if (currentValue !== undefined) {
           value = currentValue
@@ -141,9 +145,11 @@ export class FormService {
           isValid ? currentSelection : spec.default,
         )
       case 'boolean':
-      case 'select':
         value = currentValue === undefined ? spec.default : currentValue
         return this.formBuilder.control(value)
+      case 'select':
+        value = currentValue === undefined ? spec.default : currentValue
+        return this.formBuilder.control(value, selectValidators(spec))
       case 'multiselect':
         value = currentValue === undefined ? spec.default : currentValue
         return this.formBuilder.control(value, multiselectValidators(spec))
@@ -177,6 +183,16 @@ function stringValidators(
   return validators
 }
 
+function textareaValidators(spec: ValueSpecTextarea): ValidatorFn[] {
+  const validators: ValidatorFn[] = []
+
+  if (!spec.nullable) {
+    validators.push(Validators.required)
+  }
+
+  return validators
+}
+
 function numberValidators(
   spec: ValueSpecNumber | ListValueSpecNumber,
 ): ValidatorFn[] {
@@ -197,6 +213,16 @@ function numberValidators(
   return validators
 }
 
+function selectValidators(spec: ValueSpecSelect): ValidatorFn[] {
+  const validators: ValidatorFn[] = []
+
+  if (!spec.nullable) {
+    validators.push(Validators.required)
+  }
+
+  return validators
+}
+
 function multiselectValidators(spec: ValueSpecMultiselect): ValidatorFn[] {
   const validators: ValidatorFn[] = []
   validators.push(listInRange(spec.range))
@@ -327,6 +353,7 @@ function listItemEquals(spec: ValueSpecList, val1: any, val2: any): boolean {
 function itemEquals(spec: ValueSpec, val1: any, val2: any): boolean {
   switch (spec.type) {
     case 'string':
+    case 'textarea':
     case 'number':
     case 'boolean':
     case 'select':
@@ -513,7 +540,7 @@ export function convertValuesRecursive(
       control.setValue(
         control.value || control.value === 0 ? Number(control.value) : null,
       )
-    } else if (valueSpec.type === 'string') {
+    } else if (valueSpec.type === 'string' || valueSpec.type === 'textarea') {
       if (!control.value) control.setValue(null)
     } else if (valueSpec.type === 'object') {
       convertValuesRecursive(valueSpec.spec, group.get(key) as UntypedFormGroup)