9c3ab7fba9
- Enhanced CONTRIBUTING.md with -short flag usage guidance - Updated LINTING.md: 22 issues baseline (down from 34) - Added MCP exclusion note for bd edit command in AGENTS.md Closes bd-iov0, bd-aec5439f, bd-fd8753d9
117 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
117 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# Linting Policy
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This document explains our approach to `golangci-lint` warnings in this codebase.
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## Current Status
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Running `golangci-lint run ./...` currently reports **22 issues** as of Nov 6, 2025. These are not actual code quality problems - they are false positives or intentional patterns that reflect idiomatic Go practice.
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**Historical note**: The count was ~200 before extensive cleanup in October 2025, reduced to 34 by Oct 27, and now 22 after internal/daemonrunner removal. The remaining issues represent the acceptable baseline that doesn't warrant fixing.
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## Issue Breakdown
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### errcheck (4 issues)
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**Pattern**: Unchecked errors from `defer` cleanup operations
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**Status**: Intentional and idiomatic
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Examples:
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```go
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defer rows.Close()
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defer tx.Rollback()
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defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir) // in tests
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```
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**Rationale**: In Go, it's standard practice to ignore errors from deferred cleanup operations:
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- `rows.Close()` - closing already-consumed result sets rarely errors
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- `tx.Rollback()` - rollback on defer is a safety net; if commit succeeded, rollback is a no-op
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- Test cleanup - errors during test cleanup don't affect test outcomes
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Fixing these would add noise without improving code quality. The critical cleanup operations (where errors matter) are already checked explicitly.
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### gosec (12 issues)
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**Pattern 1**: G204 - Subprocess launched with variable (3 issues)
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**Status**: Intentional - launching editor and git commands with user-specified paths
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Examples:
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- Launching `$EDITOR` for issue editing
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- Executing git commands
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- Running bd daemon binary
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**Pattern 2**: G304 - File inclusion via variable (3 issues)
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**Status**: Intended feature - user-specified file paths for import/export
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All file paths are either:
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- User-provided CLI arguments (expected for import/export commands)
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- Test fixtures in controlled test environments
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- Validated paths with security checks
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**Pattern 3**: G301/G302/G306 - File permissions (3 issues)
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**Status**: Acceptable for user-facing database files
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- G301: 0755 for database directories (allows other users to read)
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- G302: 0644 for JSONL files (version controlled, needs to be readable)
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- G306: 0644 for new JSONL files (consistency with existing files)
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**Pattern 4**: G201/G202 - SQL string formatting/concatenation (3 issues)
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**Status**: Safe - using placeholders and bounded queries
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All SQL concatenation uses proper placeholders and is bounded by controlled input (issue ID lists).
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### misspell (3 issues)
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**Pattern**: British vs American spelling - `cancelled` vs `canceled`
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**Status**: Acceptable spelling variation
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The codebase uses "cancelled" (British spelling) in user-facing messages. Both spellings are correct.
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### unparam (4 issues)
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**Pattern**: Function parameters or return values that are always the same
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**Status**: Interface compliance and future-proofing
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These functions maintain consistent signatures for:
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- Interface implementations
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- Future extensibility
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- Code clarity and documentation
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## golangci-lint Configuration Challenges
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We've attempted to configure `.golangci.yml` to exclude these false positives, but golangci-lint's exclusion mechanisms have proven challenging:
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- `exclude-functions` works for some errcheck patterns
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- `exclude` patterns with regex don't match as expected
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- `exclude-rules` with text matching doesn't work reliably
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This appears to be a known limitation of golangci-lint's configuration system.
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## Recommendation
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**For contributors**: Don't be alarmed by the 22 lint warnings. The code quality is high.
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**For code review**: Focus on:
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- New issues introduced by changes (not the baseline 22)
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- Actual logic errors
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- Missing error checks on critical operations (file writes, database commits)
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- Security concerns beyond gosec's false positives
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**For CI/CD**: The current GitHub Actions workflow runs linting but doesn't fail on these known issues. We may add `--issues-exit-code=0` or configure the workflow to check for regressions only.
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## Future Work
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Potential approaches to reduce noise:
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1. Disable specific linters (errcheck, revive) if the signal-to-noise ratio doesn't improve
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2. Use `//nolint` directives sparingly for clear false positives
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3. Investigate alternative linters with better exclusion support
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4. Contribute to golangci-lint to improve exclusion mechanisms
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## Summary
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These "issues" are not technical debt - they represent intentional, idiomatic Go code. The codebase maintains high quality through:
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- Comprehensive test coverage (>80%)
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- Careful error handling where it matters
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- Security validation of user input
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- Clear documentation
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Don't let the linter count distract from the actual code quality.
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