lint/docs/add-new-linter.md

How to add support for a new tool to super-linter

If you want to propose a Pull Request to add new language support or a new tool, it should include:

• Update documentation:

  • README.md

• Provide test cases:

  1. Create the test/linters/<LANGUAGE_NAME> directory.
  2. Provide at least one test case with a file that is supposed to pass validation, with the right file extension if needed: test/linters/<LANGUAGE_NAME>/<name-of-tool>-good
  3. Provide at least one test case with a file that is supposed to fail validation, with the right file extension if needed: test/linters/<LANGUAGE_NAME>/<name-of-tool>-bad. If the linter supports fix mode, the test case supposed to fail validation should only contain violations that the fix mode can automatically fix. Avoid test cases that fail only because of syntax errors, when possible.
  4. If the linter supports check-only mode or fix mode, add the <LANGUGAGE> to the LANGUAGES_WITH_FIX_MODE array in test/testUtils.sh

• Update the test suite to check for installed packages, the commands that your new tool needs in the PATH, and the expected version command:

  • test/inspec/super-linter/controls/super_linter.rb

• Install the tool by pointing to specific package or container image versions:

  • If there are PyPi packages, create a text file named dependencies/python/<name-of-tool>.txt and list the packages there.

  • If there are npm packages, update dependencies/package.json and dependencies/package-lock.json. by adding the new packages.

  • If there are Ruby Gems, update dependencies/Gemfile and dependencies/Gemfile.lock

  • If there are Maven or Java packages:

    1. Create a directory named dependencies/<name-of-tool>.

    2. Create a dependencies/<name-of-tool>/build.gradle file with the following contents:

       repositories {
         mavenLocal()
         mavenCentral()
       }
       
       // Hold this dependency here so we can get automated updates using DependaBot
       dependencies {
         implementation 'your:dependency-here:version'
       }
       
       group 'com.github.super-linter'
       version '1.0.0-SNAPSHOT'
       

    3. Update the dependencies section in dependencies/<name-of-tool>/build.gradle to install your dependencies.

    4. Add the following content to the Dockerfile:

       COPY scripts/install-<name-of-tool>.sh /
       RUN --mount=type=secret,id=GITHUB_TOKEN /<name-of-tool>.sh && rm -rf /<name-of-tool>.sh
       

    5. Create scripts/install-<name-of-tool>.sh, and implement the logic to install your tool. You get the version of a dependency from build.gradle. Example:

       GOOGLE_JAVA_FORMAT_VERSION="$(grep <"google-java-format/build.gradle" "google-java-format" | awk -F ':' '{print $3}' | tr -d "'")"
       

    6. Add the new to DependaBot configuration:

         - package-ecosystem: "gradle"
           directory: "/dependencies/<name-of-tool>"
           schedule:
             interval: "weekly"
           open-pull-requests-limit: 10
       

  • If there is a container (Docker) image:

    1. Add a new build stage to get the image:

       FROM your/image:version as <name-of-tool>
       

    2. Copy the necessary binaries and libraries to the relevant locations. Example:

       COPY --from=<name-of-tool> /usr/local/bin/<name-of-command> /usr/bin/
       

• Configure the new tool:

  • Provide a default configuration file only if the tool cannot function without one: TEMPLATES/<template file for language>
  • Provide a configuration file for the new linter only if the default configuration is unsuitable for the super-linter repository: .github/linters/.<lintrc>

• Update the orchestration scripts to run the new tool:

  • lib/globals/languages.sh: add a new item to LANGUAGES_ARRAY array. Use the "name" of the language, then a _, and finally the name of the linter. Example: PYTHON_RUFF. In the context of this document, to avoid repetitions we reference this new item as <LANGUAGE_NAME>.

  • Linter configuration:

    • Create a new minimal configuration file in the TEMPLATES directory with the same name as the default configuration filename. Example: TEMPLATES/.ruff.toml.
    • lib/globals/linterRules.sh:

      • If the new linter accepts a configuration files from the command line, define a new variable: <LANGUAGE_NAME>_FILE_NAME="${<LANGUAGE_NAME>_CONFIG_FILE:-"default-config-file-name.conf"}" where default-config-file-name.conf is the name of the new, minimal configuration for the linter. Example: PYTHON_RUFF_FILE_NAME="${PYTHON_RUFF_CONFIG_FILE:-.ruff.toml}".

      • If there are arguments that you can only pass using the command line, and you think users might want to customize them, define a new variable using <LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS and add it to the command if the configuration provides it. Example:

        <LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS="${<LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS:-""}"
        if [ -n "${<LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS:-}" ]; then
          export <LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS
          LINTER_COMMANDS_ARRAY_<LANGUAGE_NAME>+=("${<LANGUAGE_NAME>_COMMAND_ARGS}")
        fi
        

  • Define the command to invoke the new linter:

    • lib/functions/linterCommands.sh: add the command to invoke the linter. Define a new variable: LINTER_COMMANDS_ARRAY_<LANGUAGE_NAME>. Example: LINTER_COMMANDS_ARRAY_GO_MODULES=(golangci-lint run --allow-parallel-runners -c "${GO_LINTER_RULES}")

      If the linter needs to load a configuration file, add the relevant options and paths to the command you just defined. The path to the configuration file is automatically initialized by Super-linter using in the <LANGUAGE_NAME>_LINTER_RULES variable, as in the GO_LINTER_RULES example above for the GO language.

    • lib/globals/linterCommandsOptions.sh: add "check only mode" and "fix linting and formatting issues mode" options if the linter supports it. Super-linter will automatically add them to the command to run the linter.

      • If the linter runs in "fix linting and formatting issues mode" by default, define a new variable with the options to add to the linter command to enable "check only mode": <LANGUAGE_NAME>_CHECK_ONLY_MODE_OPTIONS=(....). Example: PYTHON_BLACK_CHECK_ONLY_MODE_OPTIONS=(--diff --check)

      • If the linter runs in "check only mode" by default, define a new variable with the options to add to the linter command to enable "fix linting and formatting issues mode": <LANGUAGE_NAME>_FIX_MODE_OPTIONS=(...). Example: ANSIBLE_FIX_MODE_OPTIONS=(--fix)

  • Provide the logic to populate the list of files or directories to examine: lib/functions/buildFileList.sh

  • If necessary, provide elaborate logic to detect if the tool should examine a file or a directory: lib/functions/detectFiles.sh

  • If the tool needs to take into account special cases, reach out to the maintainers by creating a draft pull request and ask relevant questions there. For example, you might need to provide new logic or customize the existing one to:

    • Validate the runtime environment: lib/functions/validation.sh.
    • Get the installed version of the linter: scripts/linterVersions.sh
    • Load configuration files: lib/functions/linterRules.sh
    • Run the linter: lib/functions/worker.sh
    • Compose the linter command: lib/functions/linterCommands.sh
    • Modify the core Super-linter logic: lib/linter.sh