Defame1297/holocron
0
0
Fork 0
Code Issues 14 Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases 3 Wiki Activity

refactor(skills): retrofit the corpus to the ADR-0020 context contract (#129)

Browse Source 
Retrofits all 39 skills to ADR-0020's description/body context contract, then fixes what six rounds of independent review found in that retrofit — including four ways the hot gate itself failed open.

Closes #99, #107, #108, #110, #111, #114, #115, #120.

## The retrofit (waves 1-5)

| | Start | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Description FAILs (>400 chars) | 26 | **0** |
| Body FAILs (>900 words, body-only) | 9 | **0** |
| Dangling routing targets | 2 | **0** |
| `Kyberforge.CompositionNote` | 10 | **0** |
| Preload tax | 21,005 chars | **~10,500** |

Under the 12,000-char success criterion. Per-wave detail is on #99.

## The review fixes

**The gate failed open four ways, three of them found after the retrofit shipped.** An unrecognised follower token made a dangling target vanish. A skill directory with no `SKILL.md` resolved as a valid target, so a commit could be green locally and red in a fresh clone — three existing fixtures were relying on that, one of which made the install-leak A/B pass vacuously. Then the free-standing `/name` sweep turned out to be gated on the sentence carrying a boundary marker, so route notation in any other sentence was invisible — not an ERROR, not a SUGGESTION, not an INFO — which left the documented "`/name` always blocks" promise false from a second direction. All four fixed and pinned.

**Two checks were silently not running.** `validate-provenance.sh` checks 7-8 were dead across nine skills. Waking them exposed a deeper problem: they assume `Research doc:` names a source index, but 30 of 121 entries point at topic content documents, so every new check-7 INFO was a false positive and check 8 was saved from a false-FAIL flood only by an *unannounced* skip. Checks 7/8 are now scoped to source indexes and every skip announces itself (#121).

**The retrofit's own anti-goal, four times.** ADR-0020 warns that a blunt gate gets satisfied by deleting content rather than relocating it. `diagnose` and `skill-audit` relocated prose and then read it unconditionally; `prototype` and `vale-config` deleted rules outright that survived nowhere. All four addressed.

## Verification

- `bash tests/run-tests.sh --strict` — 24 suites, 0 skipped, 0 failed
- `bash tests/run-bats.sh` — 325 tests, 0 failures
- `pre-commit run --all-files` — 17/17
- `pre-commit run --hook-stage pre-push --all-files` — 16/16, with `apm marketplace check` and `apm pack --check-clean` run against the remote, not skipped
- `scripts/skill-size-check.sh` over all 39 skills — rc 0, 0 ERROR/FAIL, SUGGESTION-only
- Preload tax measured at **10,498 chars**, max description 390 — both inside budget
- Every new test proven non-vacuous by a deliberate mutation of the behaviour it covers

**Per-commit sync, stated accurately:** the ten commits from the latest review round each pass `check-plugin-content-sync` in isolation, verified by checking each out in a detached worktree with a clean between. The earlier gitea window (`dfacf05..bedbd1d`, nine commits) does **not** — its mirror was regenerated in one batch at `bbc7300`. An earlier revision of this description claimed the property held for every commit; it does not, and a bisect through that window lands on a red commit. **Squash-merge** to collapse it, or accept that this range is not bisectable.

## Version bump

Six plugins and the catalog take a **patch**, not a minor. The branch is **89 commits — 40 `fix` / 30 `refactor` / 12 `docs` / 5 `chore` / 2 `test` — zero `feat`, zero `!`, zero `BREAKING CHANGE`** — and adds no skill, agent, command or hook. (Two earlier revisions of this section cited a stale histogram, most recently 78 commits; the figures above are measured at HEAD.) Both rules this repo ships (`forge/references/version-bump.md`, landing in this PR, and `git-commits/references/conventional-commits-spec.md`) make that a patch, and the catalog set is unchanged at 7 entries.

Not settled by that: four published files were removed from the installed tree, three moved, and `caveman` gained `disable-model-invocation`, retiring its old triggers. Under a strict reading those are major-class and currently ship under `refactor:` with no marker. Whether the deployed skill surface is a public contract is written down nowhere — worth deciding, but it outlives this PR.

## Deliberately not in scope

#112 (cherry-pick ownership, now resolved in favour of `git-commits`), #113 (`rtk git` normalisation), #116 (research fan-out), #101 (audit-skill merge), #122 (non-spec skill-root files), #123 (no PRD producer) stay open. #117 is the one worth reading: the contract's remedy is to move prose into `references/`, which is exactly where neither the size gate nor Vale looks — and the blind spot is wider than #117 currently records, since there is no root `.vale.ini` at all, so every ADR, `CONTEXT.md` and `README.md` is unlinted too.

That blind spot let this branch carry two `level: error` `Kyberforge.SentenceOpenerThereIs` violations into `references/` files it created — `provider-adapter-author/references/provider-matrix.md:31` and `agent-audit/references/finding-criteria.md:95`. Both are reworded in `afadaae`, confirmed by routing each file through the audit's own `vale-wrap.sh` (1 error each before, 0 after). Five further occurrences sit in `references/` files already on `main`; those are the pre-existing corpus and stay with #117, which is the real fix.

Also unfixed and not this PR's: `apm install` appends a duplicate `SessionStart` entry to `.claude/settings.json`, so a fresh clone cannot get pre-push green without an edit AGENTS.md warns against. Reproduces identically on `main`.

Co-authored-by: Defame1297 <gitea@rkdr.net>
Reviewed-on: https://git.dev.rkdr.net/Defame1297/holocron/pulls/129
Co-authored-by: Claude Code AI - Gitea MCP <claude@noreply.git.dev.rkdr.net>
Co-committed-by: Claude Code AI - Gitea MCP <claude@noreply.git.dev.rkdr.net>
This commit was merged in pull request #129.
This commit is contained in:
Claude Code AI - Gitea MCP
2026-09-01 13:47:46 +00:00
committed by Defame1297
parent 0e91a3ae66
commit 598a7c326a
420 changed files with 15303 additions and 4740 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

2
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/README.md
View File

@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ Describe what you want configured: initial setup, adding a third-party style pac
| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `SKILL.md` | Skill instructions for agents |
| `references/configuration-reference.md` | Full `.vale.ini` field and rule-header reference |
| `references/configuration-reference.md` | Full `.vale.ini` fields, rule-header fields, and frontmatter-scope behaviour |
| `references/sources.md` | Research sources backing the Vale configuration guidance |

31
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/SKILL.md
View File

@@ -2,27 +2,26 @@
name: vale-config
description: >
Use when installing or configuring Vale, the cross-platform prose/style linter — setting up
.vale.ini, choosing a StylesPath, adding built-in, third-party, or custom styles, and activating
them per file glob via BasedOnStyles. Covers the setup side of Vale only: getting a project from
"no Vale config" to "vale sync runs clean and BasedOnStyles is wired up correctly". Use even if the
user doesn't say "Vale" explicitly — "set up prose linting", "lint our docs for style", "enforce a
vocabulary/terminology list in markdown" all apply. Do not use when the user wants to actually run
Vale and interpret its output on existing config — use vale-run for that.
Use when installing or configuring Vale, the prose/style linter — writing a `.vale.ini` whose
styles are fetched and actually activated — even when the user says only "set up prose
linting". Not running Vale on an existing config -> `vale-run`.
metadata:
category: lint
version: "0.1.0"
version: "0.1.2"
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Gotchas
- Installing the `vale` binary installs no styles, but only *package* styles need fetching. A fresh `.vale.ini` naming a style in `BasedOnStyles` that is declared in `Packages` will fail or find nothing until `vale sync` downloads it. A built-in style (`Vale`) or a style whose YAML rule files are already committed under `StylesPath` lints immediately, with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
- `.vale.ini` is order-sensitive: global (core) settings first, then the optional `[formats]` section, then glob sections (`[*]`, `[*.md]`, …). Settings in a glob section only apply to files matching that glob.
- `Packages` (top-level, fetched by `vale sync`) and `BasedOnStyles` (per-glob, activates) are separate keys — a style only lints files once it's in both. This is the step people forget.
- A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` (e.g. `text.frontmatter.description`) matches reliably when that field's value is a single physical line, and breaks on most — not all — multi-line forms. Confirmed against Vale 3.15.2 with a deliberately-bad fixture: a `>` folded block scalar, plain (unquoted) continuation lines, and single- or double-quoted multi-line scalars each yield 0 findings and exit 0, silently and with no error; a `|` literal block scalar spanning the same 2+ lines lints normally and exits 1. Do not assume `|` and `>` behave alike — reproduce both against your own config before trusting a frontmatter-scoped rule in production. If the field is commonly authored in one of the broken forms, flatten it to one physical line ahead of the `vale` call rather than relying on the scope alone.
- A style in `BasedOnStyles` that is neither built-in nor a directory under `StylesPath` fails hard, not silently: `E100 [loadStyles]`, exit 2, nothing linted.
- `vale sync` alone does not clear that `E100`. Sync fetches only what the top-level `Packages` key declares, so against a `BasedOnStyles`-only name it reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and exits 0, fetching nothing. Add the style to `Packages`, then sync. A style lints only once it is in both keys — and the reverse case is silent, exiting 0.
- Only *package* styles need fetching: built-in `Vale`, and any style whose YAML is already committed under `StylesPath`, lint with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
- `.vale.ini` order is enforced, not stylistic: put core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. A core setting (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) written below a `[glob]` header is a hard error — `E201 ... 'StylesPath' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options`, exit 2, nothing linted. `Packages` is the exception, and the worse one: below a glob header it is accepted with no error, then ignored — `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing.
- An `.mdx` file covered by one of your globs takes the whole run down unless `[formats]` maps it. Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support: unmapped, it shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary, and with that absent from `PATH` the invocation dies on `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — every other file in the same command goes unlinted, with no output of its own. Default to the mapping — a `[formats]` section holding `mdx = md`, above the glob sections — which needs nothing installed; `npm install -g mdx2vast` is the alternative. The choice also inverts the inline-suppression syntax `vale-run` uses, so record which one the config took.
- A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` silently matches nothing when the field spans multiple lines in most YAML forms. If you scope a rule to frontmatter, read `references/configuration-reference.md` first.
## Setup workflow
@@ -36,7 +35,9 @@ metadata:
[*.md]
BasedOnStyles = Vale
```
`Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`) — no download needed, it always works.
`Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`): no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`. It still needs the `StylesPath` directory to exist — declare `StylesPath = styles` without creating `styles/` and even a `Vale`-only config dies with `E201 ... The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2. That is why the previous step creates the directory.
**Settings in a glob section only apply to files matching that glob.** `BasedOnStyles` under `[*.md]` governs `.md` and nothing else: a `.mdx`, `.rst` or `.txt` in the same tree has no style active, is skipped without being counted, and a run over only such files reports `0 files` and exits 0 — indistinguishable from clean. Give every extension you mean to lint a glob that covers it.
- [ ] **Add third-party styles** (optional) by declaring them in `Packages`, then activating them in the same or another glob's `BasedOnStyles`:
```ini
Packages = Google, write-good
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ metadata:
- [ ] **Sync**: run `vale sync` to download everything listed in `Packages` into `StylesPath`.
- [ ] **Verify activation**: confirm every style named in `Packages` also appears in at least one glob's `BasedOnStyles` — an unreferenced package downloads but never lints anything.
For the full `.vale.ini` field reference (formats mapping, vocab, local overrides, custom rule header fields), read `references/configuration-reference.md`.
For the full `.vale.ini` field reference (formats mapping, vocab, local overrides, custom rule header fields) and the verified style-resolution matrix — which error each misconfiguration raises, and the two that exit 0 while linting nothing — read `references/configuration-reference.md`.
## Custom styles
@@ -59,4 +60,4 @@ styles/
└── NoJargon.yml
```
Each rule file needs `extends` (the check it implements, e.g. `existence`) and `message` at minimum. Activate the style the same way as any other: add `MyStyle` to `BasedOnStyles` for the relevant glob. See `references/configuration-reference.md` for the full rule header field table.
Each rule file needs `extends` (the check it implements, e.g. `existence`) and `message` at minimum. Activate the style the same way as any other: add `MyStyle` to `BasedOnStyles` for the relevant glob. If a rule needs a field beyond those two, read `references/configuration-reference.md` for the full rule header field table.

39
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/references/configuration-reference.md
View File

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
topic: configuration-reference
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Core Settings
@@ -24,6 +25,10 @@ Map an unrecognized extension onto a supported one so Vale lints it with the rig
mdx = md
```
`mdx` is the case that matters, because Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. The mapping above is not cosmetic: it is what lets `.mdx` files lint with nothing else installed. Leave it out and Vale takes the native MDX path, which shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary — absent from `PATH`, the run dies with `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2, and every other file in the same invocation goes unlinted too. Take the mapping: it is this skill's recommended default, because it needs nothing installed, and it is the branch `vale-run` assumes when it documents inline suppressions. Install `mdx2vast` (`npm install -g mdx2vast`) only when something else in the toolchain already needs the native MDX parser.
The choice also decides the inline-suppression syntax, and it is inverted between the two: mapped to `md`, `.mdx` takes Markdown's `<!-- vale off -->`; native, it takes `{/* vale off */}`. `vale-run`'s `references/troubleshooting.md` carries the verified matrix.
## Vocabularies
Reference a named vocabulary (a folder of accept/reject word lists under `StylesPath`) via `Vocab`, then apply styles per glob:
@@ -68,11 +73,41 @@ Individual rule YAML files (under a style's directory) support these header fiel
The underlying functions a rule's `extends` field can reference: `existence`, `substitution`, `occurrence`, `repetition`, `consistency`, `conditional`, `capitalization`, `metric`, `spelling`, `sequence`, `script`.
## Built-in Style
## Style Resolution
Vale ships with a default `Vale` style containing four rules, usable without `vale sync`:
Only *package* styles need fetching. A style whose YAML rule files are already committed under `StylesPath` lints immediately, with no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`; the same is true of the built-in `Vale` style, which ships with the binary and contains four rules:
- `Vale.Spelling` — spell-checks against Hunspell-compatible dictionaries in `<StylesPath>/config/dictionaries`.
- `Vale.Terms` — enforces the project's accepted vocabulary terms.
- `Vale.Avoid` — enforces the project's rejected vocabulary terms.
- `Vale.Repetition` — flags repeated words (e.g. "the the").
`Packages` (top-level, what `vale sync` downloads) and `BasedOnStyles` (per-glob, what activates) are separate keys: a style lints a file only once it is in both. Every row below reproduced against Vale 3.15.2 (slug `house-vale-3-15-2-repro`):
| Configuration | Result |
|---|---|
| `BasedOnStyles` names a style with no directory under `StylesPath`, not built-in | `E100 [loadStyles] Runtime error` — `style 'X' does not exist on StylesPath`, exit 2 |
| `StylesPath` directory itself absent, even with only `Vale` active | `E201 Invalid value` — `The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2 |
| `vale sync` with a name in `BasedOnStyles` but not `Packages` | `SUCCESS Synced 0 package(s)`, exit 0, nothing downloaded — the next lint repeats the `E100` |
| `vale sync` with the name added to `Packages` | package lands under `StylesPath`, exit 0; lint then loads it |
| Style in `Packages` and synced, but in no glob's `BasedOnStyles` | 0 findings, exit 0 — downloads, never lints, indistinguishable from a clean run |
| `BasedOnStyles` names an *empty* directory under `StylesPath` | 0 findings, exit 0 — loads and lints nothing; `vale sync` never produces this state |
| Built-in `Vale`, or a style's YAML committed under `StylesPath` | lints immediately, no `Packages` entry, no sync |
| Core option (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) below a `[glob]` header | `E201 Invalid value` — `'X' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options ([...])`, exit 2 |
| `Packages` below a `[glob]` header | no error, exit unaffected — parsed as a per-glob rule toggle (`SChecks: {"*.md": {"Packages": false}}` in `ls-config`), so `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing |
## Frontmatter Scopes
House-verified behaviour, not documented on vale.sh — reproduced locally against Vale 3.15.2 (slug `house-vale-3-15-2-repro`).
A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` (e.g. `text.frontmatter.description`) matches reliably when that field's value is a single physical line, and breaks on most — not all — multi-line forms. Multi-line forms spanning 2+ lines:
| Frontmatter value form | Result |
|---|---|
| Single physical line (control) | Lints, exits 1 |
| `\|` literal block scalar | Lints, exits 1 |
| `>` folded block scalar | 0 findings, exits 0 |
| Plain (unquoted) continuation lines | 0 findings, exits 0 |
| Single- or double-quoted multi-line scalar | 0 findings, exits 0 |
The silent cases produce no error of any kind, so a passing run is indistinguishable from a clean one. Do not assume a literal block scalar and a folded one behave alike — reproduce both against your own config before trusting a frontmatter-scoped rule in production. If the field is commonly authored in one of the broken forms, flatten it to one physical line ahead of the `vale` call rather than relying on the scope alone.

8
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-config/references/sources.md
View File

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
- **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
- **Status:** `extracted`
## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when a core option is written below a `[glob]` header (with `Packages` as the silent exception), and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
- **Status:** `extracted`

2
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/README.md
View File

@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ Describe what you want to lint and how (human-readable output, CI/JSON output, f
| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `SKILL.md` | Core invocation, key flags, output format guidance, false-positive triage order |
| `references/troubleshooting.md` | Inline suppression syntax, rule-specific disabling, spelling ignore lists, pre-commit integration, CI edge cases |
| `references/troubleshooting.md` | Load when a rule appears not to apply, when writing inline suppression or spelling-ignore syntax, or when wiring Vale into pre-commit: resolved-config diagnostic (`vale ls-config`), format-specific suppression markup, rule-specific disabling, spelling ignore lists, pre-commit integration, CI edge cases |
| `references/sources.md` | Research provenance |

34
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/SKILL.md
View File

@@ -1,28 +1,22 @@
---
name: vale-run
description: >
Use when running Vale (a prose/style linter) against files or directories in an
already-configured project — one that already has a .vale.ini — and interpreting
or reporting its results: choosing an output format for humans vs. CI, filtering
by severity, handling Vale's exit codes in scripts, or resolving common runtime
issues like false positives and unexpected CI failures. Use even if the user
doesn't say "vale" explicitly, e.g. "lint the docs", "check prose style", "run
the style linter", "why is CI failing on the docs check". Do not use when the
project has no .vale.ini yet, or needs styles installed/configured — that's the
vale-config skill.
Use when running Vale (a prose/style linter) on a project that already has a
.vale.ini and acting on its output — even when the user does not say "Vale",
as in "lint the docs", "check prose style", or "why is CI failing on the docs
check". Not setting up Vale config or styles -> `vale-config`.
metadata:
version: "0.1.1"
version: "0.1.3"
category: lint
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Gotchas
- Vale's exit code is driven by `error`-level alerts only. `warning` and `suggestion` alerts are reported but still exit `0`. `MinAlertLevel` and `--minAlertLevel` control display, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the single most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
- `vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON — the fastest way to check why a rule "isn't applying" is what's actually active, not what's written in `.vale.ini`.
- Inline suppression syntax is format-specific: Markdown uses HTML comments `<!-- vale off -->` / `<!-- vale on -->`, MDX uses `{/* vale off */}` / `{/* vale on */}`, Org mode uses `# vale off` / `# vale on`. The MDX form does nothing in a plain `.md` file — the alert still fires. Don't assume one syntax works across formats.
- Before calling the `vale` binary directly, check whether the target repo documents its own wrapper script for Vale (look in its README, CONTRIBUTING docs, pre-commit config, or a `scripts/` directory). Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a scope that silently stops matching multi-line YAML block-scalar frontmatter fields — and calling bare `vale` in a repo that has such a wrapper silently skips whatever the wrapper works around. If a wrapper is documented, invoke it with the same arguments instead of calling `vale` directly; otherwise fall back to the default below.
- Vale's exit code keys off `error`-level alerts only — `warning` and `suggestion` alerts print and still exit `0`, and `MinAlertLevel`/`--minAlertLevel` filter what is displayed, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope that silently stops matching multi-line values (`>` folded scalars, plain continuation lines and quoted multi-line scalars all go unmatched; a `|` literal block scalar still works) — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
## Running vale
@@ -41,18 +35,22 @@ Key flags:
| `--no-exit` | Suppresses the nonzero exit that `error`-level alerts would otherwise cause; a no-op when no rule is `error`-level. Use in CI stages that should surface lint output without hard-failing the build. |
| `--ignore-syntax` | Treats input as plain text, skipping format-aware parsing — use when a file's syntax-aware parser produces noisy or wrong results. |
`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, that's a sign `vale sync` hasn't been run yet, not a `vale-run` problem.
`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem. `ls-config` resolves config files, styles and `StylesPath` search paths; it never enumerates rules, so it cannot tell you a given rule is live.
Prefer `--output=JSON` whenever the caller (a script, a CI step, another agent) needs to act on individual alerts rather than just get a pass/fail signal — `CLI` and `line` are for humans reading the terminal.
## Fixing false positives
Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md`: the form follows the parser the config picks, not the file extension, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error.
`.mdx` is the trap — the two parsers take opposite forms, so read `.vale.ini` first. Under `[formats] mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) it is Markdown: `<!-- vale off -->` suppresses, `{/* vale off */}` does not. Without that mapping Vale takes the native MDX path, which needs the external `mdx2vast` binary (`npm install -g mdx2vast`); missing, the whole invocation dies — `E100 [lintMDX] ... mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — leaving every other file in the run unlinted too.
Scope the fix as narrowly as possible, in this order:
1. **Mentioning banned phrasing rather than using it**: wrap it in backticks or a fenced code block. Vale skips code spans and fences, so no suppression is needed at all. Try this before any suppression markup.
2. **One-off**: inline-suppress the specific text run with the format's `vale off`/`vale on` markup.
3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression.
3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (in Markdown, e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression — and put the listed file at the `StylesPath` root, because an `ignore` path that resolves nowhere is a silent no-op (`references/troubleshooting.md`).
Never disable a rule project-wide to fix one false positive — editing `.vale.ini`/`BasedOnStyles` is vale-config's job, and it silences the rule everywhere, not just the false-positive case.
@@ -60,4 +58,4 @@ If output looks wrong because Vale mis-parsed a file's format, rerun with `--ign
For CI that fails solely because Vale returned non-zero on `error`-level alerts — not because the content is wrong for that pipeline stage — add `--no-exit` rather than disabling the rule. If the failing alerts are warnings or suggestions, Vale is not what failed the build; look elsewhere.
If setting up Vale as a pre-commit hook or need the full inline-suppression/spelling-ignore syntax reference, read `references/troubleshooting.md`.
If a rule appears not to apply, if you need the spelling-ignore syntax, if a CI failure still needs diagnosing, or if setting Vale up as a pre-commit hook, read `references/troubleshooting.md`.

8
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/references/sources.md
View File

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
- **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
- **Status:** `extracted`
## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing or documents it wrongly: `.mdx` has no built-in support and needs either `[formats] mdx = md` or an external `mdx2vast` binary (absent, the whole invocation exits 2 with `E100 [lintMDX]`), the inline-suppression form inverts between those two configurations, the `spelling` check's `ignore` paths resolve against `StylesPath` or the working directory but never against the rule file's own directory and fail silently when they resolve nowhere, `ls-config` reports styles and paths but never rules, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
- **Status:** `extracted`

94
plugins/lint/.apm/skills/vale-run/references/troubleshooting.md
View File

@@ -1,20 +1,77 @@
---
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
# Vale troubleshooting reference
## Why a rule isn't applying
`vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON. Check that
before rereading `.vale.ini` — what is written in the config file is not necessarily what is
active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which config files, styles and
`StylesPath` directories a run actually loaded.
It stops at styles. It does not enumerate rules, and neither does any other Vale 3.15.2
subcommand — `ls-config`, `ls-dirs`, `ls-vars` and `ls-metrics` were each checked and none
names the rule. Against a config
whose custom rule was demonstrably firing on the target file, `ls-config` reported
`"SBaseStyles": {"*.md": ["MyStyle"]}` and the two `StylesPath` search paths, but
`"Checks": null`, `"SChecks": {"*.md": {}}` and `"RuleToLevel": {}` — the firing rule's own name
appeared nowhere in the output. So `ls-config` answers "is this style loaded, and from where",
not "is this rule live". For the latter, run Vale over a small fixture that should trigger the
rule and see whether it alerts.
## Inline suppression syntax by format
Markdown uses HTML comments — the MDX `{/* */}` form does not suppress anything in a plain `.md` file:
### Prerequisite: `.mdx` needs a decision before it lints at all
Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. If `.vale.ini` does **not** map the extension, Vale takes
the native MDX path and shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary. Without it on `PATH` the run
dies before linting anything:
```
$ vale . # doc.md and doc.mdx both present, no [formats] mapping
E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error
mdx2vast not found
Execution stopped with code 1.
$ echo $?
2
```
That is the whole invocation, not just the `.mdx` file — the `.md` alongside it produced no output
either. Fix it one of two ways, and the choice is not cosmetic because it also decides the
suppression syntax:
| `.vale.ini` | Prerequisite | Parser | Suppression form that works |
|---|---|---|---|
| `[formats]` maps `mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) | none | Markdown | `<!-- vale off -->` |
| no `mdx` mapping (native MDX) | `npm install -g mdx2vast` | MDX | `{/* vale off */}` |
Key the markup to that config row, never to the file extension. Verified against Vale 3.15.2, same
three fixtures under each config:
| File | Mapped `mdx = md` | Native MDX (`mdx2vast` installed) |
|---|---|---|
| no suppression (control) | alert, exit 1 | alert, exit 1 |
| `<!-- vale off -->` | suppressed, exit 0 | `E100 ... failed to parse MDX: Unexpected character` `` `!` ``, exit 2 |
| `{/* vale off */}` | **not suppressed**, exit 1 | suppressed, exit 0 |
Under the mapping the JSX comment is worse than inert: it is linted as prose, so
`{/* vale Vale.Repetition = NO */}` produced three alerts where the un-suppressed file produced
one — its own markup tripped the rule twice more.
Markdown, and `.mdx` mapped onto it — HTML comments:
```markdown
<!-- vale off -->
This text will be ignored.
<!-- vale on -->
```
MDX:
Native MDX only (no `[formats]` mapping, `mdx2vast` on `PATH`):
```mdx
{/* vale off */}
This text will be ignored.
@@ -39,7 +96,8 @@ This is some text ACT test
<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = YES -->
```
MDX:
Native MDX only — under `[formats] mdx = md` an `.mdx` file takes the Markdown form above, and
this one silences nothing:
```mdx
{/* vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO */}
This is some text ACT test
@@ -59,6 +117,36 @@ ignore:
- ignore2.txt
```
**Where the file goes, and why a wrong answer is invisible.** Each entry resolves against the
`StylesPath` root, or against the working directory `vale` is invoked from. It does **not** resolve
against the rule file's own directory — which is the natural reading of the YAML above, since the
path sits inside the rule, and it is wrong. Verified against Vale 3.15.2 across four fresh trees,
each with the same rule and the same unknown word:
| Where `ignore1.txt` was placed | Result |
|---|---|
| `<StylesPath>/ignore1.txt` | word ignored, exit 0 |
| `./ignore1.txt` in the directory `vale` runs from | word ignored, exit 0 |
| `<StylesPath>/<Style>/ignore1.txt`, beside the rule | word still flagged, exit 1 |
| file absent entirely | word still flagged, exit 1 |
The two failing rows emit no warning, no error, and no diagnostic of any kind: the output is
byte-identical to the same rule with the `ignore` key deleted. A misplaced ignore list looks exactly
like a list that was read and did not contain the word.
Prefer the `StylesPath` root. The run-directory form is the fragile one — move the invocation and it
silently stops working. Same tree, same file, only the working directory changed:
```
$ cd project && vale doc.md # ignore1.txt at project root
✔ 0 errors, 0 warnings and 0 suggestions in 1 file. # exit 0
$ cd /elsewhere && vale --config=project/.vale.ini project/doc.md
1:5 error Did you really mean 'zzqwidget'? MyStyle.Spell # exit 1
```
The `StylesPath` copy survives that move; the run-directory copy does not.
## Plain-text fallback
If a file's syntax-aware parsing produces noisy or incorrect results (an unsupported or malformed format), rerun with `--ignore-syntax` to treat it as plain text instead of relying on the format-specific parser.

2
plugins/lint/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
View File

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"name": "lint",
"version": "1.1.6",
"version": "1.1.7",
"description": "Skills and agents for configuring and running linters.",
"author": {
"name": "Defame1297",

2
plugins/lint/.github/plugin/plugin.json vendored
View File

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"name": "lint",
"version": "1.1.6",
"version": "1.1.7",
"description": "Skills and agents for configuring and running linters.",
"author": {
"name": "Defame1297",

2
plugins/lint/apm.yml
View File

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
name: lint
version: 1.1.6
version: 1.1.7
description: Skills and agents for configuring and running linters.
author:
name: Defame1297

2
plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/README.md
View File

@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ Describe what you want configured: initial setup, adding a third-party style pac
| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `SKILL.md` | Skill instructions for agents |
| `references/configuration-reference.md` | Full `.vale.ini` field and rule-header reference |
| `references/configuration-reference.md` | Full `.vale.ini` fields, rule-header fields, and frontmatter-scope behaviour |
| `references/sources.md` | Research sources backing the Vale configuration guidance |

31
plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/SKILL.md
View File

@@ -2,27 +2,26 @@
name: vale-config
description: >
Use when installing or configuring Vale, the cross-platform prose/style linter — setting up
.vale.ini, choosing a StylesPath, adding built-in, third-party, or custom styles, and activating
them per file glob via BasedOnStyles. Covers the setup side of Vale only: getting a project from
"no Vale config" to "vale sync runs clean and BasedOnStyles is wired up correctly". Use even if the
user doesn't say "Vale" explicitly — "set up prose linting", "lint our docs for style", "enforce a
vocabulary/terminology list in markdown" all apply. Do not use when the user wants to actually run
Vale and interpret its output on existing config — use vale-run for that.
Use when installing or configuring Vale, the prose/style linter — writing a `.vale.ini` whose
styles are fetched and actually activated — even when the user says only "set up prose
linting". Not running Vale on an existing config -> `vale-run`.
metadata:
category: lint
version: "0.1.0"
version: "0.1.2"
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Gotchas
- Installing the `vale` binary installs no styles, but only *package* styles need fetching. A fresh `.vale.ini` naming a style in `BasedOnStyles` that is declared in `Packages` will fail or find nothing until `vale sync` downloads it. A built-in style (`Vale`) or a style whose YAML rule files are already committed under `StylesPath` lints immediately, with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
- `.vale.ini` is order-sensitive: global (core) settings first, then the optional `[formats]` section, then glob sections (`[*]`, `[*.md]`, …). Settings in a glob section only apply to files matching that glob.
- `Packages` (top-level, fetched by `vale sync`) and `BasedOnStyles` (per-glob, activates) are separate keys — a style only lints files once it's in both. This is the step people forget.
- A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` (e.g. `text.frontmatter.description`) matches reliably when that field's value is a single physical line, and breaks on most — not all — multi-line forms. Confirmed against Vale 3.15.2 with a deliberately-bad fixture: a `>` folded block scalar, plain (unquoted) continuation lines, and single- or double-quoted multi-line scalars each yield 0 findings and exit 0, silently and with no error; a `|` literal block scalar spanning the same 2+ lines lints normally and exits 1. Do not assume `|` and `>` behave alike — reproduce both against your own config before trusting a frontmatter-scoped rule in production. If the field is commonly authored in one of the broken forms, flatten it to one physical line ahead of the `vale` call rather than relying on the scope alone.
- A style in `BasedOnStyles` that is neither built-in nor a directory under `StylesPath` fails hard, not silently: `E100 [loadStyles]`, exit 2, nothing linted.
- `vale sync` alone does not clear that `E100`. Sync fetches only what the top-level `Packages` key declares, so against a `BasedOnStyles`-only name it reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and exits 0, fetching nothing. Add the style to `Packages`, then sync. A style lints only once it is in both keys — and the reverse case is silent, exiting 0.
- Only *package* styles need fetching: built-in `Vale`, and any style whose YAML is already committed under `StylesPath`, lint with no `Packages` entry and no sync.
- `.vale.ini` order is enforced, not stylistic: put core settings first, then `[formats]`, then glob sections. A core setting (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) written below a `[glob]` header is a hard error — `E201 ... 'StylesPath' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options`, exit 2, nothing linted. `Packages` is the exception, and the worse one: below a glob header it is accepted with no error, then ignored — `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing.
- An `.mdx` file covered by one of your globs takes the whole run down unless `[formats]` maps it. Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support: unmapped, it shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary, and with that absent from `PATH` the invocation dies on `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — every other file in the same command goes unlinted, with no output of its own. Default to the mapping — a `[formats]` section holding `mdx = md`, above the glob sections — which needs nothing installed; `npm install -g mdx2vast` is the alternative. The choice also inverts the inline-suppression syntax `vale-run` uses, so record which one the config took.
- A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` silently matches nothing when the field spans multiple lines in most YAML forms. If you scope a rule to frontmatter, read `references/configuration-reference.md` first.
## Setup workflow
@@ -36,7 +35,9 @@ metadata:
[*.md]
BasedOnStyles = Vale
```
`Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`) — no download needed, it always works.
`Vale` here is the built-in style (`Vale.Spelling`, `Vale.Terms`, `Vale.Avoid`, `Vale.Repetition`): no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`. It still needs the `StylesPath` directory to exist — declare `StylesPath = styles` without creating `styles/` and even a `Vale`-only config dies with `E201 ... The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2. That is why the previous step creates the directory.
**Settings in a glob section only apply to files matching that glob.** `BasedOnStyles` under `[*.md]` governs `.md` and nothing else: a `.mdx`, `.rst` or `.txt` in the same tree has no style active, is skipped without being counted, and a run over only such files reports `0 files` and exits 0 — indistinguishable from clean. Give every extension you mean to lint a glob that covers it.
- [ ] **Add third-party styles** (optional) by declaring them in `Packages`, then activating them in the same or another glob's `BasedOnStyles`:
```ini
Packages = Google, write-good
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ metadata:
- [ ] **Sync**: run `vale sync` to download everything listed in `Packages` into `StylesPath`.
- [ ] **Verify activation**: confirm every style named in `Packages` also appears in at least one glob's `BasedOnStyles` — an unreferenced package downloads but never lints anything.
For the full `.vale.ini` field reference (formats mapping, vocab, local overrides, custom rule header fields), read `references/configuration-reference.md`.
For the full `.vale.ini` field reference (formats mapping, vocab, local overrides, custom rule header fields) and the verified style-resolution matrix — which error each misconfiguration raises, and the two that exit 0 while linting nothing — read `references/configuration-reference.md`.
## Custom styles
@@ -59,4 +60,4 @@ styles/
└── NoJargon.yml
```
Each rule file needs `extends` (the check it implements, e.g. `existence`) and `message` at minimum. Activate the style the same way as any other: add `MyStyle` to `BasedOnStyles` for the relevant glob. See `references/configuration-reference.md` for the full rule header field table.
Each rule file needs `extends` (the check it implements, e.g. `existence`) and `message` at minimum. Activate the style the same way as any other: add `MyStyle` to `BasedOnStyles` for the relevant glob. If a rule needs a field beyond those two, read `references/configuration-reference.md` for the full rule header field table.

39
plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/references/configuration-reference.md
View File

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
topic: configuration-reference
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Core Settings
@@ -24,6 +25,10 @@ Map an unrecognized extension onto a supported one so Vale lints it with the rig
mdx = md
```
`mdx` is the case that matters, because Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. The mapping above is not cosmetic: it is what lets `.mdx` files lint with nothing else installed. Leave it out and Vale takes the native MDX path, which shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary — absent from `PATH`, the run dies with `E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error / mdx2vast not found`, exit 2, and every other file in the same invocation goes unlinted too. Take the mapping: it is this skill's recommended default, because it needs nothing installed, and it is the branch `vale-run` assumes when it documents inline suppressions. Install `mdx2vast` (`npm install -g mdx2vast`) only when something else in the toolchain already needs the native MDX parser.
The choice also decides the inline-suppression syntax, and it is inverted between the two: mapped to `md`, `.mdx` takes Markdown's `<!-- vale off -->`; native, it takes `{/* vale off */}`. `vale-run`'s `references/troubleshooting.md` carries the verified matrix.
## Vocabularies
Reference a named vocabulary (a folder of accept/reject word lists under `StylesPath`) via `Vocab`, then apply styles per glob:
@@ -68,11 +73,41 @@ Individual rule YAML files (under a style's directory) support these header fiel
The underlying functions a rule's `extends` field can reference: `existence`, `substitution`, `occurrence`, `repetition`, `consistency`, `conditional`, `capitalization`, `metric`, `spelling`, `sequence`, `script`.
## Built-in Style
## Style Resolution
Vale ships with a default `Vale` style containing four rules, usable without `vale sync`:
Only *package* styles need fetching. A style whose YAML rule files are already committed under `StylesPath` lints immediately, with no `Packages` entry and no `vale sync`; the same is true of the built-in `Vale` style, which ships with the binary and contains four rules:
- `Vale.Spelling` — spell-checks against Hunspell-compatible dictionaries in `<StylesPath>/config/dictionaries`.
- `Vale.Terms` — enforces the project's accepted vocabulary terms.
- `Vale.Avoid` — enforces the project's rejected vocabulary terms.
- `Vale.Repetition` — flags repeated words (e.g. "the the").
`Packages` (top-level, what `vale sync` downloads) and `BasedOnStyles` (per-glob, what activates) are separate keys: a style lints a file only once it is in both. Every row below reproduced against Vale 3.15.2 (slug `house-vale-3-15-2-repro`):
| Configuration | Result |
|---|---|
| `BasedOnStyles` names a style with no directory under `StylesPath`, not built-in | `E100 [loadStyles] Runtime error` — `style 'X' does not exist on StylesPath`, exit 2 |
| `StylesPath` directory itself absent, even with only `Vale` active | `E201 Invalid value` — `The path '...' does not exist`, exit 2 |
| `vale sync` with a name in `BasedOnStyles` but not `Packages` | `SUCCESS Synced 0 package(s)`, exit 0, nothing downloaded — the next lint repeats the `E100` |
| `vale sync` with the name added to `Packages` | package lands under `StylesPath`, exit 0; lint then loads it |
| Style in `Packages` and synced, but in no glob's `BasedOnStyles` | 0 findings, exit 0 — downloads, never lints, indistinguishable from a clean run |
| `BasedOnStyles` names an *empty* directory under `StylesPath` | 0 findings, exit 0 — loads and lints nothing; `vale sync` never produces this state |
| Built-in `Vale`, or a style's YAML committed under `StylesPath` | lints immediately, no `Packages` entry, no sync |
| Core option (`StylesPath`, `MinAlertLevel`, `Vocab`, `IgnoredScopes`, `SkippedScopes`) below a `[glob]` header | `E201 Invalid value` — `'X' is a core option; it should be defined above any syntax-specific options ([...])`, exit 2 |
| `Packages` below a `[glob]` header | no error, exit unaffected — parsed as a per-glob rule toggle (`SChecks: {"*.md": {"Packages": false}}` in `ls-config`), so `vale sync` reports `Synced 0 package(s)` and downloads nothing |
## Frontmatter Scopes
House-verified behaviour, not documented on vale.sh — reproduced locally against Vale 3.15.2 (slug `house-vale-3-15-2-repro`).
A rule scoped to `text.frontmatter.<key>` (e.g. `text.frontmatter.description`) matches reliably when that field's value is a single physical line, and breaks on most — not all — multi-line forms. Multi-line forms spanning 2+ lines:
| Frontmatter value form | Result |
|---|---|
| Single physical line (control) | Lints, exits 1 |
| `\|` literal block scalar | Lints, exits 1 |
| `>` folded block scalar | 0 findings, exits 0 |
| Plain (unquoted) continuation lines | 0 findings, exits 0 |
| Single- or double-quoted multi-line scalar | 0 findings, exits 0 |
The silent cases produce no error of any kind, so a passing run is indistinguishable from a clean one. Do not assume a literal block scalar and a folded one behave alike — reproduce both against your own config before trusting a frontmatter-scoped rule in production. If the field is commonly authored in one of the broken forms, flatten it to one physical line ahead of the `vale` call rather than relying on the scope alone.

8
plugins/lint/skills/vale-config/references/sources.md
View File

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
- **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
- **Status:** `extracted`
## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing: the `E100 [loadStyles]` / exit-2 failure for a `BasedOnStyles` name absent from `StylesPath`, `vale sync` reporting `Synced 0 package(s)` for a name not declared in `Packages`, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when the `StylesPath` directory does not exist, the exit-0 no-op of an empty style directory, the `E201` / exit-2 failure when a core option is written below a `[glob]` header (with `Packages` as the silent exception), and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/configuration-reference.md
- **Status:** `extracted`

2
plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/README.md
View File

@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ Describe what you want to lint and how (human-readable output, CI/JSON output, f
| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `SKILL.md` | Core invocation, key flags, output format guidance, false-positive triage order |
| `references/troubleshooting.md` | Inline suppression syntax, rule-specific disabling, spelling ignore lists, pre-commit integration, CI edge cases |
| `references/troubleshooting.md` | Load when a rule appears not to apply, when writing inline suppression or spelling-ignore syntax, or when wiring Vale into pre-commit: resolved-config diagnostic (`vale ls-config`), format-specific suppression markup, rule-specific disabling, spelling ignore lists, pre-commit integration, CI edge cases |
| `references/sources.md` | Research provenance |

34
plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/SKILL.md
View File

@@ -1,28 +1,22 @@
---
name: vale-run
description: >
Use when running Vale (a prose/style linter) against files or directories in an
already-configured project — one that already has a .vale.ini — and interpreting
or reporting its results: choosing an output format for humans vs. CI, filtering
by severity, handling Vale's exit codes in scripts, or resolving common runtime
issues like false positives and unexpected CI failures. Use even if the user
doesn't say "vale" explicitly, e.g. "lint the docs", "check prose style", "run
the style linter", "why is CI failing on the docs check". Do not use when the
project has no .vale.ini yet, or needs styles installed/configured — that's the
vale-config skill.
Use when running Vale (a prose/style linter) on a project that already has a
.vale.ini and acting on its output — even when the user does not say "Vale",
as in "lint the docs", "check prose style", or "why is CI failing on the docs
check". Not setting up Vale config or styles -> `vale-config`.
metadata:
version: "0.1.1"
version: "0.1.3"
category: lint
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
## Gotchas
- Vale's exit code is driven by `error`-level alerts only. `warning` and `suggestion` alerts are reported but still exit `0`. `MinAlertLevel` and `--minAlertLevel` control display, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the single most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
- `vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON — the fastest way to check why a rule "isn't applying" is what's actually active, not what's written in `.vale.ini`.
- Inline suppression syntax is format-specific: Markdown uses HTML comments `<!-- vale off -->` / `<!-- vale on -->`, MDX uses `{/* vale off */}` / `{/* vale on */}`, Org mode uses `# vale off` / `# vale on`. The MDX form does nothing in a plain `.md` file — the alert still fires. Don't assume one syntax works across formats.
- Before calling the `vale` binary directly, check whether the target repo documents its own wrapper script for Vale (look in its README, CONTRIBUTING docs, pre-commit config, or a `scripts/` directory). Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a scope that silently stops matching multi-line YAML block-scalar frontmatter fields — and calling bare `vale` in a repo that has such a wrapper silently skips whatever the wrapper works around. If a wrapper is documented, invoke it with the same arguments instead of calling `vale` directly; otherwise fall back to the default below.
- Vale's exit code keys off `error`-level alerts only — `warning` and `suggestion` alerts print and still exit `0`, and `MinAlertLevel`/`--minAlertLevel` filter what is displayed, never the exit code — no flag makes warnings fail. A rule that must gate CI or a commit hook has to be `level: error`. This is the most common way a Vale gate silently passes everything.
- Check whether the target repo documents its own `vale` wrapper script (README, CONTRIBUTING, pre-commit config, `scripts/`) before calling the binary. Some projects wrap `vale` to work around real bugs — e.g. a `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope that silently stops matching multi-line values (`>` folded scalars, plain continuation lines and quoted multi-line scalars all go unmatched; a `|` literal block scalar still works) — so bare `vale` skips whatever the wrapper fixes. Invoke the documented wrapper with the same arguments.
## Running vale
@@ -41,18 +35,22 @@ Key flags:
| `--no-exit` | Suppresses the nonzero exit that `error`-level alerts would otherwise cause; a no-op when no rule is `error`-level. Use in CI stages that should surface lint output without hard-failing the build. |
| `--ignore-syntax` | Treats input as plain text, skipping format-aware parsing — use when a file's syntax-aware parser produces noisy or wrong results. |
`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, that's a sign `vale sync` hasn't been run yet, not a `vale-run` problem.
`vale sync` downloads the packages/styles declared in `.vale.ini` — that's a one-time-per-change setup step (vale-config's territory), not part of a normal lint run. If a run behaves as though no styles are active, check `vale ls-config` before concluding it is a sync problem — an unrun `vale sync` is the usual cause, and not a `vale-run` problem. `ls-config` resolves config files, styles and `StylesPath` search paths; it never enumerates rules, so it cannot tell you a given rule is live.
Prefer `--output=JSON` whenever the caller (a script, a CI step, another agent) needs to act on individual alerts rather than just get a pass/fail signal — `CLI` and `line` are for humans reading the terminal.
## Fixing false positives
Before writing any inline suppression markup (steps 2 and 3 below), read `references/troubleshooting.md`: the form follows the parser the config picks, not the file extension, and the wrong form suppresses nothing while Vale reports no error.
`.mdx` is the trap — the two parsers take opposite forms, so read `.vale.ini` first. Under `[formats] mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) it is Markdown: `<!-- vale off -->` suppresses, `{/* vale off */}` does not. Without that mapping Vale takes the native MDX path, which needs the external `mdx2vast` binary (`npm install -g mdx2vast`); missing, the whole invocation dies — `E100 [lintMDX] ... mdx2vast not found`, exit 2 — leaving every other file in the run unlinted too.
Scope the fix as narrowly as possible, in this order:
1. **Mentioning banned phrasing rather than using it**: wrap it in backticks or a fenced code block. Vale skips code spans and fences, so no suppression is needed at all. Try this before any suppression markup.
2. **One-off**: inline-suppress the specific text run with the format's `vale off`/`vale on` markup.
3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression.
3. **Recurring known-exception string, one rule**: disable that specific rule for that specific match inline (in Markdown, e.g. `<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO -->` ... `= YES`), rather than the whole rule.
4. **Known project term failing spell check**: add it to the style's `ignore` list, not an inline suppression — and put the listed file at the `StylesPath` root, because an `ignore` path that resolves nowhere is a silent no-op (`references/troubleshooting.md`).
Never disable a rule project-wide to fix one false positive — editing `.vale.ini`/`BasedOnStyles` is vale-config's job, and it silences the rule everywhere, not just the false-positive case.
@@ -60,4 +58,4 @@ If output looks wrong because Vale mis-parsed a file's format, rerun with `--ign
For CI that fails solely because Vale returned non-zero on `error`-level alerts — not because the content is wrong for that pipeline stage — add `--no-exit` rather than disabling the rule. If the failing alerts are warnings or suggestions, Vale is not what failed the build; look elsewhere.
If setting up Vale as a pre-commit hook or need the full inline-suppression/spelling-ignore syntax reference, read `references/troubleshooting.md`.
If a rule appears not to apply, if you need the spelling-ignore syntax, if a CI failure still needs diagnosing, or if setting Vale up as a pre-commit hook, read `references/troubleshooting.md`.

8
plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/references/sources.md
View File

@@ -7,3 +7,11 @@
- **Research doc:** plugins/lint/docs/research/docs/vale/sources.md
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
- **Status:** `extracted`
## house-vale-3-15-2-repro
- **URL:** (house-verified — reproduced locally against the `vale` binary, not an external source)
- **Description:** Behaviour of Vale 3.15.2 established by running it against purpose-built fixtures in this repo, where vale.sh documents nothing or documents it wrongly: `.mdx` has no built-in support and needs either `[formats] mdx = md` or an external `mdx2vast` binary (absent, the whole invocation exits 2 with `E100 [lintMDX]`), the inline-suppression form inverts between those two configurations, the `spelling` check's `ignore` paths resolve against `StylesPath` or the working directory but never against the rule file's own directory and fail silently when they resolve nowhere, `ls-config` reports styles and paths but never rules, and the `text.frontmatter.<key>` scope matrix across multi-line YAML forms.
- **Research doc:** none — house-verified reproduction, not part of the plugin's research corpus (no `plugins/lint/docs/research/` topic file backs this entry)
- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/troubleshooting.md
- **Status:** `extracted`

94
plugins/lint/skills/vale-run/references/troubleshooting.md
View File

@@ -1,20 +1,77 @@
---
source_keys:
- context7-websites-vale-sh
- house-vale-3-15-2-repro
---
# Vale troubleshooting reference
## Why a rule isn't applying
`vale ls-config` prints the fully-resolved, currently active configuration as JSON. Check that
before rereading `.vale.ini` — what is written in the config file is not necessarily what is
active, and the resolved output is the fastest way to see which config files, styles and
`StylesPath` directories a run actually loaded.
It stops at styles. It does not enumerate rules, and neither does any other Vale 3.15.2
subcommand — `ls-config`, `ls-dirs`, `ls-vars` and `ls-metrics` were each checked and none
names the rule. Against a config
whose custom rule was demonstrably firing on the target file, `ls-config` reported
`"SBaseStyles": {"*.md": ["MyStyle"]}` and the two `StylesPath` search paths, but
`"Checks": null`, `"SChecks": {"*.md": {}}` and `"RuleToLevel": {}` — the firing rule's own name
appeared nowhere in the output. So `ls-config` answers "is this style loaded, and from where",
not "is this rule live". For the latter, run Vale over a small fixture that should trigger the
rule and see whether it alerts.
## Inline suppression syntax by format
Markdown uses HTML comments — the MDX `{/* */}` form does not suppress anything in a plain `.md` file:
### Prerequisite: `.mdx` needs a decision before it lints at all
Vale 3.15.2 has no built-in MDX support. If `.vale.ini` does **not** map the extension, Vale takes
the native MDX path and shells out to an external `mdx2vast` binary. Without it on `PATH` the run
dies before linting anything:
```
$ vale . # doc.md and doc.mdx both present, no [formats] mapping
E100 [lintMDX] Runtime error
mdx2vast not found
Execution stopped with code 1.
$ echo $?
2
```
That is the whole invocation, not just the `.mdx` file — the `.md` alongside it produced no output
either. Fix it one of two ways, and the choice is not cosmetic because it also decides the
suppression syntax:
| `.vale.ini` | Prerequisite | Parser | Suppression form that works |
|---|---|---|---|
| `[formats]` maps `mdx = md` (what `vale-config` recommends) | none | Markdown | `<!-- vale off -->` |
| no `mdx` mapping (native MDX) | `npm install -g mdx2vast` | MDX | `{/* vale off */}` |
Key the markup to that config row, never to the file extension. Verified against Vale 3.15.2, same
three fixtures under each config:
| File | Mapped `mdx = md` | Native MDX (`mdx2vast` installed) |
|---|---|---|
| no suppression (control) | alert, exit 1 | alert, exit 1 |
| `<!-- vale off -->` | suppressed, exit 0 | `E100 ... failed to parse MDX: Unexpected character` `` `!` ``, exit 2 |
| `{/* vale off */}` | **not suppressed**, exit 1 | suppressed, exit 0 |
Under the mapping the JSX comment is worse than inert: it is linted as prose, so
`{/* vale Vale.Repetition = NO */}` produced three alerts where the un-suppressed file produced
one — its own markup tripped the rule twice more.
Markdown, and `.mdx` mapped onto it — HTML comments:
```markdown
<!-- vale off -->
This text will be ignored.
<!-- vale on -->
```
MDX:
Native MDX only (no `[formats]` mapping, `mdx2vast` on `PATH`):
```mdx
{/* vale off */}
This text will be ignored.
@@ -39,7 +96,8 @@ This is some text ACT test
<!-- vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = YES -->
```
MDX:
Native MDX only — under `[formats] mdx = md` an `.mdx` file takes the Markdown form above, and
this one silences nothing:
```mdx
{/* vale Style.Redundancy["ACT test","OTHER"] = NO */}
This is some text ACT test
@@ -59,6 +117,36 @@ ignore:
- ignore2.txt
```
**Where the file goes, and why a wrong answer is invisible.** Each entry resolves against the
`StylesPath` root, or against the working directory `vale` is invoked from. It does **not** resolve
against the rule file's own directory — which is the natural reading of the YAML above, since the
path sits inside the rule, and it is wrong. Verified against Vale 3.15.2 across four fresh trees,
each with the same rule and the same unknown word:
| Where `ignore1.txt` was placed | Result |
|---|---|
| `<StylesPath>/ignore1.txt` | word ignored, exit 0 |
| `./ignore1.txt` in the directory `vale` runs from | word ignored, exit 0 |
| `<StylesPath>/<Style>/ignore1.txt`, beside the rule | word still flagged, exit 1 |
| file absent entirely | word still flagged, exit 1 |
The two failing rows emit no warning, no error, and no diagnostic of any kind: the output is
byte-identical to the same rule with the `ignore` key deleted. A misplaced ignore list looks exactly
like a list that was read and did not contain the word.
Prefer the `StylesPath` root. The run-directory form is the fragile one — move the invocation and it
silently stops working. Same tree, same file, only the working directory changed:
```
$ cd project && vale doc.md # ignore1.txt at project root
✔ 0 errors, 0 warnings and 0 suggestions in 1 file. # exit 0
$ cd /elsewhere && vale --config=project/.vale.ini project/doc.md
1:5 error Did you really mean 'zzqwidget'? MyStyle.Spell # exit 1
```
The `StylesPath` copy survives that move; the run-directory copy does not.
## Plain-text fallback
If a file's syntax-aware parsing produces noisy or incorrect results (an unsupported or malformed format), rerun with `--ignore-syntax` to treat it as plain text instead of relying on the format-specific parser.