golint-sl integrates with golangci-lint as a module plugin (golangci-lint v2). This provides unified configuration, nolint directives, and issue exclusion through golangci-lint's config.

Building a Custom Binary

1. Create a .custom-gcl.yml file in your project root:

version: v2.8.0

plugins:
  - module: 'github.com/spechtlabs/golint-sl'
    version: v0.1.0  # Use the latest version

1. Build the custom binary:

golangci-lint custom

This creates a ./custom-gcl binary with golint-sl included.

1. Configure golangci-lint to enable the plugin in .golangci.yml:

version: "2"

linters:
  enable:
    - golint-sl

  settings:
    custom:
      golint-sl:
        type: module
        description: SpechtLabs Go linter collection
        original-url: github.com/spechtlabs/golint-sl
        settings:
          # Optional: disable specific analyzers
          disabled-analyzers:
            - todotracker      # If you don't want TODO tracking
            - reconciler       # If not a Kubernetes project
            - statusupdate
            - sideeffects

1. Run the linter:

./custom-gcl run ./...

Verifying the Plugin

To verify golint-sl is loaded:

./custom-gcl linters | grep golint-sl

GitHub Actions

name: Lint

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: '1.22'
          cache: true

      - name: Install golangci-lint
        run: |
          curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/golangci/golangci-lint/master/install.sh | sh -s -- -b $(go env GOPATH)/bin v2.8.0

      - name: Build custom golangci-lint with golint-sl
        run: golangci-lint custom

      - name: Run linter
        run: ./custom-gcl run ./...

Caching the Custom Binary

For faster CI runs, you can cache the custom binary:

- name: Cache custom golangci-lint
  uses: actions/cache@v4
  id: cache-custom-gcl
  with:
    path: ./custom-gcl
    key: custom-gcl-${{ hashFiles('.custom-gcl.yml', 'go.sum') }}

- name: Build custom golangci-lint
  if: steps.cache-custom-gcl.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
  run: golangci-lint custom

Why Both golangci-lint and golint-sl?

golangci-lint and golint-sl serve complementary purposes:

Tool	Focus
golangci-lint	Broad coverage: style, complexity, bugs, security
golint-sl	Production patterns: observability, Kubernetes, safety

By running golint-sl as a golangci-lint plugin, you get both in a single tool invocation.

Avoiding Overlap

Some golangci-lint linters overlap with golint-sl analyzers:

golangci-lint	golint-sl	Recommendation
nilerr	nilcheck	Use golint-sl (more comprehensive)
bodyclose	resourceclose	Use golint-sl (catches more)
contextcheck	contextpropagation	Use golint-sl (production-focused)

Disable overlapping golangci-lint linters in your config:

# .golangci.yml
linters:
  disable:
    - nilerr       # Using golint-sl's nilcheck
    - bodyclose    # Using golint-sl's resourceclose
    - contextcheck # Using golint-sl's contextpropagation

Using nolint Directives

Use standard nolint directives to suppress warnings:

//nolint:golint-sl
func ignoredFunction() {
    // All golint-sl checks are suppressed for this function
}

// Suppress specific analyzer by name
//nolint:nilcheck
func nilNotChecked(ptr *string) {
    fmt.Println(*ptr) // nilcheck won't report this
}

Available Analyzers

golint-sl includes 30 analyzers across these categories:

Category	Analyzers
Error Handling	humaneerror, errorwrap, sentinelerrors
Observability	wideevents, contextlogger, contextpropagation
Kubernetes	reconciler, statusupdate, sideeffects
Testability	clockinterface, interfaceconsistency, mockverify, optionspattern
Resources	resourceclose, httpclient
Safety	goroutineleak, nilcheck, nopanic, nestingdepth, syncaccess
Clean Code	closurecomplexity, emptyinterface, returninterface
Architecture	contextfirst, pkgnaming, functionsize, exporteddoc, todotracker, hardcodedcreds, lifecycle, dataflow

Disabling Specific Analyzers

Disable analyzers via the plugin settings in .golangci.yml:

# .golangci.yml
linters:
  settings:
    custom:
      golint-sl:
        type: module
        settings:
          disabled-analyzers:
            - todotracker
            - reconciler
            - statusupdate
            - sideeffects

Makefile Integration

.PHONY: lint
lint: custom-gcl
    ./custom-gcl run ./...

custom-gcl:
    golangci-lint custom

Pre-commit with golangci-lint Plugin

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/SpechtLabs/golint-sl
    rev: v0.1.0
    hooks:
      - id: golint-sl      # Full analysis on ./...
      - id: golint-sl-pkg  # Fast mode for pre-commit

Next Steps

• Configure Analyzers - Customize golint-sl
• GitHub Actions - CI integration

Edit this page

Previous pagePre-commit Hooks

Next pageConfigure Analyzers