`exd lint`

Validate a flag namespace against the manifest spec. Reports every diagnostic (E-codes and W-codes) the linter can raise.

Synopsis

exd lint <path-or-uri>
    [--format human|json]
    [--http-backend curl|in-process]

Description

Loads the flag namespace at <path-or-uri>, runs the full lint pipeline (parse → typed-model construction → cross-file passes), and reports every diagnostic. Errors exit 1; warnings print but exit 0.

exd lint is the only producer of typed model values in the system — the SDK's Namespace::from_dir, the WASM bridge's lintFiles, and exd-server's push endpoint all funnel through the same pipeline. If exd lint says the manifest is valid, every downstream consumer agrees.

Use cases

Pre-commit hook. Block commits that introduce lint errors. Pair with the .pre-commit-hooks.yaml framework integration:
```
exd lint .
```
CI gate. A green exd lint is the precondition for exd manifest push. The server runs the same pipeline on receipt and rejects unlinted uploads with 422.
PR review aid. Reviewers run exd lint --format json . | jq to see structured diagnostics — useful for spotting drift across renamed segments or retired flags.

Inspect a remote flag namespace. Lint a server-hosted manifest without pulling it first:

exd lint exd-server://flags.acme.com/marketing
exd lint https://raw.githubusercontent.com/acme/flags/main/marketing.tar.gz

Agent authoring. An agent generating TOML can lint after each edit to validate the flag namespace before proposing a diff.

Arguments and flags

Argument / flag	Required	Notes
`<path-or-uri>` (positional)	yes	Local directory or remote URI. Schemes: `file://`, `git+file://`, `git+https://`, `git+ssh://`, `https://` / `http://` (tarball), `exd-server://`.
`--format human\|json`	no, default `human`	See conventions § JSON output.
`--http-backend curl\|in-process`	no	Only relevant for remote URIs.

Examples

Clean manifest

$ exd lint .
namespace 'marketing': 3 flags, 5 segments — OK

Errors and warnings

$ exd lint .
error[E037] flag 'onboarding-banner' env block '_' is missing 'variant'
   at flags/onboarding-banner.toml
warning[W014] flag 'legacy-toggle' marked retired but evaluation traffic in last 7d
   at flags/legacy-toggle.toml

1 error, 1 warning

Exit code is 1 because at least one E-code fired. Warnings alone exit 0.

JSON output

$ exd lint . --format json

{
  "query": "lint",
  "query_version": "1",
  "schema_version": "1",
  "exd_version": "0.4.0",
  "inputs": { "target": "." },
  "result": {
    "namespace": "marketing",
    "flags": 3,
    "segments": 5,
    "diagnostics": [
      {
        "code": "E037",
        "severity": "error",
        "file": "flags/onboarding-banner.toml",
        "message": "env block '_' is missing 'variant'"
      },
      {
        "code": "W014",
        "severity": "warning",
        "file": "flags/legacy-toggle.toml",
        "message": "marked retired but evaluation traffic in last 7d"
      }
    ]
  },
  "diagnostics": [],
  "provenance": { "source": ["."], "engine": "static", "record_count": 0, "time_range": {} }
}

result.diagnostics is the lint output; the envelope-level diagnostics is empty for exd lint (lint diagnostics live in result, not in the top-level diagnostics channel that telemetry commands use).

Exit codes

Code	Condition
`0`	No `E`-code diagnostics. Warnings may be present.
`1`	One or more `E`-code diagnostics.
`2`	Bad arguments; URI fetch failure; unreadable target.

Diagnostic vocabulary

The full set of diagnostics lives in reference/manifest/11-diagnostics.md. E001–E039 are allocated; W001–W016 are allocated. New diagnostics use E040+ / W017+.

Synopsis​

Description​

Use cases​

Arguments and flags​

Examples​

Clean manifest​

Errors and warnings​

JSON output​

Exit codes​

Diagnostic vocabulary​

See also​