A linter to check arguments in Python docstrings
Project description
pydoclint
A Python docstring linter to check whether a docstring's sections (arguments, returns, raises, ...) match the function signature or function implementation.
It runs really fast. In fact, it is at least ~1,475 times faster than darglint (another linter of the same purposes which is no longer maintained).
Here is a comparison of linting time on some famous Python projects:
pydoclint | darglint | |
---|---|---|
numpy | 2.0 sec | 49 min 9 sec (1,475x slower) |
scikit-learn | 2.4 sec | 3 hr 5 min 33 sec (4,639x slower) |
Currently, pydoclint only works when you write your docstrings in the numpy stlyle. Support for the Google style docstrings will be added soon.
Another note: this linter and pydocstyle serves complementary purposes. It is recommended that you use both together.
1. Installation
pip install pydoclint
Note that pydoclint currently only supports Python 3.8 and above. (Python 3.7 support may be added if there are interests and requests.)
2. Usage
2.1. As a native command line tool
pydoclint <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
Replace <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
with the file/folder names you want, such as .
.
2.2. As a flake8 plugin
Once you install pydoclint you will have also installed flake8. Then you can run:
flake8 --select=DOC <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
If you don't include --select=DOC
in your command, flake8 will also run
other built-in flake8 linters on your code.
2.3. Native vs flake8
Should I use pydoclint as a native command line tool or a flake8 plugin? Here's comparison:
Pros | Cons | |
---|---|---|
Native tool | Slightly faster | No per-line or project-wide omission support right now [*] |
flake8 plugin | Supports per-line or project-wide omission | Slightly slower because other flake8 plugins are run together |
*) This feature may be added in the near future
3. Style violation codes
pydoclint
currently has the following style violation codes:
3.1. DOC1xx
: Violations about input arguments
Code | Explanation |
---|---|
DOC101 |
Docstring contains fewer arguments than in function signature |
DOC102 |
Docstring contains more arguments than in function signature |
DOC103 |
Docstring arguments are different from function arguments. (Or did you miss the space between the argument name and the ":" in the docstring?) |
DOC104 |
Arguments are the same in the docstring and the function signature, but are in a different order. |
DOC105 |
Argument names match, but type hints do not match |
3.2. DOC2xx
: Violations about return argument(s)
Code | Explanation |
---|---|
DOC201 |
Function/method does not have a return section in docstring |
DOC202 |
Function/method has a return section in docstring, but there are no return statements or annotations |
3.3. DOC3xx
: Violations about class docstring and class constructor
Code | Explanation |
---|---|
DOC301 |
__init__() should not have a docstring; please combine it with the docstring of the class |
DOC302 |
The docstring for the class does not need a "Returns" sections |
3.4. DOC4xx
: Violations about "yield" statements
Code | Explanation |
---|---|
DOC401 |
Function/method returns a Generator, but the docstring does not have a "Yields" section |
DOC402 |
Function/method has "yield" statements, but the docstring does not have a "Yields" section |
DOC403 |
Function/method has a "Yields" section in the docstring, but there are no "yield" statements or a Generator return annotation |
3.5. DOC5xx
: Violations about "raise" statements
Code | Explanation |
---|---|
DOC501 |
Function/method has "raise" statements, but the docstring does not have a "Raises" section |
DOC502 |
Function/method has a "Raises" section in the docstring, but there are not "raise" statements in the body |
4. Configuration options
There are several configuration options available. They can be used invidually or together.
4.1. --quiet
(shortform: -q
)
This flag activates the "quite mode", in which no output will be printed to the command line if there are no violations.
By default, this flag is not activated, so the files that are scanned are printed in the command line.
pydoclint --quiet <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
This option is only available in the "native" command-line mode, rather than in flake8. If you use pydoclint in flake8, please use flake8's own verbosity configuration instead.
4.2. --exclude
You can use this option to exclude files within the given folder. It is a regex pattern of full file paths.
For example:
pydoclint --exclude='\.git|\.tox|tests/data' <FOLDER_NAME>
This option is only available in the native command-line mode. If you use
pydoclint within flake8, you can use flake8's
--exclude
option.
4.3. --check-type-hint
(shortform: -th
, default: True
)
If True
, the type hints in the docstring and in the Python code need to
exactly match.
To turn this optoin on/off, do this:
pydoclint --check-type-hint=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
or
flake8 --check-type-hint=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
4.4. --check-arg-order
(shortform: -ao
, default: True
)
If True
, the input argument order in the docstring needs to match that in the
function signature.
To turn this optoin on/off, do this:
pydoclint --check-arg-order=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
or
flake8 --check-arg-order=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
4.5. --skip-checking-short-docstrings
(shortform: -scsd
, default: True
)
If True
, pydoclint
won't check functions that have only a short description
in their docstring.
To turn this optoin on/off, do this:
pydoclint --skip-checking-short-docstrings=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
or
flake8 --skip-checking-short-docstrings=False <FILE_OR_FOLDER>
4.6. --skip-checking-raises
(shortform: -scr
, default: False
)
If True
, pydoclint won't report DOC501
or DOC502
if there are raise
statements in the function/method but there aren't any "raises" sections in the
docstring (or vice versa).
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