strict-kwargs 2026.5.18

Enforce using keyword arguments where possible.

strict-kwargs

Fast enforcement of keyword arguments at call sites, without mypy or ty plugins. Companion to mypy-strict-kwargs; a fast standalone linter for teams that type-check with ty.

def add(a: int, b: int) -> int: ...

add(a=1, b=2)  # OK
add(1, 2)      # error: too many positional args  ->  fix rewrites to add(a=1, b=2)

Install

uv tool install strict-kwargs   # or: pip install strict-kwargs

Usage

strict-kwargs .                 # check a directory (exit 0 = clean, 1 = violations, 2 = error)
strict-kwargs fix .             # rewrite positional args to keyword args in place
strict-kwargs fix --diff .      # preview the rewrite, write nothing
strict-kwargs --python .venv .  # point the ty fallback at an environment

fix is conservative: it never rewrites a call it would not report, and leaves overloaded callees, *args/**kwargs unpacking, and ty-only-resolved calls untouched (reporting how many it declined). --python accepts an interpreter, venv, or sys.prefix (mirrors ty check --python) for third-party packages outside an activated venv or <project>/.venv.

pre-commit

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/adamtheturtle/strict-kwargs-pre-commit
    rev: 2026.5.16.post1  # pin to a release tag
    hooks:
      - id: strict-kwargs

Use the mirror (prebuilt wheel, no Rust toolchain). Pointing repo: at this repository works too but builds from source.

Configuration

In pyproject.toml:

[tool.strict_kwargs]
ignore_names = ["main.func", "builtins.str"]  # fully-qualified, as in mypy-strict-kwargs
debug = false