Configuring Super-Linter

Super-Linter is highly configurable to fit the needs of any project. You can control its behavior using environment variables and by providing your own linter configuration files.

Configuration via Environment Variables

Environment variables are the primary way to configure Super-Linter's behavior. You can use them to enable or disable linters, activate fix mode, filter files, and more.

Below is a comprehensive list of available environment variables. For detailed examples, refer to the README.md file in the repository.

Environment variable	Default Value	Description
ANSIBLE_CONFIG_FILE	`.ansible-lint.yml`	Filename for Ansible-lint configuration.
ANSIBLE_DIRECTORY	`/ansible`	Root directory for Ansible files relative to `DEFAULT_WORKSPACE`. Set to `.` to use the top-level.
BASH_EXEC_IGNORE_LIBRARIES	`false`	If `true`, shell files with an extension but no shebang are ignored for executable bit checks.
BASH_FILE_NAME	`.shellcheckrc`	Filename for Shellcheck.
BASH_SEVERITY	Shellcheck default	Minimum severity of errors for shellcheck (error, warning, info, style).
CHECKOV_FILE_NAME	`.checkov.yaml`	Configuration filename for Checkov.
CLANG_FORMAT_FILE_NAME	`.clang-format`	Configuration filename for clang-format.
CREATE_LOG_FILE	`false`	If `true`, creates a log file (`super-linter.log` by default).
CSS_FILE_NAME	`.stylelintrc.json`	Filename for Stylelint configuration.
DEFAULT_BRANCH	`main` or repo default	The name of the repository's default branch. Automatically detected in GitHub Actions.
DEFAULT_WORKSPACE	`/tmp/lint`	The directory containing files to lint when running locally.
DISABLE_ERRORS	`false`	If `true`, the action completes with exit code 0 even if errors were found.
DOCKERFILE_HADOLINT_FILE_NAME	`.hadolint.yaml`	Filename for hadolint configuration.
EDITORCONFIG_FILE_NAME	`.editorconfig-checker.json`	Filename for editorconfig-checker configuration.
FILTER_REGEX_EXCLUDE	not set	Regex to exclude files from linting (e.g., `.src/test.`).
FILTER_REGEX_INCLUDE	not set	Regex to include files for linting. Evaluated before `FILTER_REGEX_EXCLUDE`.
FIX_...	`false`	A series of `FIX_[LANGUAGE]` variables to enable auto-fixing for supported formatters. See Fixing Errors.
IGNORE_GENERATED_FILES	`false`	If `true`, ignores files containing a `@generated` marker.
IGNORE_GITIGNORED_FILES	`false`	If `true`, ignores files listed in `.gitignore`.
LINTER_RULES_PATH	`.github/linters`	Directory for all linter configuration files.
LOG_LEVEL	`INFO`	Log verbosity: `ERROR`, `WARN`, `NOTICE`, `INFO`, or `DEBUG`.
RUN_LOCAL	`false`	Set to `true` when running outside GitHub Actions.
VALIDATE_ALL_CODEBASE	`true`	If `false`, only new or edited files are linted. If `true`, the entire codebase is scanned.
VALIDATE_...	`true`	A series of `VALIDATE_[LANGUAGE]` variables to enable or disable specific linters.

Enabling and Disabling Linters

The VALIDATE_[LANGUAGE] variables follow a specific logic:

By default, all linters are enabled.
If you set any VALIDATE_[LANGUAGE] variable to false, only that linter is disabled, and all others remain enabled.
If you set any VALIDATE_[LANGUAGE] variable to true, Super-Linter switches to an "opt-in" mode: only the linters explicitly set to true will run.
You cannot mix true and false values for different VALIDATE_[LANGUAGE] variables; this will result in a configuration error.

Configuration via Files

For many linters, you can provide your own configuration files to override the default rules.

Create a rules directory: By default, Super-Linter looks for configuration files in the .github/linters directory at the root of your repository. You can change this location by setting the LINTER_RULES_PATH environment variable.
Add your configuration file: Place your custom configuration file in the rules directory with the correct name. Super-Linter will automatically detect and use it.

Here are the default filenames Super-Linter looks for:

Linter/Tool	Default Filename
Ansible	`.ansible-lint.yml`
ARM Templates	`.arm-ttk.psd1`
Checkov	`.checkov.yaml`
Clang-Format	`.clang-format`
Clojure	`.clj-kondo/config.edn`
CoffeeScript	`.coffee-lint.json`
CSS (Stylelint)	`.stylelintrc.json`
Docker (Hadolint)	`.hadolint.yaml`
EditorConfig	`.editorconfig-checker.json`
Gitleaks	`.gitleaks.toml`
Go	`.golangci.yml`
Groovy	`.groovylintrc.json`
HTML (HTMLHint)	`.htmlhintrc`
Java (Checkstyle)	`sun_checks.xml`
JavaScript (ESLint)	`eslint.config.mjs`
JSCPD	`.jscpd.json`
LaTeX (ChkTex)	`.chktexrc`
Lua (Luacheck)	`.luacheckrc`
Markdown	`.markdown-lint.yml`
OpenAPI (Spectral)	`.openapirc.yml`
PowerShell	`.powershell-psscriptanalyzer.psd1`
Protobuf	`.protolintrc.yml`
Python (Black)	`.python-black`
Python (flake8)	`.flake8`
Python (isort)	`.isort.cfg`
Python (mypy)	`.mypy.ini`
Python (pylint)	`.python-lint`
Python (ruff)	`.ruff.toml`
R	`.lintr`
Ruby (RuboCop)	`.ruby-lint.yml`
Scala (scalafmt)	`.scalafmt.conf`
Snakemake (snakefmt)	`.snakefmt.toml`
SQL (sqlfluff)	`/.sqlfluff`
Terraform (tflint)	`.tflint.hcl`
Terraform (terrascan)	`terrascan.toml`
Textlint	`.textlintrc`
Trivy	`trivy.yaml`
TypeScript (ESLint)	`eslint.config.mjs`
YAML (Yamllint)	`.yaml-lint.yml`

You can find the default templates for these files in the Super-Linter repository.