golangci/golangci-lint · error

at least %d of (text, source, path[-except], linters) should

Error message

at least %d of (text, source, path[-except], linters) should be set

What it means

BaseRule.Validate requires a linter-exclusion rule to set at least minConditionsCount (typically 2) of the fields: text, source, path/path-except, and linters. This prevents overly broad exclusion rules that would silently disable linting for too much code. If fewer fields are non-blank, the rule is considered too vague and validation fails.

Source

Thrown at pkg/config/base_rule.go:62

	}

	// Filtering by path counts as one condition, regardless how it is done (one or both).
	// Otherwise, a rule with Path and PathExcept set would pass validation
	// whereas before the introduction of path-except that wouldn't have been precise enough.
	if b.Path != "" || b.PathExcept != "" {
		nonBlank++
	}

	if b.Text != "" {
		nonBlank++
	}

	if b.Source != "" {
		nonBlank++
	}

	if nonBlank < minConditionsCount {
		return fmt.Errorf("at least %d of (text, source, path[-except], linters) should be set", minConditionsCount)
	}

	return nil
}

func validateOptionalRegex(value string) error {
	if value == "" {
		return nil
	}

	_, err := regexp.Compile(value)
	return err
}

View on GitHub (pinned to ed7a235d2d)

Solutions

1. Add a second condition to the rule, most commonly a 'linters' list naming the linters the exclusion applies to
2. If the exclusion is unconditional, remove the rule entirely — a rule with fewer than 2 conditions is too broad
3. Check field names for typos (path-except vs pathExcept) that leave fields blank

Example fix

# before
linters:
  exclusions:
    rules:
      - text: 'missing doc comment'
# after
linters:
  exclusions:
    rules:
      - text: 'missing doc comment'
        linters:
          - revive

for _, r := range cfg.Linters.Exclusions.Rules {
	cond := 0
	if r.Text != "" { cond++ }
	if r.Source != "" { cond++ }
	if len(r.Path) > 0 || len(r.PathsExcept) > 0 { cond++ }
	if len(r.Linters) > 0 { cond++ }
	if cond < 2 { return fmt.Errorf("exclusion rule needs >=2 conditions: %+v", r) }
}

err := cfg.Validate(); if err != nil { log.Fatalf("invalid config: %v", err) }

When it happens

Trigger: Running golangci-lint with a config whose linters.exclusions.rules entry has fewer than 2 of (text, source, path[-except], linters) set, e.g. a rule with only 'text' and no 'linters' or 'path'.

Common situations: Hand-editing the YAML config and adding an exclusion rule with only a message regex; copying a rule from docs and dropping the 'linters' key; typos like 'path-exept' leaving path unset.

Related errors

• error in exclude rule #%d: %w
• %s is not a formatter
• %s is a formatter
• invalid preset: %s
• custom linter %q: %w

AI-assisted analysis of golangci/golangci-lint@ed7a235d2d (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1a4d1c8385c13c94. Report an issue: GitHub.