golangci/golangci-lint · error

path is required

Error message

path is required

What it means

CustomLinterSettings.Validate: for a custom linter that is not of type module, `path` (the plugin binary/.so location) is mandatory. An empty path leaves the loader with nothing to build or load, so validation fails.

Source

Thrown at pkg/config/linters_settings.go:1258

	Description string `mapstructure:"description"`
	// OriginalURL The URL containing the source code for the private linter.
	OriginalURL string `mapstructure:"original-url"`

	// Settings plugin settings only work with linterdb.PluginConstructor symbol.
	Settings any `mapstructure:"settings"`
}

func (s *CustomLinterSettings) Validate() error {
	if s.Type == "module" {
		if s.Path != "" {
			return errors.New("path not supported with module type")
		}

		return nil
	}

	if s.Path == "" {
		return errors.New("path is required")
	}

	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to ed7a235d2d)

Solutions

1. Add the `path:` key pointing to the plugin (.so) or built binary.
2. If the linter is a Go module, set `type: module` and omit path instead.
3. Verify the path points to an existing, built plugin artifact.

Example fix

# before
linters-settings:
  custom:
    mylint:
      description: my plugin

# after
linters-settings:
  custom:
    mylint:
      path: ./plugin/mylint.so

for (const [name, s] of Object.entries(cfg['linters-settings']?.custom ?? {})) {
  if (s.type !== 'module' && !s.path) {
    throw new Error(`custom linter "${name}" requires a "path" to the plugin`);
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: A `linters-settings.custom` entry without `type: module` and with `path:` empty or omitted.

Common situations: Newly added custom linter stub in config where path was never filled in; renaming a plugin and deleting the path accidentally.

Understand the failure class

Background: "is required", "must be set", "missing required field": configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 36 libraries.

Related errors

• path not supported with module type
• no plugins defined
• can't combine option --config and --no-config
• failed to expand configuration path
• can't get config directory

AI-assisted analysis of golangci/golangci-lint@ed7a235d2d (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/190d634c18b708df. Report an issue: GitHub.