This page covers installing revive, running it from the command line, pointing it at a configuration file, and suppressing failures inline with comment directives. For a deeper explanation of the architecture behind these operations, see Core Architecture. For the complete list of available CLI flags, see Command Line Interface. For configuration file format details, see Configuration System.
revive is distributed as a single binary. Several installation methods are available.
| Method | Command | Best For |
|---|---|---|
go install (latest release) | go install github.com/mgechev/revive@latest | Standard Go toolchain usage |
go install (HEAD) | go install github.com/mgechev/revive@HEAD | Latest unreleased features |
| Homebrew | brew install revive | macOS users |
| Docker | See below | CI environments or sandboxed runs |
| Binary download | GitHub Releases page | Non-Go environments |
The module path is github.com/mgechev/revive (go.mod1).
A bind mount is required so the container can access your source tree and config file.
Sources: README.md85-148 go.mod1-16
Without any configuration, revive runs the same rule set as golint. This makes it a drop-in replacement: no config needed to get started.
Default rule activation logic (from config/config.go16-40):
defaultRules → used when no config file is found
The defaultRules slice in config/config.go contains 23 rules including exported, var-naming, error-strings, package-comments, and others that mirror golint's behavior.
Sources: config/config.go16-40 README.md149-156
The entry point binary accepts packages, files, or directory patterns.
Full example combining multiple flags:
Sources: README.md250-260
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
-config [PATH] | $HOME/revive.toml if present | Path to TOML config file |
-exclude [PATTERN] | vendor/... | Files/dirs/packages to exclude; repeatable |
-formatter [NAME] | default | Output format: default, json, ndjson, friendly, stylish, checkstyle, sarif, plain, unix |
-max_open_files | unlimited | Maximum number of simultaneously open files |
-set_exit_status | false | Exit with code 1 if any issues found; overrides errorCode/warningCode in config |
-version | — | Print version and exit |
Sources: README.md229-248
When -config is not provided, revive searches for a default config file in this order:
Config path resolution (implemented in cli/main_test.go tests, which validate buildDefaultConfigPath()):
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/revive.toml → $HOME/revive.toml$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/revive.toml → $USERPROFILE/revive.tomldefaultRules slice in config/config.go)Sources: cli/main_test.go20-114 README.md154-156
Config files use TOML format. The file controls which rules run, their severity, arguments, and global confidence thresholds.
| Config Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| (neither set) | Only rules explicitly listed in the config file run |
enableDefaultRules = true | All 23 golint-compatible rules run plus any explicitly listed |
enableAllRules = true | All ~102 available rules run; use Disabled = true to opt out |
enableAllRules and enableDefaultRules cannot be combined. This is enforced by validateConfig() in config/config.go207-212
Supported exclusion pattern types:
| Pattern Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Exact file path | src/pkg/some.go |
Glob (single *) | src/somepkg/*.go |
Glob (double **) | **/*.pb.go |
Regex (prefix ~) | `~.(pb |
| Well-known keyword | TEST (matches **/*_test.go) |
Sources: README.md314-488 config/config.go191-278
The diagram below maps the config loading path to actual code entities.
Sources: config/config.go146-278
A practical starting configuration that mirrors common Go project standards:
Sources: README.md423-457
Directives are placed in Go source comments to control revive at the file or line level. They are parsed at lint time from the file's AST. For the full directive specification, see In-Code Directives.
If revive:enable is omitted, the linter stays disabled for the rest of the file.
You can enforce that all disable directives include a reason by adding this to your config:
Sources: README.md261-313
| Tool | How to Enable |
|---|---|
VS Code (via vscode-go) | Set "go.lintTool": "revive" in settings |
| GoLand | Configure via File Watchers |
Vim (via dense-analysis/ale) | Set let g:ale_linters = {'go': ['revive']} |
| GitHub Actions | Use the Revive Action |
| golangci-lint | Add revive to linters.enable in your golangci-lint config |
Note: golangci-lint config uses YAML; revive's standalone config uses TOML. For more on the integration, see Integration with Other Tools.
Sources: README.md159-223
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