no_symlinks

Flag tracked paths that are symbolic links. Symlinks are a portability footgun: Windows NTFS needs admin rights to create them, git-for-Windows can silently flatten them, CI runners vary.

Caveat: a symlink whose target escapes the repository root (link -> /etc) is pruned by the walker before indexing, so it is not flagged — the rule reports in-tree symlinks (to files or directories), not escaping ones. The escaping symlink can’t be read out-of-root either (path confinement blocks that), so this is a reporting gap, not a disclosure one; recording escaping symlinks safely is a tracked follow-up.

Fix: file_remove — unlinks the symlink; the target is untouched.

Options

This rule takes no kind-specific options.

Plus the common paths, level, id, and when fields. This table is generated from the JSON Schema; option types and defaults are authoritative.

Example

A repository containing a symlink

The rule fires on this repository:

README.md
latest.rs -> src/main.rs
src/
src/main.rs

README.md

# demo

src/main.rs

fn main() {}

With this .alint.yml:

version: 1
rules:
  - id: no-links
    kind: no_symlinks
    paths: "**"
    level: error

alint check reports:

--- latest.rs ------------------------------------------------------------------
  x  error    no-links
              path is a symbolic link

Summary (1 violation):
  x 1 error
  0 passing * 1 failing

A repository with no symlinks

This repository is compliant:

README.md
src/
src/lib.rs
src/main.rs

README.md

# demo

src/main.rs

fn main() {}

With this .alint.yml:

version: 1
rules:
  - id: no-links
    kind: no_symlinks
    paths: "**"
    level: error

alint check reports:

v All 1 rule(s) passed.