credo-config

Credo Configuration

Canonical FP bar: docs/fcis-engineering-rules.md — Functional Core, Imperative Shell: pure domain modules; side effects at edges. Enforce FCIS in reviews/refactors: fat LiveViews and mixed Repo+math are defects.

RULES — Follow these with no exceptions

1. Always run mix credo gen.config first — never hand-craft .credo.exs from scratch 2. Use --strict in CI — enables additional checks that are disabled by default 3. Add inline disables sparingly — document why each exception is necessary 4. Custom checks belong in lib/credo/checks/ — never inline them in application code

Setup Workflow

Follow this sequence when setting up or customizing Credo:

1. Add Dependency

# mix.exs
defp deps do
  [
    {:credo, "~> 1.7", only: [:dev, :test], runtime: false}
  ]
end

2. Fetch Dependencies

mix deps.get

3. Generate Default Config

mix credo gen.config

4. Customize .credo.exs

See Basic Configuration below.

5. Verify Setup

mix credo

Success: Credo exits 0 and prints a summary with issue counts per category. If issues are found, review them — fix violations, adjust check configuration, or add inline disable comments for intentional exceptions.

6. Run in Strict Mode

mix credo --strict

CI must use --strict.

7. Add to CI

See CI Integration below.

8. Create Custom Checks

Add custom check modules to lib/credo/checks/. See Custom Checks below.

Basic Configuration

Use mix credo gen.config for the complete check list rather than writing it by hand.

# .credo.exs
%{
  configs: [
    %{
      name: "default",
      strict: false,
      color: true,
      files: %{
        included: ["lib/", "src/", "test/", "web/", "apps/"],
        excluded: [~r"/_build/", ~r"/deps/", ~r"/node_modules/"]
      },
      checks: %{
        enabled: [
          {Credo.Check.Readability.MaxLineLength, [priority: :low, max_length: 120]},
          {Credo.Check.Design.AliasUsage, [if_nested_deeper_than: 2, if_called_more_often_than: 0]},
          # ... add or override checks as needed
        ],
        disabled: [
          {Credo.Check.Consistency.MultiAliasImportRequireUse, []},
          {Credo.Check.Design.DuplicatedCode, []},
        ]
      }
    },
    %{
      name: "strict",
      strict: true,
      files: %{
        included: ["lib/", "src/", "test/", "web/", "apps/"],
        excluded: [~r"/_build/", ~r"/deps/", ~r"/node_modules/"]
      },
      checks: %{
        enabled: [
          {Credo.Check.Design.TagTODO, [priority: :high]},
          {Credo.Check.Readability.Specs, []},
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Disabling Checks

For a Single Line

# credo:disable-for-next-line
def my_function_with_long_name, do: :ok

def my_function, do: :ok # credo:disable-for-this-line

For a File

# At the top of the file
# credo:disable-for-this-file Credo.Check.Readability.ModuleDoc

defmodule MyApp.LegacyModule do
  # No module doc needed
end

In Configuration

# .credo.exs
checks: %{
  disabled: [
    {Credo.Check.Readability.ModuleDoc, []}
  ]
}

CI Integration

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  credo:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: erlef/setup-beam@v1
        with:
          elixir-version: '1.15'
          otp-version: '26.0'
      - run: mix deps.get
      - run: mix credo --strict

Handling Failures in CI

When Credo fails in CI, run mix credo locally to reproduce the failure. Only disable a check if it's a confirmed false positive — document the reason inline.

Mix Alias

# mix.exs
defp aliases do
  [
    "lint": ["credo --strict"],
    "quality": ["format --check-formatted", "credo --strict", "sobelow --config"]
  ]
end

Custom Checks

Create custom checks for project-specific patterns in three steps:

1. Define a module using use Credo.Check in lib/credo/checks/.
2. Implement run/2 with Credo.Code.prewalk/2 to traverse the AST and collect issues.
3. Register the module under checks.enabled in .credo.exs.

The example below detects direct Repo. calls inside LiveView modules — adapt find_issues/3 to match your own patterns:

# lib/credo/checks/no_direct_repo_in_live_view.ex
defmodule Credo.Check.NoDirectRepoInLiveView do
  use Credo.Check, category: :design, base_priority: :high

  @explanation """
  LiveViews should not call Repo directly. Use context functions instead.
  """

  def run(%Credo.SourceFile{} = source_file, params) do
    issue_meta = IssueMeta.for(source_file, params)

    source_file
    |> Credo.Code.prewalk(&find_issues(&1, &2, issue_meta))
  end

  # Detect calls of the form MyApp.Repo.<any function>
  defp find_issues(
         {{:., _, [{:__aliases__, meta, [_, "Repo"]}, _fn]}, _, _} = ast,
         issues,
         issue_meta
       ) do
    issue = format_issue(issue_meta, message: "Avoid direct Repo calls in LiveViews.", line_no: meta[:line])
    {ast, [issue | issues]}
  end

  defp find_issues(ast, issues, _issue_meta), do: {ast, issues}
end

Register the custom check in .credo.exs:

checks: %{
  enabled: [
    {Credo.Check.NoDirectRepoInLiveView, []}
  ]
}

Common Pitfalls

❌ Don't	✅ Do
Hand-write .credo.exs from scratch	Generate the baseline with mix credo gen.config
Run plain mix credo in CI	Run mix credo --strict in CI
Add Credo as a runtime dependency	Scope it: only: [:dev, :test], runtime: false
Scatter inline disables without explanation	Document why each credo:disable-* exception exists
Inline custom checks in application code	Put custom checks in lib/credo/checks/
Pin CI actions to @latest or @main	Pin to a specific version tag (e.g. @v4)

Integration

Predecessor	This Skill	Successor
None (standalone)	credo-config	code-quality
code-quality	credo-config	code-review

Companion skills:

• code-quality — runs mix credo --strict against this configuration
• code-review — enforces the same conventions during PR review