rule-options

name	rule-options
description	Add or modify rule options in SonarJS, including the fields array, SonarQube UI visibility, and Java check class configuration. Use when working on rule configurations.

Architecture Overview

Rule options flow through two parallel paths:

SonarQube (HTTP/WebSocket):

SonarQube UI → Java Check Class → configurations() → analyzeProject() → ESLint Linter

External/gRPC:

External Client → gRPC → transformers.ts → parseParamValue() → ESLint Linter

SonarQube sends typed values; gRPC sends string key-value pairs that need type parsing.

Key Files per Rule

File	Purpose
rule.ts	ESLint rule implementation
meta.ts	implementation, eslintId, schema, re-exports fields
config.ts	fields array — source of truth for options
generated-meta.ts	Auto-generated defaultOptions — do not edit

The fields Array (config.ts)

The fields array defines options for SonarQube integration and default values.

import type { ESLintConfiguration } from '../helpers/configs.js';

export const fields = [
  [
    // outer array = one ESLint options object
    {
      field: 'max', // ESLint option name
      displayName: 'maximumFunctionParameters', // SonarQube key (if different)
      description: 'Maximum authorized...', // REQUIRED for SQ visibility
      default: 7, // default value; determines type
    },
    {
      field: 'ignoreIIFE',
      default: false, // no description = internal only
    },
  ],
] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;

Field Properties

Property	Required	Purpose
field	Yes	ESLint/schema key name
default	Yes	Default value; also determines type (number, string, boolean, array)
description	For SQ visibility	Makes option visible in SonarQube UI
displayName	No	SonarQube key if different from field
items	For arrays	{ type: 'string' } or { type: 'integer' }
customDefault	No	Different default for SQ than ESLint
fieldType	No	Override SQ field type (e.g., 'TEXT')

Making Options Visible in SonarQube

A field appears in the SonarQube UI only if it has a description.

Fields without description are internal defaults invisible to users.

// S109/config.ts — NOT visible in SQ (no descriptions)
export const fields = [
  [
    { field: 'ignore', default: [0, 1, -1, 24, 60] },
    { field: 'ignoreDefaultValues', default: true },
  ],
] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;

// S2068/config.ts — VISIBLE in SQ (has description)
export const fields = [
  [
    {
      field: 'passwordWords',
      items: { type: 'string' },
      description: 'Comma separated list of words identifying potential passwords.',
      default: ['password', 'pwd', 'passwd', 'passphrase'],
    },
  ],
] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;

Configuration Shapes

Object-style (most common)

export const fields = [
  [
    { field: 'max', description: '...', default: 7 },
    { field: 'ignoreIIFE', description: '...', default: false },
  ],
] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;
// ESLint receives: [{ max: 7, ignoreIIFE: false }]

Primitive (single value)

export const fields = [{ default: '^[a-z]+$' }] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;
// ESLint receives: ['^[a-z]+$']

Array options (comma-separated in SQ)

export const fields = [
  [
    {
      field: 'passwordWords',
      items: { type: 'string' }, // required for Java codegen
      description: 'Comma separated list...',
      default: ['password', 'pwd'],
    },
  ],
] as const satisfies ESLintConfiguration;
// SQ sends: "password,pwd,secret" → ESLint: [{ passwordWords: ['password','pwd','secret'] }]

Type Parsing (gRPC)

String params from gRPC are parsed based on default type:

Default Type	Input	Parsed
number	"5"	5
boolean	"true"	true
string	"pattern"	"pattern"
string[]	"a,b,c"	["a","b","c"]
number[]	"1,2,3"	[1,2,3]

JSON Schema vs fields

Aspect	JSON Schema (meta.ts)	fields (config.ts)
Purpose	ESLint validation	SQ UI + defaults + key mapping
Used by	ESLint at runtime	Java codegen, meta generation, linter
Required for	original rules with options	All rules with options

For original rules, schema and fields must be kept in sync manually. For decorated/external rules, schema is inherited from the external rule.

Adding Options to an Existing Rule

1. Update config.ts — add field to fields array
2. Add description if it should be visible in SonarQube
3. Update meta.ts schema (for original/decorated rules)
4. Run npm run generate-meta — updates generated-meta.ts with new defaultOptions
5. Run npm run generate-java-rule-classes — updates Java check classes
6. Verify Java class has correct configurations() method

Java Check Class (configurations())

// Example: S107Check.java
@Override
public List<Object> configurations() {
  return List.of(Map.of("max", maximum));
}

@RuleProperty(
  key = "maximumFunctionParameters",
  description = "Maximum authorized number of parameters",
  defaultValue = "" + DEFAULT_MAX
)
private int maximum = DEFAULT_MAX;

Use MyRuleCheckTest.java to verify serialization:

assertThat(new MyRuleCheck().configurations()).containsExactly(Map.of("max", 7));

Key Mapping: SonarQube ↔ ESLint

When SQ and ESLint use different names:

// config.ts
{ field: 'max', displayName: 'maximumFunctionParameters', ... }

transformers.ts handles the SQ key → ESLint key mapping at runtime.