sqlfluff-lint-triage

name	sqlfluff-lint-triage
description	Use when running SQLFluff lint on SQL or dbt-style projects and summarizing violations without immediately editing files.
compatibility	Requires sqlfluff on PATH.

SQLFluff Lint Triage

Purpose

Run SQLFluff lint in a way that is scoped, repeatable, and useful to an agent. Use this when the user asks what is failing, wants a lint summary, is introducing SQLFluff to a large project, or needs violations grouped into actionable next steps.

Workflow

1. Choose the smallest useful scope

   • Prefer changed SQL files, a target model directory, or one representative file.
   • Use a broad project path only when the user explicitly wants full-project linting.

2. Use agent-readable output

   • Prefer --format json for local triage.
   • Use --format yaml when humans will inspect the output directly.
   • Use --format sarif, github-annotation, or github-annotation-native for CI and PR annotations.

3. Keep exploratory runs non-blocking

   • Use --nofail when collecting violations during rollout or diagnosis.
   • Use --disable-progress-bar to keep logs parseable.
   • Add --processes 0 only for large runs when full CPU parallelism is acceptable.

4. Group findings by failure type

   • Separate templating errors, parsing errors, and lint rule violations.
   • Group lint violations by rule code and file concentration.
   • Identify whether failures are style-only, config-related, dialect-related, or likely SQL issues.

5. Recommend the next action

   • For templating failures, recommend rendering/debugging the failing file.
   • For parsing failures, recommend parse debugging and dialect confirmation.
   • For style-only violations, recommend safe formatting or scoped fixing.
   • For noisy legacy projects, recommend phased CI rollout.

Command Patterns

sqlfluff lint models/staging/orders.sql --format json --nofail --disable-progress-bar
sqlfluff lint models/staging/orders.sql --format yaml --nofail
sqlfluff lint models --format sarif --write-output sqlfluff.sarif --nofail

Output

Return:

• Command and scope used.
• Total files checked when available.
• Top rule codes and representative files.
• Templating or parse failures separated from normal lint violations.
• Smallest safe next step.

Guardrails

• Do not apply fixes from this skill.
• Do not hide parsing or templating failures with --ignore unless the user only wants a temporary rollout report.
• Do not treat --nofail as success; it is only a reporting mode.

Progressive Disclosure

• Output format details: references/output-formats.md