Setting Up Vale

Vale is a linter that highlights language issues such as grammar, terminology, and style issues.

Vale is available as a tool for Qt Creator and as a VS Code extension.

This page helps you set up Vale on VS Code or Qt Creator.

1. Install Vale

First, install Vale on your computer. The https://vale.sh/docs/vale-cli/installation/ page shows how to install Vale on various desktop platforms.

2. Configure Vale and Download Microsoft Style Guide Rules

We use the Microsoft Style Guide and a custom set of style rules relevant to Qt.

The Vale configuration and the style files are hosted in the qtqa.git repository, which is also a git submodule of the qt5.git. See Setting up Gerrit for more information.

Clone the qtqa.git repository and the relevant directory is at <code>qtqa/vale_linter_config</code>. This directory contains the styles and configuration file for Vale.

Next, configure Vale by setting <code>VALE_CONFIG_PATH</code> to the directory of your .vale.ini. The .vale.ini file in the qtqa.git repository is at <code>qtqa/vale_linter_config/.vale.ini</code>

The following is an example of .vale.ini file:

#Vale config for QDoc sources: C++, QDoc, QML, snippet files
StylesPath = styles
MinAlertLevel = suggestion
Packages = Microsoft
Vocab = Qt

#Add file extensions here. 
[*.{cpp,qdoc,qml,qdocinc,js}]

#These are directories in the StylesPath. Turns on all rules in style
# Enable/disable each rule offered by the style
# Style.Rule = {YES, NO} to enable or disable a specific rule
Vale.Terms = YES
Vale.Avoid = YES
Microsoft.OxfordComma = YES
Microsoft.Passive = YES
Microsoft.Dashes = YES
Microsoft.Spacing = YES
Microsoft.Wordiness = YES
Microsoft.We = YES
Microsoft.OxfordComma = YES
Qt.Repetition = YES
Qt.Headings = YES
# Extends the built-in spell checker with additional filters
Qt.Spelling = YES

To test if Vale finds the configuration file, run:

vale ls-config

Vale should output the processed configuration in JSON format. Check that the JSON output corresponds to the values in the <code>.vale.ini</code> file.

Next, download the Microsoft Style Guide rules by running:

vale sync

This step is only necessary once after the initial qtqa.git clone.

Configure Vale for VS Code

Vale is available as a VS Code extension from the Marketplace.

1. Download and install Vale VSCode from VS Code Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ChrisChinchilla.vale-vscode Alternatively, download and install from within VS Code through the Extensions view.
2. Restart VS Code

To test, open a .cpp or a file and test out the linting features. Note that the file extensions are configured in the <code>.vale.ini</code> file.

Configure Vale for Qt Creator

Creator can run Vale as an external tool.

1. Set up Vale as an External Tool. For instructions, see https://doc.qt.io/qtcreator/creator-editor-external.html
2. Set the <code>VALE_CONFIG_PATH</code> as the same directory as the one in the previous sections.
3. Click Apply and OK.

The following image is taken in MacOS.

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