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Add query validation guidelines to copilot review instructions#1092

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mbaluda wants to merge 6 commits intomainfrom
mbaluda-patch-1
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Add query validation guidelines to copilot review instructions#1092
mbaluda wants to merge 6 commits intomainfrom
mbaluda-patch-1

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@mbaluda mbaluda commented Mar 24, 2026

Added guidelines for validating query style in code reviews.

Description

This pull request updates the .github/copilot-instructions.md documentation to add comprehensive style guidelines for query validation during code review. The new section outlines mandatory requirements for query style, including the use of the isExcluded predicate, standards for alert messages, and QLDoc documentation expectations.

Change request type

  • Release or process automation (GitHub workflows, internal scripts)
  • Internal documentation
  • External documentation
  • Query files (.ql, .qll, .qls or unit tests)
  • External scripts (analysis report or other code shipped as part of a release)

Rules with added or modified queries

  • No rules added
  • Queries have been added for the following rules:
    • rule number here
  • Queries have been modified for the following rules:
    • rule number here

Release change checklist

A change note (development_handbook.md#change-notes) is required for any pull request which modifies:

  • The structure or layout of the release artifacts.
  • The evaluation performance (memory, execution time) of an existing query.
  • The results of an existing query in any circumstance.

If you are only adding new rule queries, a change note is not required.

Author: Is a change note required?

  • Yes
  • No

🚨🚨🚨
Reviewer: Confirm that format of shared queries (not the .qll file, the
.ql file that imports it) is valid by running them within VS Code.

  • Confirmed

Reviewer: Confirm that either a change note is not required or the change note is required and has been added.

  • Confirmed

Query development review checklist

For PRs that add new queries or modify existing queries, the following checklist should be completed by both the author and reviewer:

Author

  • Have all the relevant rule package description files been checked in?
  • Have you verified that the metadata properties of each new query is set appropriately?
  • Do all the unit tests contain both "COMPLIANT" and "NON_COMPLIANT" cases?
  • Are the alert messages properly formatted and consistent with the style guide?
  • Have you run the queries on OpenPilot and verified that the performance and results are acceptable?
    As a rule of thumb, predicates specific to the query should take no more than 1 minute, and for simple queries be under 10 seconds. If this is not the case, this should be highlighted and agreed in the code review process.
  • Does the query have an appropriate level of in-query comments/documentation?
  • Have you considered/identified possible edge cases?
  • Does the query not reinvent features in the standard library?
  • Can the query be simplified further (not golfed!)

Reviewer

  • Have all the relevant rule package description files been checked in?
  • Have you verified that the metadata properties of each new query is set appropriately?
  • Do all the unit tests contain both "COMPLIANT" and "NON_COMPLIANT" cases?
  • Are the alert messages properly formatted and consistent with the style guide?
  • Have you run the queries on OpenPilot and verified that the performance and results are acceptable?
    As a rule of thumb, predicates specific to the query should take no more than 1 minute, and for simple queries be under 10 seconds. If this is not the case, this should be highlighted and agreed in the code review process.
  • Does the query have an appropriate level of in-query comments/documentation?
  • Have you considered/identified possible edge cases?
  • Does the query not reinvent features in the standard library?
  • Can the query be simplified further (not golfed!)

mbaluda added 2 commits March 24, 2026 15:49
Added guidelines for validating query style in code reviews.
Updated QLDoc style guide with detailed requirements for documentation, including general, language, and specific item requirements. Added examples for predicates, classes, and modules.
@mbaluda mbaluda self-assigned this Mar 24, 2026
@mbaluda mbaluda marked this pull request as ready for review March 24, 2026 15:20
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 24, 2026 15:20
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Pull request overview

Updates the repository’s Copilot code review instructions to add a dedicated section for validating CodeQL query style during reviews (exclusions, alert-message style, and QLDoc expectations).

Changes:

  • Adds “Validating Query style” guidance requiring use of isExcluded on primary locations.
  • Adds alert message style requirements (sentence structure, quoting, placeholders/links).
  • Adds an extensive QLDoc style guide (general rules + per-item/predicate/class/module conventions).
Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

.github/copilot-instructions.md:142

  • This section states “Use American English” (line 95), but this line uses the British spelling “behaviour”. Consider changing it to “behavior” for consistency.
1. If the predicate has more complex behaviour, for example multiple arguments are conceptually "outputs", it can be described like a predicate without a result. For example

mbaluda and others added 4 commits March 24, 2026 16:35
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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2 participants