Workflow

This page walks through the typical workflow of using algorilla on a project: scan, triage, fix or accept, repeat.

1. Scan your project

Point algorilla at your project root. It auto-detects the build system and source directories:

algorilla .

For a first run on a large codebase, start with warnings only:

algorilla --severity warning .

Or focus on a single rule:

algorilla --rule nested-lookup .

List available rules

Run algorilla --list-rules to see all built-in rules with their severity, category, and supported languages.

2. Read the output

Findings are grouped by file and sorted by severity (errors first, then warnings, then info). Each finding shows:

• The severity and rule ID
• The source location and a code snippet
• A description of what was detected
• A suggestion for how to fix it
• An evidence chain tracing the path to the bottleneck
• A fingerprint hash (the # abcdef1234567890 at the end) used for accepting findings

See Understanding Output for a detailed breakdown.

3. Triage: is this real?

Not every finding needs a fix. Look at:

• The evidence chain. Does the loop actually iterate over a large collection? A contains() call on a 3-element list is harmless.
• The execution context. Is this code on a hot path, or a one-time startup routine?
• The suggestion. Does it make sense for your codebase?

4. Fix, suppress, or accept

Fix it

Apply the suggestion, then re-run algorilla. The finding disappears:

# fix the code, then:
algorilla .

Caching makes re-scans fast — only changed files are re-analyzed.

Suppress inline

If a finding is wrong for a specific line (e.g. the collection is known to be small), suppress it with a comment:

// algorilla:ignore nested-lookup
if (smallList.contains(value)) { ... }

See Suppression for all options.

Accept it (ignore list)

If a finding is valid code that you've reviewed and decided is acceptable, accept it by fingerprint. Each finding shows a fingerprint hash in the output:

      ⎿  contains on 'items' OrderService.java:45 O(items) ← bottleneck
      # a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8

Accept one or more findings:

algorilla --accept a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8 .

This adds the finding to .algorilla/ignore-list.json. On subsequent runs, accepted findings are hidden automatically. The ignore list is project-local and can be committed to version control.

The difference between suppress and accept:

	Inline suppress	Accept (ignore list)
Where	Comment in source code	.algorilla/ignore-list.json
Scope	Specific line	Finding by content fingerprint
Survives line shifts	No (tied to line number)	Yes (content-based matching)
Visible in code	Yes	No

Disable a rule entirely

If a rule consistently produces findings that aren't relevant to your project:

# .algorilla.yml
rules:
  repeated-reflection-in-loop:
    enabled: false

5. Ongoing use

Track progress

On a legacy codebase, save a baseline so you only see new findings going forward:

# on main branch:
algorilla --save-baseline .algorilla/baseline.json .

# on a feature branch:
algorilla --baseline .algorilla/baseline.json .

See Baseline Workflow for details.

CI integration

By default, algorilla fails the build (exit 1) when it finds warnings or errors. Use --fail-on to adjust:

# default: fail on warnings and errors
algorilla --format sarif -o results.sarif .

# lenient: fail only on errors (warnings are advisory)
algorilla --fail-on error --format sarif -o results.sarif .

# strict: fail even on info-level findings
algorilla --fail-on info --format sarif -o results.sarif .

See CI Integration for GitHub Actions and GitLab CI examples.

Quick reference

Task	Command
Scan project	algorilla .
Warnings only	algorilla --severity warning .
Single rule	algorilla --rule nested-lookup .
List rules	algorilla --list-rules
Accept a finding	algorilla --accept <hash> .
Save baseline	algorilla --save-baseline .algorilla/baseline.json .
Compare to baseline	algorilla --baseline .algorilla/baseline.json .
CI (default: fail on warnings)	algorilla --format sarif -o results.sarif .
CI (fail on errors only)	algorilla --fail-on error --format sarif -o results.sarif .