linter-elixirc

This linter plugin for Linter provides an interface to elixirc/mix. It will be used with files that have the "source.elixir" syntax (ie. *.ex; *.exs).

There are limitations with Elixirc that:

• In case of compilation error, it will only show first error
• It does not work with buffers, so linting on fly is disabled

Installation

Plugin requires Linter package and it should install it by itself. If it did not, please follow Linter instructions here.

Method 1: In console

$ apm install linter-elixirc

Method 2: In Atom

1. Edit > Preferences (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,)
2. Install > Search "linter-elixirc" > Install

Settings

Plugin should work with default settings. If not:

1. Edit > Preferences (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,)

2. Packages > Search "linter-elixirc" > Settings

3. elixirc path option - use which elixirc to find path. ie. /usr/local/bin/elixirc

4. mix path option - use which mix to find path. ie. /usr/local/bin/mix

5. always use elixirc option - leave it disabled, unless mix compile is too slow.

6. mix env option - Allows changing the Mix environment for lint runs. If using IEx at the same time as Atom this can be changed to allow IEx to pick up code changes.

Usage

The operation of the linter is dependent on the type of Elixir files you are working with:

Mix Projects

If you open a folder containing a Mix project (i.e. the file mix.exs exists in the root folder of the project), the linter will use mix compile to include all dependencies, unless you enable "Always use elixirc" setting.

Single .ex Files

If you open a single .ex file, the linter will use elixirc. This will try to find dependency build artifacts in the location where Mix projects normally output to (\_build/dev/lib/\*/ebin). If your build output path is different, then every external dependency will trigger a compile error.

Elixir Scripts

Since .exs files are not compiled by mix compile, they are always linted using elixirc, even if they appear within a Mix project.

ExUnit Test files

ExUnit tests are always organised within .exs files, so they will also be linted using elixirc. Test files can have extra dependencies that will not be found within the normal dev build artifact directory. Instead, test files are linted using the test build artifact directory (\_build/test/lib/\*/ebin).

Why Do I Still See Dependency Errors?

Whether you're using the Mix or elixirc options for linting, it is still possible to encounter false positive errors in your lint output, particularly relating to dependencies. It can help to perform a mix compile from a terminal to keep the project build output directory fresh, and a mix test will help if you are seeing particular problems with errors in ExUnit test files.

Sometimes Mix can get confused when files are renamed, so it can also help to perform the occasional mix do clean, compile.