---
title: no-todo-comments
description: Flag TODO, FIXME, HACK, and XXX comments to ensure they are resolved before merging.
---

Flag `TODO`, `FIXME`, `HACK`, and `XXX` comments so they are resolved before merging.

## Rule details

TODO comments are useful during development but should not accumulate in the main branch. This rule uses `ctx.grepFiles` to scan all source files for common task-marker comments. It uses `warning` severity so it does not block CI, but makes the comments visible in every check run.

## Examples of **incorrect** code

```typescript title="src/helpers/git.ts"
// TODO: handle merge conflicts
// FIXME: this breaks on Windows
// HACK: workaround for upstream bug
// XXX: revisit this logic
```

## Examples of **correct** code

```typescript title="src/helpers/git.ts"
// Proper implementation with no deferred work
```

## Rule implementation

```typescript
/// <reference path="../rules.d.ts" />

export default {
  rules: {
    "no-todo-comments": {
      description: "TODO and FIXME comments should be resolved before merging",
      severity: "warning",
      async check(ctx) {
        const matches = await ctx.grepFiles(
          /\/\/\s*(TODO|FIXME|HACK|XXX):/i,
          "src/**/*.ts"
        );
        for (const match of matches) {
          ctx.report.warning({
            message: `${match.content.trim()} (resolve before merging)`,
            file: match.file,
            line: match.line,
          });
        }
      },
    },
  },
} satisfies RuleSet;
```

## When to use it

When you want visibility into deferred work and want to prevent TODO comments from accumulating over time. Change severity to `"error"` and use `ctx.report.violation()` to make it a hard blocker.

## When not to use it

When TODO comments are intentional documentation (e.g., tracked by a separate tool that creates issues from TODO comments).