OpenStack Hacking Guideline Enforcement

8.0.0 · active · verified Thu Apr 16

Hacking is an OpenStack project that provides a set of Flake8 plugins to enforce the OpenStack Hacking Guidelines for Python code. It helps developers maintain consistent code style and identify common pitfalls specific to the OpenStack development community. The current version is 8.0.0, and it follows a release cadence tied to OpenStack cycles, with updates typically occurring every few months or as new guideline enforcement is required.

Common errors

```
ImportError: No module named 'hacking'
```
cause Attempting to import `hacking` directly into a Python script.

fix `hacking` is a `flake8` plugin, not a library for direct import. Ensure it's installed (`pip install hacking`) and then run `flake8` from your terminal.
```
flake8: error: unrecognized arguments: --select H301
```
cause Trying to explicitly enable or select `hacking` checks (e.g., H301) via command-line arguments, which are already integrated by `hacking`.

fix Remove `--select Hxxx` arguments. `hacking` checks are automatically included. If you need to enable/disable specific checks, use a `.flake8` or `pyproject.toml` configuration file (e.g., `[flake8]\nignore = H301` to ignore).

Warnings

breaking `hacking` version 8.0.0 and newer requires Python 3.10 or higher. Projects on older Python versions must use an older `hacking` release.
Fix: Upgrade your Python environment to 3.10+ or pin `hacking` to a compatible older version (e.g., `hacking<8.0.0`) if Python upgrade is not feasible.
breaking `hacking` version 8.0.0 and newer requires `flake8` version 6.0.0 or higher. Older `flake8` versions are incompatible.
Fix: Ensure `flake8>=6.0.0` is installed in your environment alongside `hacking`. Use `pip install --upgrade flake8`.
gotcha The `hacking` library is a `flake8` plugin and is not designed for direct import and usage in Python code. Its checks are automatically discovered and applied by `flake8`.
Fix: Instead of `import hacking`, run `flake8` from your command line in your project directory. `hacking` contributes checks that `flake8` then executes.

Install

pip install flake8 hacking Install Flake8 and Hacking

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to install `flake8` and `hacking`, create a sample Python file with a common OpenStack hacking violation (H301), and then run `flake8` to see the generated warning. `hacking` automatically integrates its checks with `flake8` upon installation.

mkdir my_project
cd my_project
echo "def my_func( value ):\n    # H301: no space after parameters\n    pass" > app.py
pip install flake8 hacking
flake8 app.py

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