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DOC002-todo-fixme — TODO / FIXME marker inventory

PropertyValue
DimensionDocumentation
Default severityInfo
LanguagesAll

What it detects​

Flags every occurrence of a TODO or FIXME marker found in code comments (not doc-comments / docstrings). Each match is reported once per comment; a single comment containing multiple markers produces multiple findings.

Why it matters​

TODO and FIXME markers indicate incomplete or deferred work that should be addressed before merge. Leaving them in the codebase creates technical debt and may obscure intended behavior. A complete inventory helps teams maintain visibility into outstanding work.

Configuration​

No configuration knobs in v1.

Matching rules​

  • Case-insensitive, whole-word match on TODO or FIXME in the comment text.
  • Regex: (?i)\b(TODO|FIXME)\b
  • Regular comments only: // (Rust / JavaScript / TypeScript), # (Python), /* */ (Rust / JavaScript / TypeScript).
  • Docstrings / doc-comments are excluded: Rust /// / /** */, Python """ / ''', JavaScript JSDoc.

Examples — flagged​

Rust:

// TODO: refactor this function
fn process_data(input: &str) -> Result<()> {
    // FIXME: handle empty strings
    todo!("implement this");
}

Python:

# TODO: add error handling
def fetch_data(url):
    # FIXME: placeholder implementation
    return None

Examples — not flagged​

Rust:

/// TODO in a docstring is not flagged.
/// Use a regular comment instead.
fn documented() {}

fn clean() {
    // This function is complete.
}

Python:

"""Module docstring with TODO is not flagged."""


def complete():
    """No markers here."""
    pass

Fix guidance​

  • Act immediately: Address TODO and FIXME markers before code review / merge.
  • Extract to issues: If a marker describes future work, open a separate tracking issue and remove the marker.
  • Add context: Include the reason for the marker in the comment (e.g., // TODO: wait for API redesign (issue #456)).
  • Do not commit: Mark the CI to fail on any remaining markers if they block production readiness.

Implementation​

References​