max_imports

v1.0.0WarningConfigurableCode Quality

This rule flags a file that imports more libraries than the configured budget.

Why use this rule

The import list is the cheapest available measure of how much a file depends on. A file reaching for twenty libraries is coupled to twenty things that can change under it, and it is usually one that has taken on several jobs.

export directives are not counted by default: a barrel file is exports by definition, and counting them would report every barrel in the project.

This rule is in the pedantic preset: a budget is a house style, and the right number differs per codebase.

Don’t

// One file importing the router, the theme, four repositories,
// three notifiers, and the whole widget catalogue.

Do

// Split along the seams the imports already reveal: the widget file
// imports widgets, the repository file imports the client.

Enabling this rule

This rule is in the pedantic preset, so it is enabled by preset: pedantic or by name:

rules:
  max_imports:
    enabled: true

many_lints:
  rules:
    max_imports:
      max_imports: 15
      count_exports: false

rules:
  max_imports:
    max_imports: 15
    count_exports: false

Option	Type	Default	Description
`max_imports`	int	`15`	How many libraries a file may import
`count_exports`	bool	`false`	Whether `export` directives count toward the budget

Turning this rule off

To disable this rule:

rules:
  max_imports: false

To keep the rule on but skip certain paths, use per-rule exclude.

avoid_long_files — Keep a file within a line budget.
avoid_long_parameter_list — Keep parameter lists within a budget.
avoid_too_many_methods — Keep a class within a method budget.
max_statements — Keep a function within a statement budget.