shorthand_syntax_lint

An analyzer plugin with granular lint rules and quick fixes for Dart 3.10 dot-shorthand syntax. Each rule flags longhand static access (Status.active, Duration.zero, Point.origin()) where the shorthand form (.active, .zero, .origin()) is valid. Avoiding false positives is the design goal: a site is flagged only when the shorthand context type resolves, by element identity, to the same declaration as the longhand target.

Usage

Add the plugin to the top-level plugins: section of the analysis_options.yaml at the root of your workspace. Individual rules are toggled, and their severity set, with the diagnostics: map; for example, to also enable the two opt-in rules:

plugins:
  shorthand_syntax_lint:
    version: ^0.1.0
    diagnostics:
      prefer_unnamed_constructor_shorthands: true
      prefer_return_shorthands: true

Rules

Rule Flags Default
prefer_enum_shorthands enum constants (Status.active) on
prefer_constructor_shorthands named and factory constructors (Point.origin()) on
prefer_static_member_shorthands static fields, getters, and methods (Duration.zero, int.parse(s)) on
prefer_unnamed_constructor_shorthands unnamed constructors (Point(1, 2) to .new(1, 2)) off
prefer_return_shorthands any of the above, only in return statements and arrow bodies off

Two adoption profiles are intended. The default keeps the three kind rules on everywhere. Alternatively, disable the kind rules and enable prefer_return_shorthands to require shorthand only where the context type is stated on the same line, in the function signature. Enabling the returns rule alongside the kind rules reports return sites twice by design.

Diagnostics are suppressed with a namespaced ignore comment:

// ignore: shorthand_syntax_lint/prefer_enum_shorthands

Known limitations

  • Quick fixes work in IDEs, but dart fix does not run plugin-provided fixes (dart-lang/sdk#61822).
  • Longhand followed by trailing selectors (int.parse(s).abs()) is not flagged, and neither is the supertype redirecting-factory pattern (EdgeInsetsGeometry.all). Both are deliberate false negatives.
  • Analyzer plugins are only honored in the analysis options file at the workspace root.

Version compatibility

Requires Dart SDK 3.11 or later. The package requires analysis_server_plugin 0.3.20 or later: versions 0.3.16 through 0.3.19 cannot receive analysis roots from stable SDKs' analysis server, which makes dart analyze hang.

Libraries

main
shorthand_syntax_lint