Re: [PATCH] checkpatch: add --json output mode

Konstantin Ryabitsev
2026-04-06T19:00:26Z

On Mon, Apr 06, 2026 at 01:00:39PM -0400, Sasha Levin wrote:
> Add a --json flag to checkpatch.pl that emits structured JSON output,
> making results machine-parseable for CI systems, IDE integrations, and
> AI-assisted code review tools.
>
> The JSON output includes per-file totals (errors, warnings, checks,
> lines) and an array of individual issues with structured fields for
> level, type, message, file path, and line number.
>
> The --json flag is mutually exclusive with --terse and --emacs.
> Normal text output behavior is completely unchanged when --json is
> not specified.

I see that it's writing json out manually, implementing its own escaping.
While there are upsides to not requiring a perl json library, I think it's
fair to expect that people who would want to get json output can probably make
sure that JSON::XS is installed.

Not a strong object, but seems cleaner that way.

-K