typos-format: opt-in config-gate makes the hook a silent no-op on zero-config repos, defeating the plugin's own auto-fix purpose

[kyle-sexton]

Lane: work (review-deferral exemption — finding surfaced against already-merged code, PR #872)

Triggering example: While comparing an independent parallel implementation (#880, closed as duplicate) against the merged plugins/typos-format/ from #872, found the hook only runs when the consuming repo already has a typos.toml/_typos.toml/.typos.toml/Cargo.toml ([*.metadata.typos])/pyproject.toml ([tool.typos]) file present. Without one, typos-format.sh exits silently via emit_skipped and never invokes typos at all — confirmed by reading the merged hook script and its own test suite (Case 1: opt-in gate OFF (no typos config) -> file left untouched).

Observed: The hook mirrors the ruff-format/biome-format opt-in-gate pattern (only activate if the consumer has already adopted a config for that tool). That pattern is correct for Ruff/Biome, which require project-specific configuration to be useful. typos is shaped differently:

• typos ships a built-in spelling dictionary and runs standalone with zero configuration — its own documentation frames it as something to run unconditionally, not something a repo must first opt into via a config file.
• Verified empirically against a real typos-cli 1.44.0 binary: typos <file> catches and fixes real typos (e.g. recieve → receive) in a directory tree with no _typos.toml anywhere above it. A _typos.toml only widens the allowlist (extend-words/extend-identifiers/extend-ignore-re) and excludes ([files] extend-exclude) — it is not an activation switch.
• The originating brief (docs/topics/lint-static-analysis-gaps/PLAN.md, item 1) frames this plugin's purpose as typos -w on the edited file — an unconditional auto-fix, matching markdown-format's existing pattern (which does not gate on a config file existing either).

Net effect: for any repo that hasn't already hand-authored a typos config — which is most repos on day one, i.e. exactly the audience this plugin is meant to help — the hook is a complete, silent no-op. This defeats the "auto-fix on edit, zero-config" goal the epic (#830) and its PLAN.md brief set out to close.

Expected: Drop the opt-in config-gate; run typos -w unconditionally on the edited file (matching markdown-format's existing unconditional pattern). typos's own file-anchored config discovery still applies automatically when a config IS present, for allowlist/exclude purposes — no functionality is lost by removing the gate, only the false negative on zero-config repos.

Category: behavioral (silently-wrong output on the plugin's primary use case)

Related: #872 (merged PR shipping the gap), #830 (epic), #880 (closed duplicate whose review surfaced this)

[kyle-sexton]

This was generated by AI during triage.

Triage → status: ready (decision-defaulted). CONSEQUENCE finding, empirically verified (typos-cli 1.44.0: typos <file> fixes typos with no config; a config only widens allowlist/exclude — it is NOT an activation switch). The hook's opt-in config-gate mirrors ruff-format/biome-format (correct for tools that REQUIRE project config) but is wrong for typos, which ships a built-in dictionary and runs zero-config — so on any repo without a hand-authored typos config (most repos, i.e. the plugin's primary audience) the hook is a complete silent no-op, defeating the epic's (#830) zero-config auto-fix goal.

Decision defaulted: drop the opt-in config-gate; run typos -w unconditionally on the edited file (mirror markdown-format's existing unconditional pattern) — veto before merge. typos's own file-anchored config discovery still applies automatically when a config IS present (allowlist/exclude), so nothing is lost but the false negative. Maintainer may veto to keep opt-in if conservative auto-edit-only-when-configured is the intended posture — but that contradicts the plugin's stated purpose.

Cross-issue interactions (note for whoever picks this up): (1) if this lands (gate removed), #876 (opt-in grep misses TOML inline-table) becomes MOOT — no gate to fix; (2) running unconditionally widens the concurrent-write overlap tracked in #875 (fleet hook clobber) — typos-format would then fire on every edited file.

Priority medium (rule 5; typos-format outside the priority set) — but reporter/triage severity HIGH (functional defect: the plugin does nothing for its main audience). Type Bug.

[kyle-sexton]