Description

This is a code linter that checks for biased language in a code repository. Currently the words we are searching for are listed in word_list.csv.

1. Quickstart
2. Developer Instructions
3. Usage Example
4. Excluding directories and files
5. FAQ

Quickstart

Below are the steps needed to include this GitHub Actions to your workflow.

1. If your project doesn't have a GitHub Actions workflow, follow steps here to create one.

   1. You must have at least these 3 lines for a basic workflow template.

   name: GitHub Actions
   on: [push]
   jobs:
   

   Note: You may exclude directories and files from the biased language scan. For instructions on how, see the section on Excluding directories and files. This may be useful if you have contractual dependencies on code where biased language cannot be removed yet.

2. Copy the job below into your .github/workflows/ yml file into the jobs section.

biased_lang:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    name: Detecting Biased Language
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - id: biased-lang-linter
        uses: splunk/biased-lang-linter@main
        continue-on-error: true

Here is what the final version should look like if this is your only workflow:

name: GitHub Actions
on: [push]
jobs:
  biased_lang:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    name: Detecting Biased Language
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - id: biased-lang-linter
        uses: splunk/biased-lang-linter@main
        continue-on-error: true

3. Commit your changes

When you merge this biased language stage into your GitHub Actions for the first time, look for a job named Detecting Biased Language in any pipelines triggered.

Congratulations! Biased Lang Linter is ready to use in the CI.

Have a question? See our FAQ

Developer Instructions

Follow these instructions to set up Biased Lang Linter locally for development.

Required Dependencies

• python 3.7+
• ripgrep (Installation instructions here.

More on [args]

Below is a list of arguments you can pass to the CLI tool. Note: For the additional arguments you find in run_json.py that aren't listed below, they are for internal use.

• --path= [required] absolute path to the directory
• --err_file= sends any error messages to a log file of your choice, in addition to the console
• --splunk [splunk_required] not available yet
• --splunk_token= [splunk_required] not available yet
• --url= [splunk_required] the project url. This will be the sourcetype in Splunk.
• --github_repo= [github_only] the repository path for repo's run in GitHub Actions. Also acts as a flag to confirm GitHub environment

Usage Example

biased-lang will be run in its own dir and can target any other project through the --path arg.

Minimal usage for a local run:

# JSON output
python3 run_json.py --mode=check --path=/user/jdoe/git/myProject

Understanding the JSON output

biased-language-summary.json

biased-language-summary.json contains a summary of which files contain which biased words.

{
    "terms_found": "true" | "false",
    "total_lines_matched": "295",
    "total_files_matched": "54",
    "total_words_matched": "449",
    "terms_found": "true",
    "biased_words": [list of biased words to be checked],
    "biased_word_1": { # for each biased word
        "biased_word": "biased_word_1",
        "files": [list of absolute paths to files containing biased terminology],
        "lines": [ # field included only if verbose = true. list of JSONs with details of each line found
            {
                "line": "content of line containing biased language",
                "location": {
                  "path": "dir1/dir2/file.txt",
                  "lines": {
                    "begin": "3"
                  }
                }
            },
            ...
        ],
        "num_matched_lines": "8",
        "num_matched_files": "4",
        "num_matched_words": "11"
    }
}

Formatting of word_list.csv

The biased words are listed on a new line in the word_list.csv file.

Excluding directories and files

The tool automatically excludes a few common directories you would already want to exclude such as node_modules, __pycache__, and .git.

To exclude additional directories or files in your repo from the scan, create a .biased_lang_exclude file at the project root. Add each directory or file you'd like to exclude on a new line. This will respect .gitignore glob patterns (i.e dir1/**/dir4) **Caution:** Please do not include any empty lines in this file. Each line of the file represents something to ignore in the search.

Splunk Results

TBD

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My Biased Language Detection job passed with warnings, but I didn't add any new instances of biased language. What does this mean?

A: Every time a pipeline runs with the biased_lang stage, it scans the entire repository. If the pipeline detects biased language anywhere in the repository, the biased_lang stage will pass with warnings and show an orange exclamation point instead of a green check.

Q: I'm including git submodules in my repo and seems to be breaking the workflow, what can I do?

A: You'll need to add your submodule paths in the .biased_lang_exclude file. You can find info on how to (exclude files and directories here)[#excluding-directories-and-files]

Q: How can I search for additional biased terms?

A: You'll have to create a fork of this repo and add your new biased word in word_list.csv on a new line. You will also need to update the workflow, .github/workflows/main.yml, to publish the Docker image outside of Splunk's organization.

Learn More

• Bias Free Communication: Splunk Style Guide