HighFile-scopeRuby Plug & play

Prefer Guard Clauses Over Nested Conditionals

Detect deeply nested conditionals and suggest using guard clauses (`return unless condition`) instead to improve readability.

Why this matters

Deeply nested conditionals make code hard to follow. Using guard clauses (`return` early) improves clarity and reduces indentation depth.

Side-by-side examples engineers can pattern-match during review.

Avoid

def process(input)
  if input.is_a?(String)
    if !input.empty?
      return input.strip.upcase
    end
  end
  nil
end

Prefer

def process(input)
  return unless input.is_a?(String)
  return if input.empty?

  input.strip.upcase
end

Bad

def process(input)
  if input.is_a?(String)
    if !input.empty?
      return input.strip.upcase
    end
  end
  nil
end

Good

def process(input)
  return unless input.is_a?(String)
  return if input.empty?

  input.strip.upcase
end

From the same buckets as this rule.

Critical
Avoid Duplicating String Literals
Store repeated string literals in constants or variables to improve maintainability and reduce redundancy.
duplication-complexitymaintainability
Critical
Avoid Redundant `None` Comparisons
Identify cases where `x is None` or `x is not None` is used redundantly when `x` is always or never `None`. This may indicate a deeper logic issue.
duplication-complexityreadability-refactor+1
High
Avoid Functions That Always Return the Same Value
Identify functions that return the same value regardless of input. This may indicate poor design or a logic error.
duplication-complexityreadability-refactor+1