Run all linting in Docker via the Dockerfile lint stage (closes #90)

script/lint now builds only the lint stage of the main Dockerfile
(docker build --no-cache --target lint), whose build runs the linter, so
a successful build is a clean lint. It is uncached because a cached
build runs no linter, and a trap removes the image it tagged; the tag
carries the process ID so concurrent runs do not collide. The lint stage
calls golangci-lint directly, since make lint now needs Docker. Nothing
installs or runs golangci-lint on the host any more: bootstrap and the
Makefile drop the install, and script/fmt drops golangci-lint run --fix.

Model: opus-5-5

Dockerfile

@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ RUN touch mfer/mf.pb.go
 # Go half of fmt-check only: this image has no node, so no prettier. The
 # markdown half runs in the mdfmt stage below.
 RUN make fmt-check-go
-# The linter directly, not `make lint`: script/lint builds Dockerfile.lint,
-# and there is no docker inside this build.
+# The linter directly, not `make lint`: script/lint builds this stage, and
+# there is no docker inside this build.
 RUN golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
 
 # Markdown/JSON format stage — prettier needs node, which the Go images

Dockerfile.lint

@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-# Lint image, built by script/lint: golangci-lint runs as a build step, so a
-# successful build is a clean lint. Works where the docker daemon is remote
-# and bind mounts are impossible.
-# golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2 (Debian-based), 2026-08-07
-FROM golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2@sha256:5cceeef04e53efe1470638d4b4b4f5ceefd574955ab3941b2d9a68a8c9ad5240
-
-WORKDIR /src
-COPY . .
-
-RUN golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...

README.md

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 # mfer
 
-[mfer](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer) is a reference implementation library and
-thin wrapper command-line utility written in [Go](https://golang.org) and first
-published in 2022 under the [WTFPL](https://wtfpl.net) (public domain) license.
-It specifies and generates `.mf` manifest files over a directory tree of files
-to encapsulate metadata about them (such as cryptographic checksums or
-signatures over same) to aid in archiving, downloading, and streaming, or
-mirroring. The manifest files' data is serialized with Google's
+[mfer](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer) is a [WTFPL](https://wtfpl.net)-licensed
+(public domain) [Go](https://golang.org) library and command-line tool by
+[@sneak](https://sneak.berlin) that specifies and generates `.mf` manifest files
+over a directory tree to encapsulate metadata about the files — such as
+cryptographic checksums and signatures over same — to aid in archiving,
+downloading, streaming, and mirroring. It was first published in 2022. The
+manifest files' data is serialized with Google's
 [protobuf serialization format](https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers).
 The structure of these files can be found
 [in the format specification](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/src/branch/main/mfer/mf.proto)
@@ -21,6 +21,36 @@ This project was started by [@sneak](https://sneak.berlin) to scratch an itch in
 as a de-facto standard and be incorporated into other software. A compatible
 javascript library is planned.
 
+# Getting Started
+
+`mfer` builds from source with a Go 1.23+ toolchain. The generated protobuf code
+is committed, so no `protoc` toolchain is required:
+
+```sh
+git clone https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer.git
+cd mfer
+go build -o bin/mfer ./cmd/mfer
+```
+
+Generate a manifest for a directory tree, verify it later, and fetch a published
+tree by URL:
+
+```sh
+# Write .index.mf, a manifest of the files under the current directory.
+bin/mfer gen .
+
+# Verify the files on disk against the manifest. Exits nonzero if any file
+# is missing or corrupted.
+bin/mfer check .index.mf
+
+# Download and cryptographically verify a tree published over HTTP: mfer
+# fetches <url>/index.mf, then downloads every file it lists.
+bin/mfer fetch https://example.com/tree/
+```
+
+Run `bin/mfer help` for the full command list, or `bin/mfer <command> --help`
+for a single command's options.
+
 # Build Status
 
 CI runs `script/cibuild`, which builds the Docker image with `--no-cache`, so
@@ -47,8 +77,9 @@ provide:
 - `script/fuzz` — fuzz the manifest parser for one minute; run by hand
   (`make fuzz`), never by CI, while `script/test` runs its committed seed corpus
   as ordinary tests
-- `script/lint` — run `golangci-lint` in Docker: builds `Dockerfile.lint`, whose
-  build runs the linter, uncached so it runs every time, then removes the image
+- `script/lint` — run `golangci-lint` in Docker: builds only the `lint` stage of
+  the `Dockerfile` (the Go format check, then the linter), uncached so it runs
+  every time, then removes the image
 - `script/fmt` — format all code and docs (writes): `gofumpt` and
   `script/prettier --write`
 - `script/prettier` — run prettier over the repository's canonical file set
@@ -85,7 +116,9 @@ be merged. Any changes submitted to this project must also be
 See [`REPO_POLICIES.md`](REPO_POLICIES.md) for detailed coding standards,
 tooling requirements, and workflow conventions.
 
-# Problem Statement
+# Rationale
+
+## The problem
 
 Given a plain URL, there is no standard way to safely and programmatically
 download everything "under" that URL path. `wget -r` can traverse directory
@@ -109,7 +142,7 @@ Real issues I face:
 - when I download a large file via HTTP, I have no way of knowing if the file
   content is what it's supposed to be
 
-# Proposed Solution
+## The solution
 
 A standard, a manifest file format, and a tool for generating same.
 
@@ -141,6 +174,28 @@ The manifest file would do several important things:
     - maybe a bittorrent chunklist for torrent client compatibility? perhaps a
       top-level infohash for the whole manifest?
 
+# Design
+
+The repository is split into a reusable library and a thin command-line wrapper
+around it.
+
+- `mfer/` is the reusable library and the heart of the project: it defines the
+  manifest format and implements building, scanning, checking, serialization,
+  and signing. The protobuf schema is `mfer/mf.proto`, and the generated code it
+  produces (`mfer/mf.pb.go`) is committed alongside it so the library builds
+  with `go get` and needs no `protoc` toolchain.
+- `internal/cli/` holds the command implementations — `generate` (alias `gen`),
+  `check`, `freshen`, `export`, `list` (alias `ls`), `fetch`, and `version` —
+  that wire the library to the command-line interface.
+- `internal/log/` provides the logging used by the commands and the library.
+- `internal/bork/` provides the error the library returns when a manifest's
+  decompressed contents are not the size the manifest records.
+- `cmd/mfer/` is the entrypoint: its `main` package runs `internal/cli` and
+  exits with the status it returns.
+
+Everything under `internal/` is private to this repository; only the `mfer/`
+package is intended for import by other software.
+
 # Design Goals
 
 - Replace SHASUMS/SHASUMS.asc files
@@ -274,9 +329,9 @@ Open work, open design questions included, is tracked in this repo's issues:
 - Issues:
   [https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues)
 
-# Authors
+# Author
 
-- [@sneak &lt;sneak@sneak.berlin&gt;](mailto:sneak@sneak.berlin)
+- [@sneak](https://sneak.berlin)
 
 # License
 

internal/cli/entry_test.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"math/rand"
 	"os"
 	"sync"
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	urfcli "github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/mfer/internal/log"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/mfer/mfer"
 )
 
@@ -27,6 +29,7 @@ const (
 	testManifest    = "/manifest.mf"
 	testFlagBase    = "--base"
 	testFlagNoExtra = "--no-extra-files"
+	testFlagVersion = "--version"
 )
 
 var errSimulatedWrite = errors.New("simulated write failure")
@@ -39,12 +42,20 @@ var errSimulatedWrite = errors.New("simulated write failure")
 var runMu sync.Mutex
 
 // runCLI invokes RunWithOptions while holding runMu so parallel tests
-// capture their own output.
+// capture their own output. Before releasing the lock it points the
+// process-global logger at io.Discard: other tests log outside the lock
+// (manifest loads, scans), and those lines must not land in this run's
+// buffers once it has returned and its test is reading them.
 func runCLI(opts *RunOptions) int {
 	runMu.Lock()
 	defer runMu.Unlock()
 
-	return RunWithOptions(opts)
+	exitCode := RunWithOptions(opts)
+
+	log.SetOutput(io.Discard, io.Discard)
+	log.Init()
+
+	return exitCode
 }
 
 func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
@@ -102,7 +113,7 @@ func TestVersionCommand(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
 	fs := afero.NewMemMapFs()
-	opts := testOpts([]string{testApp, "version"}, fs)
+	opts := testOpts([]string{testApp, cmdVersion}, fs)
 
 	exitCode := runCLI(opts)
 
@@ -113,6 +124,117 @@ func TestVersionCommand(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, stdout, "abc123")
 }
 
+// TestVFlagCollision covers the -v/--verbose vs --version flag interaction
+// (issue #64). Verbose owns -v; version answers to --version and -V. None of
+// these invocations may produce a parser error, and the two ways of asking
+// for the version must print the same thing.
+func TestVFlagCollision(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// Invocations that must print the version and exit 0.
+	versionCases := map[string][]string{
+		"long version flag":        {testApp, testFlagVersion},
+		"short version flag":       {testApp, "-V"},
+		"verbose then version":     {testApp, "-v", testFlagVersion},
+		"long verbose and version": {testApp, "--verbose", testFlagVersion},
+	}
+
+	for name, args := range versionCases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			opts := testOpts(args, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+			exitCode := runCLI(opts)
+
+			assert.Equal(t, 0, exitCode, "stderr: %s", testStderr(t, opts))
+			assert.Contains(t, testStdout(t, opts), mfer.Version)
+			assert.NotContains(t, testStderr(t, opts), "two forms of the same flag")
+		})
+	}
+
+	// Invocations that must enable verbose and exit 0 without a parser error.
+	verboseCases := map[string][]string{
+		"short verbose flag": {testApp, "-v"},
+		"long verbose flag":  {testApp, "--verbose"},
+	}
+
+	for name, args := range verboseCases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			opts := testOpts(args, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+			exitCode := runCLI(opts)
+
+			assert.Equal(t, 0, exitCode, "stderr: %s", testStderr(t, opts))
+			assert.Contains(t, testStdout(t, opts), cmdGenerate,
+				"root should show help listing subcommands")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestVersionFlagAndCommandMatch asserts that "mfer --version" and
+// "mfer version" produce identical output (issue #64).
+func TestVersionFlagAndCommandMatch(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	flagOpts := testOpts([]string{testApp, testFlagVersion}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+	require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(flagOpts))
+
+	cmdOpts := testOpts([]string{testApp, cmdVersion}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+	require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(cmdOpts))
+
+	assert.Equal(t, testStdout(t, flagOpts), testStdout(t, cmdOpts))
+}
+
+// TestRootVerbosityFlags asserts that -q and -v given before any subcommand
+// name take effect: in the root itself, and in the fetch and export
+// subcommands (issue #64). It does not run in parallel: other tests log
+// outside runMu (manifest loads, scans), and a line logged while one of these
+// runs is in progress lands in its output.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // see above
+func TestRootVerbosityFlags(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("quiet with no subcommand hides the banner", func(t *testing.T) {
+		loud := testOpts([]string{testApp}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+		require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(loud))
+		assert.Contains(t, testStdout(t, loud), banner)
+
+		quiet := testOpts([]string{testApp, "-q"}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+		require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(quiet))
+		assert.Contains(t, testStdout(t, quiet), cmdGenerate)
+		assert.NotContains(t, testStdout(t, quiet), banner)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("quiet before fetch hides the banner", func(t *testing.T) {
+		opts := testOpts([]string{testApp, "-q", cmdFetch}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+
+		assert.Equal(t, 1, runCLI(opts))
+		assert.Contains(t, testStderr(t, opts), errURLRequired.Error())
+		assert.NotContains(t, testStdout(t, opts), banner)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("verbose twice before fetch enables debug logging", func(t *testing.T) {
+		opts := testOpts([]string{testApp, "-v", "-v", cmdFetch}, afero.NewMemMapFs())
+
+		assert.Equal(t, 1, runCLI(opts))
+		assert.Contains(t, testStderr(t, opts), "fetchManifestOperation()")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("quiet before export hides the manifest summary", func(t *testing.T) {
+		fs := afero.NewMemMapFs()
+		manifest := buildTestManifest(t, map[string][]byte{"a.txt": []byte("a")})
+		require.NoError(t, afero.WriteFile(fs, testManifest, manifest, 0o644))
+
+		loud := testOpts([]string{testApp, cmdExport, testManifest}, fs)
+		require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(loud))
+		assert.Contains(t, testStderr(t, loud), "loaded manifest")
+
+		quiet := testOpts([]string{testApp, "-q", cmdExport, testManifest}, fs)
+		require.Equal(t, 0, runCLI(quiet))
+		assert.NotContains(t, testStderr(t, quiet), "loaded manifest")
+	})
+}
+
 func TestHelpCommand(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 

internal/cli/mfer.go

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const (
 	cmdCheck    = "check"
 	cmdExport   = "export"
 	cmdFetch    = "fetch"
+	cmdVersion  = "version"
 
 	flagProgress = "progress"
 
@@ -68,6 +69,12 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) VersionString() string {
 	return mfer.Version
 }
 
+// printVersion writes the version line shared by the --version flag and the
+// version subcommand, so both produce identical output.
+func (mfa *CLIApp) printVersion() {
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(mfa.Stdout, "%s version %s\n", mfa.appname, mfa.VersionString())
+}
+
 func (mfa *CLIApp) printBanner() {
 	if log.GetLevel() <= log.InfoLevel {
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(mfa.Stdout, banner)
@@ -78,20 +85,34 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) printBanner() {
 	}
 }
 
+// setVerbosity sets the log level from -v and -q, given before the subcommand
+// name (the root's copies), after it (the subcommand's own copies), or both.
+// urfave/cli reads a flag from the nearest command that defines it, so each
+// command in the lineage is asked. The highest -v count wins rather than the
+// sum, because a subcommand without its own copies reads the root's.
 func (mfa *CLIApp) setVerbosity(c *cli.Context) {
 	_, present := os.LookupEnv("MFER_DEBUG")
 
+	verbosity := 0
+	quiet := false
+
+	for _, ctx := range c.Lineage() {
+		verbosity = max(verbosity, ctx.Count("verbose"))
+		quiet = quiet || ctx.Bool("quiet")
+	}
+
 	switch {
 	case present:
 		log.EnableDebugLogging()
-	case c.Bool("quiet"):
+	case quiet:
 		log.SetLevel(log.ErrorLevel)
 	default:
-		log.SetLevelFromVerbosity(c.Count("verbose"))
+		log.SetLevelFromVerbosity(verbosity)
 	}
 }
 
-// commonFlags returns the flags shared by most commands (-v, -q)
+// commonFlags returns the -v and -q flags taken by the root and by the
+// generate, check, freshen and fetch subcommands.
 func commonFlags() []cli.Flag {
 	return []cli.Flag{
 		&cli.BoolFlag{
@@ -259,6 +280,8 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) exportCommand() *cli.Command {
 		Usage:     "Export manifest contents as JSON",
 		ArgsUsage: "[manifest file or URL]",
 		Action: func(c *cli.Context) error {
+			mfa.setVerbosity(c)
+
 			return mfa.exportManifestOperation(c)
 		},
 	}
@@ -266,10 +289,10 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) exportCommand() *cli.Command {
 
 func (mfa *CLIApp) versionCommand() *cli.Command {
 	return &cli.Command{
-		Name:  "version",
+		Name:  cmdVersion,
 		Usage: "Show version",
 		Action: func(_ *cli.Context) error {
-			_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(mfa.Stdout, mfa.VersionString())
+			mfa.printVersion()
 
 			return nil
 		},
@@ -325,6 +348,21 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) run(args []string) {
 	log.SetOutput(mfa.Stdout, mfa.Stderr)
 	log.Init()
 
+	// -v means verbose, not version. urfave/cli's built-in version flag
+	// claims -v by default, which made "mfer -v --version" fail to parse and
+	// gave -v a different meaning at the root than on the generate, check,
+	// freshen and fetch subcommands, where it means verbose. Verbose is the
+	// more common meaning of -v in tools that offer both, so -v means verbose
+	// at the root too and the version flag takes the capital -V.
+	// VersionFlag and VersionPrinter are urfave/cli package globals; run() is
+	// serialized in tests, so assigning them here is safe.
+	cli.VersionFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
+		Name:    cmdVersion,
+		Aliases: []string{"V"},
+		Usage:   "print the version",
+	}
+	cli.VersionPrinter = func(_ *cli.Context) { mfa.printVersion() }
+
 	mfa.app = &cli.App{
 		Name:                 mfa.appname,
 		Usage:                "Manifest generator",
@@ -332,11 +370,13 @@ func (mfa *CLIApp) run(args []string) {
 		EnableBashCompletion: true,
 		Writer:               mfa.Stdout,
 		ErrWriter:            mfa.Stderr,
+		Flags:                commonFlags(),
 		Action: func(c *cli.Context) error {
 			if c.Args().Len() > 0 {
 				return fmt.Errorf("%w %q", errUnknownCommand, c.Args().First())
 			}
 
+			mfa.setVerbosity(c)
 			mfa.printBanner()
 
 			return cli.ShowAppHelp(c)

script/lint

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# script/lint: run golangci-lint, in Docker only. Builds Dockerfile.lint,
-# whose build runs the linter, so a successful build is a clean lint.
-# --no-cache because a cached build runs no linter. The image is removed
-# afterwards, whatever the outcome.
+# script/lint: run golangci-lint, in Docker only. Builds the lint stage of
+# the Dockerfile, whose build runs the linter, so a successful build is a
+# clean lint. --no-cache because a cached build runs no linter. The image
+# is removed afterwards, whatever the outcome.
 set -eu
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd -P)"
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ main() {
     image="$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")-lint:$$"
     # A failed build leaves no image, so there is nothing to remove then.
     trap 'docker image rm "$image" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true' EXIT INT TERM
-    docker build --no-cache -f Dockerfile.lint -t "$image" .
+    docker build --no-cache --target lint -t "$image" .
 }
 
 main "$@"