build: run all linting in Docker via Dockerfile.lint (closes #104)

golangci-lint now runs only inside a container, never on the host.
script/lint builds a hash-pinned root Dockerfile.lint; the nix-shell and
host golangci-lint paths are gone. A per-run CACHEBUST build-arg is
folded into the lint step's cache key, so the linter re-executes on every
run and an unchanged tree cannot return a cached success having linted
nothing; script/lint fails a build that did not run the linter.

Dockerfile's lint stage runs golangci-lint directly, since make lint now
builds a container and there is no Docker inside a build. It is the same
image and config. golangci-lint config verify is left out: it fetches its
schema over an unpinned live HTTPS call, which REPO_POLICIES.md forbids.

Model: opus-4-8

Dockerfile

@@ -13,9 +13,12 @@ RUN go mod download
 # Copy source code
 COPY . .
 
-# Run formatting check and linter
+# Run formatting check and linter. The linter is invoked directly, not
+# via `make lint`: `make lint` now builds Dockerfile.lint, and there is
+# no Docker inside a Docker build. This is the same linter, image, and
+# config that Dockerfile.lint and script/lint run.
 RUN make fmt-check
-RUN make lint
+RUN golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
 
 # Build stage
 # golang:1.25.4-alpine, 2026-02-25
@@ -67,8 +70,9 @@ RUN adduser -D -H -s /sbin/nologin pixad && \
     mkdir -p /var/lib/pixa /etc/pixa && \
     chown pixad:pixad /var/lib/pixa
 
-# Copy default config (edit signing_key before use)
+# Copy the image config; signing_key comes from PIXA_SIGNING_KEY.
-COPY config.example.yml /etc/pixa/config.yml
+# Mount a file over /etc/pixa/config.yml to override anything else.
+COPY config.docker.yml /etc/pixa/config.yml
 
 USER pixad
 WORKDIR /var/lib/pixa

Dockerfile.lint

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Dockerfile.lint: the one and only path that runs golangci-lint.
+#
+# golangci-lint is never installed on the host; it runs only inside this
+# build. A clean build of this file therefore IS a clean lint over the
+# whole tree. It runs the same linter and config as Dockerfile's lint
+# stage, pinned to the same image so the two cannot drift to different
+# linter versions.
+#
+# golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2-alpine, 2026-08-07
+FROM golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2-alpine@sha256:91b27804074a0bacea298707f016911e60cf0cdbc6c7bf5ccacb5f0606d18d60
+
+# pixa is CGO/libvips: the type-aware linters compile every package, so
+# this image needs the same C libraries the build does.
+RUN apk add --no-cache build-base vips-dev libheif-dev pkgconfig
+
+WORKDIR /src
+
+# Modules first for layer caching; go.mod/go.sum settle this layer's
+# result, so it may safely be reused between runs.
+COPY go.mod go.sum ./
+RUN go mod download
+
+COPY . .
+
+# Caching is deliberately waived for the lint step: an unchanged tree
+# must still run the linter, not return a cached success in well under a
+# second having linted nothing. CACHEBUST carries a value that differs
+# on every run (script/lint supplies it and refuses to build without
+# one). The lint RUN below references it, so BuildKit cannot serve that
+# step from cache. Keep the ${CACHEBUST} reference on that step: dropping
+# it lets the linter cache again and report a green that linted nothing.
+ARG CACHEBUST
+RUN test -n "${CACHEBUST}" || { \
+        echo "Dockerfile.lint requires the CACHEBUST build-arg; build it via script/lint." >&2; \
+        exit 1; }
+
+# `golangci-lint config verify` is deliberately not run: it fetches its
+# JSON schema over an unpinned live HTTPS call, which REPO_POLICIES.md
+# forbids for external references.
+RUN echo "pixa-lint: running golangci-lint (${CACHEBUST})" && \
+    golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...

README.md

@@ -15,14 +15,25 @@ git clone https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/pixa.git
 cd pixa
 make build
 
-# run with a config file
+# run with a config file: copy the example and set a real signing key
-./bin/pixad --config config.example.yml
+# (the example placeholder is refused at startup), e.g. with
+# openssl rand -base64 32
+cp config.example.yml config.yml
+$EDITOR config.yml   # replace the signing_key placeholder
+./bin/pixad --config config.yml
 
 # or build and run via Docker
 make docker
-docker run -p 8080:8080 pixad:latest
+docker run -p 8080:8080 -e PIXA_SIGNING_KEY="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" pixa:latest
 ```
 
+A container is configured two ways. The signing key comes from the
+`PIXA_SIGNING_KEY` environment variable, which the baked-in config
+reads; if it is unset the container exits at startup naming the
+variable. Everything else uses built-in defaults, so to change any
+other setting mount your own file over `/etc/pixa/config.yml` (see
+`config.example.yml` for the full set of keys).
+
 ## Rationale
 
 Image-heavy web applications need a fast, caching reverse proxy that

TODO.md

@@ -29,6 +29,15 @@ P1: implement blocked networks configuration to extend SSRF protection
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-09-21 run all linting in Docker via `Dockerfile.lint` +
+  `script/lint` (closes #104): `script/lint` builds a hash-pinned root
+  `Dockerfile.lint`, and no host or nix-shell `golangci-lint` path
+  remains; a per-run `CACHEBUST` build-arg forces the lint step to
+  execute every run, so an unchanged tree cannot return a cached green
+  that linted nothing; `Dockerfile`'s lint stage runs `golangci-lint`
+  directly, since `make lint` now builds a container and there is no
+  Docker inside a build; `golangci-lint config verify` stays out, as it
+  fetches its schema over an unpinned live HTTPS call
 - 2026-09-21 http.Server hardening (closes #92): added
   `HTTPReadHeaderTimeout` (10s, bounds the slowloris header dribble) and
   `HTTPIdleTimeout` (120s, bounds keep-alive reuse) alongside the

config.docker.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# Pixa configuration baked into the Docker image.
+#
+# The signing key is read from the PIXA_SIGNING_KEY environment
+# variable; startup aborts naming it when it is unset. Every other key
+# is omitted so its default applies. Operators who need more (an
+# allowlist, metrics, and so on) mount their own file over
+# /etc/pixa/config.yml.
+
+signing_key: "${ENV:PIXA_SIGNING_KEY}"
+state_dir: /var/lib/pixa
+port: 8080

internal/config/config.go

@@ -44,6 +44,12 @@ const (
 	keyCacheMaxBytes              = "cache_max_bytes"
 )
 
+// placeholderSigningKey is the dummy signing_key shipped in
+// config.example.yml. It is 45 characters, so it passes the length
+// check, but it is public in this repository and must be rejected at
+// startup so no deployment ever signs URLs with it.
+const placeholderSigningKey = "CHANGE_ME_generate_with_openssl_rand_base64_32"
+
 // Static validation errors. Each use site attaches the offending key
 // and value by wrapping these with fmt.Errorf and %w.
 var (
@@ -61,6 +67,9 @@ var (
 	errPortOutOfRange    = errors.New("outside the valid port range")
 	errTooFewConnections = errors.New("must be at least 1")
 	errValueTooShort     = errors.New("value too short")
+	errPlaceholderKey    = errors.New(
+		"is the placeholder from config.example.yml; " +
+			"generate a real key with: openssl rand -base64 32")
 	errMustBeSetTogether = errors.New("must be set together")
 	errMustNotBeNegative = errors.New("must not be negative")
 	errOverflowsInt64    = errors.New("overflows a 64-bit integer")
@@ -341,10 +350,10 @@ func (c *Config) ensureStateDirWritable() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// validate checks that all required configuration values are set and
+// validateSigningKey checks that the signing key is present, long
-// that every value is within its valid range.
+// enough, and not the public placeholder from config.example.yml. The
-func (c *Config) validate() error {
+// key value itself is never echoed in error messages.
-	// The signing key value is never echoed in error messages.
+func (c *Config) validateSigningKey() error {
 	if c.SigningKey == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("config key %q: %w", keySigningKey, errValueRequired)
 	}
@@ -356,6 +365,21 @@ func (c *Config) validate() error {
 			keySigningKey, errValueTooShort, minKeyLength, len(c.SigningKey))
 	}
 
+	if c.SigningKey == placeholderSigningKey {
+		return fmt.Errorf("config key %q: %w", keySigningKey, errPlaceholderKey)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// validate checks that all required configuration values are set and
+// that every value is within its valid range.
+func (c *Config) validate() error {
+	err := c.validateSigningKey()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	const maxPort = 65535
 	if c.Port < 1 || c.Port > maxPort {
 		return fmt.Errorf("config key %q: value %d is %w 1-%d",

internal/config/config_validation_internal_test.go

@@ -303,6 +303,11 @@ func invalidHostAndCredentialCases() []abortCase {
 			yaml:              "signing_key: short\n",
 			wantErrSubstrings: []string{keySigningKey},
 		},
+		{
+			name:              "signing_key is the documented placeholder",
+			yaml:              "signing_key: " + placeholderSigningKey + "\n",
+			wantErrSubstrings: []string{keySigningKey},
+		},
 		{
 			name:              "signing_key missing",
 			yaml:              "port: 8080\n",

script/lint

@@ -1,23 +1,55 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# script/lint: run the linter. CGO dependencies (pkg-config, vips,
+# script/lint: run golangci-lint over the whole tree.
-# libheif) come from nix-shell when not already available (e.g. inside
+#
-# a Docker build or an existing nix-shell).
+# The linter is never installed on the host: it runs only inside the
+# Dockerfile.lint build, one way, everywhere. A clean build is a clean
+# lint. See Dockerfile.lint for why the lint step cannot be cached.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
 
-run_with_cgo_deps() {
+main() {
-    if command -v pkg-config >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    cd "$ROOT"
-        sh -c "$1"
+
-    else
+    # A value no other run repeats. Dockerfile.lint folds it into the
-        nix-shell -p pkg-config vips libheif golangci-lint git --run "$1"
+    # lint step's cache key, so the linter re-executes every run instead
+    # of an unchanged tree returning a cached success having linted
+    # nothing.
+    cachebust="$(date +%s)-$$"
+
+    tmp="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/pixa-lint.XXXXXX")"
+    trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT INT TERM
+
+    # --progress=plain so the lint step's own output reaches the log we
+    # check below; --output=type=cacheonly because we want the linter's
+    # verdict, not an image left in the local store. The build status
+    # travels through a file: a pipeline's exit status is tee's, not the
+    # build's.
+    (
+        set +e
+        docker build \
+            --progress=plain \
+            --build-arg CACHEBUST="$cachebust" \
+            --output=type=cacheonly \
+            -f Dockerfile.lint . 2>&1
+        echo "$?" >"$tmp/status"
+    ) | tee "$tmp/build.log"
+
+    status="$(cat "$tmp/status" 2>/dev/null || echo 1)"
+    [ "${status:-1}" -eq 0 ] || exit "${status:-1}"
+
+    # The linter's start line must appear as build output, not only in
+    # the build's echo of the RUN instruction. A step served from cache
+    # prints the instruction and none of its output; a step that runs
+    # prints a "#<n> <elapsed> ..." output line. Requiring that output
+    # line means a future edit dropping the CACHEBUST reference from
+    # Dockerfile.lint fails here rather than passing having linted
+    # nothing.
+    if ! grep -Eq '^#[0-9]+ +[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ +pixa-lint: running golangci-lint' \
+            "$tmp/build.log"; then
+        echo "script/lint: golangci-lint did not execute (cached step?)." >&2
+        exit 1
     fi
 }
 
-main() {
-    cd "$ROOT"
-    echo "Running linter..."
-    run_with_cgo_deps "golangci-lint run"
-}
-
 main "$@"