CLI reference

The main pattern is:

mule-lint [path] [options]

path can be one XML file or a directory. For a complete project analysis, run from the directory containing pom.xml and use ..

Lint options

Option	Meaning
-p, --profile <name>	Use baseline, recommended, or strict
-c, --config <file>	Load an explicit JSON configuration file
-f, --format <type>	Print table, json, report-json, sarif, html, csv, markdown, github, or junit
--baseline <file>	Report only issues missing from a previous --format json report
-o, --output <file>	Write output to a file instead of the terminal
-q, --quiet	Show errors only
--fail-on-warning	Exit 1 when a warning exists
-g, --quality-gate <name>	Apply default, strict, or config gate
-e, --experimental	Include experimental rules
-v, --verbose	Print more execution detail
-V, --version	Print the installed version
-h, --help	Print help

Only the report goes to standard output; gate results and status messages go to standard error.

Examples:

mule-lint . --profile recommended
mule-lint src/main/mule/orders-api.xml --quiet
mule-lint . --config .mulelintrc.json --format html --output report.html

Subcommands

api validate

mule-lint api validate <project-directory> [options]

Option	Meaning
--main <file>	Choose the main RAML/OpenAPI file relative to the project directory
--ruleset <file>	Apply a local AMF Validation Profile; repeat as needed
--dependency-root <path>	Allow another local dependency root; repeat as needed
--format <type>	table, json, or sarif

Remote contract references are not fetched. See API contract validation.

format

mule-lint format <file-or-project> [options]

Formatting writes changed XML by default. Add --check for a read-only CI check.

Option	Meaning
--check	Report files that need formatting and exit 1; do not write
--tab-width <n>	Spaces per indentation level; default 4
--print-width <n>	Preferred wrap width; default 140
--xml-quote-attributes <style>	preserve, single, or double

See XML formatting.

mcp

mule-lint mcp

Starts the local MCP server over standard input/output. It is normally launched by an MCP host, not typed for an interactive session. See MCP setup.

Exit codes

Code	Lint meaning
0	Complete scan with no failing finding or gate condition
1	Errors found, warnings configured to fail, or gate failed
2	Invalid command/configuration/path, rule execution failure, or no scanned files
3	Source parse error

format --check also uses 1 when formatting would change a file. api validate uses 0 for conformant, 1 for findings, and 2 for configuration/execution failure.

For lint scans, rule failures (2) take precedence over parse failures (3), then no files (2), then ordinary finding/gate results. Quiet mode, baselines, and custom gate thresholds cannot turn incomplete analysis into a pass. Use --format report-json for the versioned execution, scope, selection, gate, and findings object; --format json stays a flat array.

Lint execution failures override finding and gate results, including with --quiet or --baseline: rule failure 2, then parse failure 3, then no files 2. Use --format report-json for structured execution status and scan scope; --format json remains a flat array.