Add Vale content linting for release post items

Cynthia "Arty" Ngrequested to merge
duo-edit-20260225-001310 into master

Closes #7139 (closed)

Summary

Implements Vale content linting for release post name and description fields, using the gitlab_base rules from gitlab-org/gitlab. This addresses the problem described in #7139 (closed) where typos, URL issues, and stylistic inconsistencies slip through the release post process due to the volume of content.

How it works

  1. A shell script (scripts/lint-release-post-content.sh) runs in CI on merge requests when .yml files under data/release_posts/ are changed. It can also be run locally or via a lefthook pre-push hook.
  2. The gitlab_base Vale rules (including spelling-exceptions.txt) and the vale-json.tmpl code quality template are committed directly in the repo under .vale/styles/gitlab_base/ and .vale/, sourced from gitlab-org/gitlab. To update the rules, copy the latest files from that repository.
  3. It uses git diff to identify only the changed (non-deleted) YAML files in the MR, excluding files without a features key (e.g., mvp.yml, upgrade*.yml). In CI it uses CI_MERGE_REQUEST_* variables; locally it uses git merge-base origin/master HEAD (following the lint-doc.sh / lefthook.yml pattern from gitlab-org/gitlab).
  4. Vale lints the YAML files directly using a Vale View (ReleasePostItem) that extracts the name and description fields via the dasel engine
  5. If Vale is not installed locally, the script falls back to running Vale via a container runtime (docker or nerdctl)

Scoping

  • Only name and description fields are linted (not URLs, reporter names, stage names, etc.)
  • Only changed files are linted (historical posts are not retroactively checked)
  • In CI, only triggers on .yml file changes under data/release_posts/ in MR pipelines
  • Locally, compares against origin/master or accepts specific files as arguments
  • No other content in the repository is evaluated by Vale
  • Non-feature files (mvp.yml, upgrade*.yml) are excluded from linting

Files added

  • .vale.ini — Vale configuration, targeting YAML files via the ReleasePostItem View
  • .vale/styles/config/views/ReleasePostItem.yml — Vale View definition (dasel engine) to extract name and description fields
  • .vale/styles/gitlab_base/ — Vale rules committed locally from gitlab-org/gitlab
  • .vale/vale-json.tmpl — Code quality report template from gitlab-org/gitlab
  • scripts/lint-release-post-content.sh — Lint script that works in CI, locally, and via lefthook (with container fallback)

Files changed

  • .gitignore — Uses universal **/.DS_Store pattern
  • .gitlab-ci.yml — New lint release-post-content vale CI job
  • lefthook.yml — New vale pre-push hook for local linting
  • FILES — Updated to include .vale and .vale.ini

Validation

The script can be tested in CI, locally, and via lefthook.

CI test: correctly failed with vale errors: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/jobs/13268993938#L101

Testing locally

The script handles setup automatically. Run it directly:

# Lint changed files on your branch (compares against origin/master)
scripts/lint-release-post-content.sh

# Lint specific files
scripts/lint-release-post-content.sh data/release_posts/18_9/some-file.yml

# Lint an entire release directory
scripts/lint-release-post-content.sh data/release_posts/18_9/*.yml

The lefthook pre-push hook also runs automatically on git push for any changed release post YAML files.

Note: target specific directories or files rather than the entire data/release_posts/ directory, as files without a features key will cause the View to error.

Local test example results 
vale --minAlertLevel warning data/release_posts/18_9

 data/release_posts/18_9/01-ai-powered-selfhosted-duo-agent-platform-cloud-ga.yml
 1:207  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace       
                 from the end of the line.                                       
 22:46  warning  Use 'GitLab Duo' instead of     gitlab_base.SubstitutionWarning 
                 'Duo'.                                                          


 data/release_posts/18_9/04-verify-read-inputs-from-a-file.yml
 3:358  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace       
                 from the end of the line.                                       
 19:59  warning  Use 'in' instead of 'within'.   gitlab_base.SubstitutionWarning 


 data/release_posts/18_9/03-create-repository-file-tree-navigation.yml
 23:27  warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                 'resizable'. If the spelling                         
                 is correct, ask a Technical                          
                 Writer to add this word to the                       
                 spelling exception list.                             


 data/release_posts/18_9/07-security-risk-management-vulnerabilities-by-age-chart.yml
 1:123  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace       
                 from the end of the line.                                       
 3:249  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace       
                 from the end of the line.                                       
 21:91  warning  Use 'because' or 'after'        gitlab_base.SubstitutionWarning 
                 instead of 'since'.                                             


 data/release_posts/18_9/application-security-testing-ds-analyzer-java-maven-support--manif.yml
 1:193  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 
 2:99   warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 
 3:186  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 


 data/release_posts/18_9/application-security-testing-ds-analyzer-python-support--manifest-.yml
 1:204  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 
 2:88   warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 
 3:194  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 
 4:114  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                 from the end of the line.                                 


 data/release_posts/18_9/create-disable-personal-snippets-enterprise-users.yml
 1:94  warning  Remove whitespace characters    gitlab_base.EOLWhitespace 
                from the end of the line.                                 


 data/release_posts/18_9/growth-ultimate-with-dap-trial.yml
 19:184  warning  Use 'GitLab Duo' instead of     gitlab_base.SubstitutionWarning 
                  'Duo'.                                                          


 data/release_posts/18_9/06-package_docker_virtual_registry_beta.yml
 22:38  warning  Remove 'currently'. The         gitlab_base.CurrentStatus 
                 documentation reflects the                                
                 current state of the product.                             


 data/release_posts/18_9/jetbrains-oauth-self-managed-dedicated.yml
 4:48  warning  The offerings are 'GitLab       gitlab_base.Offerings 
                Self-Managed' and 'GitLab                             
                Dedicated', with that exact                           
                capitalization.                                       


 data/release_posts/18_9/helm-chart-ZDU.yml
 25:70  warning  The offerings are 'GitLab       gitlab_base.Offerings 
                 Self-Managed' and 'GitLab                             
                 Dedicated', with that exact                           
                 capitalization.                                       


 data/release_posts/18_9/runtime-feature-flag-rollout-of-archive-group.yml
 29:160  warning  Remove 'simple'. Be precise     gitlab_base.Simplicity 
                  instead of subjective.                                 


 data/release_posts/18_9/security-platform-management-profiles.yml
 38:33  warning  Remove 'Easily'. Be precise     gitlab_base.Simplicity 
                 instead of subjective.                                 


 data/release_posts/18_9/valkey-optionally-available.yml
 4:12    warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 19:27   warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 21:66   warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 25:30   warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 25:110  warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 25:138  warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 27:26   warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             
 31:69   warning  Check the spelling of           gitlab_base.Spelling 
                  'Valkey'. If the spelling                            
                  is correct, ask a Technical                          
                  Writer to add this word to the                       
                  spelling exception list.                             


 data/release_posts/18_9/verify-show-security-reports-from-a-child-pipeline-in-a-mr.yml
 19:104  warning  Use a comma before the last     gitlab_base.OxfordComma 
                  'and' or 'or' in a list of                              
                  four or more items.                                     
 19:105  warning  Use a comma before the last     gitlab_base.OxfordComma 
                  'and' or 'or' in a list of                              
                  four or more items.                                     

✖ 0 errors, 32 warnings and 0 suggestions in 26 files.
Edited by Cynthia "Arty" Ng

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