Maybe You Don’t Need a TODO

If you want to mark a piece of code as less than ideal, TODO isn’t always the right choice. There are several other keywords that may better describe what’s going on.

• NOTE — Provides additional context for code that works as intended.
• HACK — Explains code that relies on unusual or non-obvious behavior. Often paired with FIXME.
• FIXME — Marks code that works for now but should be fixed later. Common in MVPs and prototypes.
• BUG — Documents a known issue in the code. Useful for edge cases that are unlikely to occur during normal use but are still known to be incorrect.
• TODO — Marks something that still needs to be implemented or completed. Unlike FIXME, the existing code should be fully functional.
• STOPSHIP — Marks a critical issue that must be resolved before the product can be released. To enforce this automatically, you can use checode in your CI/CD pipeline.

Put these comments on their own line. If a comment needs more than one line, summarize the main point in the first line and make it a complete sentence.

This makes the comments easier to search for and helps developers understand their purpose at a glance.