CHK-001 Unchecked items

Overview

Validates that every Markdown checklist item (- [ ] / - [x]) is checked. Unchecked items are reported as warning.

Why it matters

Pre-release review checklists, migration task lists, and similar checklists often define “all items completed” as the actual completion criterion. But because - [ ] is still valid Markdown, leaving items unchecked passes both review and CI. Detecting completion mechanically prevents pre-review oversights.

Options

Field	Type	Required	Description
section	string	—	Restrict validation to checklists under a specific section (exact heading match)
files	string	—	Glob of files this rule applies to

The rule works even with no options at all (every checklist in every section is checked).

Bad example

## Review Checklist

- [x] Code review completed
- [ ] Security review completed
- [x] Tests passing

Security review completed is unchecked, which triggers a violation.

docs/review.md
  line 4  warning  Unchecked item "Security review completed" in section "Review Checklist"  CHK-001

After fix

## Review Checklist

- [x] Code review completed
- [x] Security review completed
- [x] Tests passing

Configuration example

{
  "rule": "chk001",
  "options": {
    "section": "Review Checklist",
    "files": "**/review.md"
  }
}

Use section to validate only checklists under a specific heading. When a single file mixes a review checklist with a personal-notes checklist, this lets you require completion only for the review one.

Related rules

• SEC-001 Required sections — Validates that the section hosting the checklist exists
• CTX-001 Placeholder detection — Detects placeholders such as TODO/TBD outside checklists