#1464·gitleaks

Gitleaks returns exit code 0 when a sequence of invalid flags is passed

Author: fdz-tiago-taveiraCreated Aug 12, 2024Updated Aug 27, 2026
Labelsbug

Describe the bug Gitleaks returns exit code 0 when the order of the flags should have caused it to fail (and return exit code 1).

To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. touch config.toml
  2. gitleaks detect -s --no-banner . -c config.toml
  3. echo $? (0 is returned, despite the output showing the error)

Expected behavior Return exit code 1 (leaks or error encountered).

Screenshots n/a

Basic Info (please complete the following information):

  • OS: macOS 14.5 (23F79)
  • Gitleaks Version: 8.18.4

Additional context Not passing the config file flag (i.e., gitleaks detect -s --no-banner .) returns the expected exit code (1). I ran into this by chance due to having misplaced the arguments, other flag combinations possibly have the same behavior.

cc @zricethezav