feat(linter): GL033 static dead-rules detection

Add rule GL033 that warns when every rule in a job's rules: block has
an explicit when: never, making the job permanently excluded from any
pipeline run. This is a pure static check — no if: evaluation or context
required. Only rules with literal when: never trigger it; rules with no
when: (defaults to on_success), when: manual, when: always, or
when: on_failure are treated as reachable.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+name: ci
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - '**'
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  ci:
+    name: vet, staticcheck, test, build
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    container:
+      image: golang:1.26-alpine
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Install tools
+        run: apk add --no-cache git
+
+      - name: Checkout
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          SERVER_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          REF: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+        run: |
+          git clone --depth 1 --branch "$REF" \
+            "$(echo "$SERVER_URL" | sed "s|https://|https://oauth2:${TOKEN}@|")/${REPO}.git" .
+
+      - name: vet
+        run: go vet ./...
+
+      - name: staticcheck
+        run: go tool staticcheck ./...
+
+      - name: test
+        run: go test ./...
+
+      - name: build
+        run: go build ./cmd/glint/...

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,7 +5,84 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 This project uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org).
 
-## [Unreleased]
+## [0.2.15] - 2026-06-13
+
+### Added
+
+- **Static reachability check (GL033)** — warns when every rule in a job's `rules:` block has an explicit `when: never`, making the job permanently excluded from any pipeline run. This is a purely static claim: no matter which `if:` condition evaluates to true, the outcome is always "skip"; and if no rule matches, the implicit fallback is also skip. No expression evaluation or context is required. The finding is a `WARNING` (may be intentional as a "disabled job" pattern). Only jobs where every rule has the literal `when: never` value are flagged; rules with no `when:` (default `on_success`), `when: manual`, `when: always`, or `when: on_failure` are not.
+
+## [0.2.14] - 2026-06-13
+
+### Added
+
+- **`--version` / `-v` flag** — `glint --version`, `glint -v`, and `glint version` all print the compiled version string (e.g. `glint v0.2.14`). The version is also shown at the top of every `--help` output (global, `check --help`, `graph --help`). The version is injected at build time via `-ldflags "-X main.version=..."` using `git describe --tags --always --dirty`.
+
+- **Sorted findings output** — `Lint` now returns findings sorted by `(File, Line, Rule)`. All issues from the same source file appear together in ascending line order; pipeline-level findings with no file location sort first. Previously findings were emitted in map-iteration order (non-deterministic).
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Warning format consistency** — include-resolution warnings, extends-chain warnings, and the workflow non-start warning now use the same ruff-style `path: [warning] message` format as lint findings instead of the old `[WARNING] …` prefix with no file context.
+
+- **Workflow rule permissive evaluation** — workflow `rules:if:` expressions are now evaluated in strict mode: an expression that cannot be fully parsed returns `false` (skip this rule, try the next) instead of `true` (match everything). Previously, a complex or partially-unsupported condition on the first workflow rule would match every context, blocking all subsequent rules and injecting the wrong variables. Job rules retain permissive evaluation (`true` on parse failure) to avoid silently dropping jobs.
+
+- **Single `=` operator in `rules:if:`** — a bare `=` not followed by `=` or `~` is now accepted as an alias for `==`. This is a common mistake in GitLab CI YAML; previously it caused a parse failure and triggered the permissive fallback.
+
+- **Source location lost through `extends:` resolution** — when a job was resolved via `extends:`, the merged definition was re-encoded and re-decoded as a fresh `model.Job` struct, which does not carry `File` or `Line` (they are not YAML keys). Those fields are now explicitly copied back from the original job before replacing it in `p.Jobs`, so extended jobs report the correct source file and line number in findings.
+
+## [0.2.13] - 2026-06-12
+
+### Added
+
+- **Variable expansion (`$VAR` / `${VAR}`)** — variable values that reference other variables are now expanded in the effective context after all sources are merged. Transitive chains (`A=$B`, `B=$C`) are resolved over up to ten passes; circular references are left as-is. The expanded values are visible in `--list-vars` output under "Effective context variables" and are used when evaluating `rules:if:` expressions.
+
+- **Non-string scalar variables (`bool`, `int`, `float64`)** — variables declared with bare `true`/`false` or integer values (e.g. `BUILD: true`, `RETRIES: 3`) are now handled correctly in all variable processing paths. Previously they were rendered as `(complex)` in `--list-vars` output and silently dropped from the effective context; they now render and inject as their string equivalents (`"true"`, `"3"`), matching GitLab CI's own behaviour where all variable values are strings.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **YAML `\/` escape in double-quoted strings** — regex patterns containing `\/` (escaped forward-slash) in double-quoted `if:` expressions (e.g. `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^us\//`) caused a YAML parse error (`found unknown escape character`) with `gopkg.in/yaml.v3`, which does not implement this YAML 1.2 escape. The parser now preprocesses the raw bytes before unmarshalling: inside double-quoted strings, `\/` is rewritten to `\\/`, which `yaml.v3` parses as a literal backslash followed by a slash — preserving the regex intent.
+
+## [0.2.11] - 2026-06-12
+
+### Added
+
+- **Ruff-style finding output** — findings now follow the `file:line: RULEID [severity] message` format (e.g. `.gitlab-ci.yml:14: GL004 [error] job "deploy": stage "production" is not defined in 'stages'`), matching the output convention used by [ruff](https://docs.astral.sh/ruff/) and other modern linters. Job-scoped findings prefix the message with `job "name": `; pipeline-level findings omit the job prefix. Severity is lowercase inside brackets (`[error]`, `[warning]`).
+
+- **Implicit default context (`--branch main --source push`)** — when `glint check` or `glint graph` is invoked without any of `--branch`, `--tag`, `--source`, or `--var`, the context now defaults to `--branch main --source push` so that `rules:if:` expressions are always evaluated. Previously the context was empty and no rule evaluation occurred. Any explicit context flag bypasses the defaults entirely.
+
+- **`--list-vars` debug flag** — available on both `glint check` and `glint graph`; prints all pipeline-level variables collected from the root file and every included file (sorted `KEY=VALUE`) to stderr, then continues normally. When a context is active, also prints the effective merged variable set (pipeline defaults + workflow-rule variables + CLI flags). Useful for diagnosing GL032 false positives.
+
+- **Included-file variables now visible to all lint rules** — `variables:` blocks declared in included files (local, remote, project, and component includes) are now merged into the pipeline's variable namespace before linting. This eliminates false-positive GL032 warnings for variables declared in shared CI templates. Root-pipeline variables take precedence over included-file variables when the same key appears in both (matching GitLab's own override behaviour).
+
+- **Variable reference validation (GL032)** — glint now warns when a `rules:if:` expression references a variable (`$VAR` or `${VAR}`) that is not declared anywhere in the pipeline YAML: pipeline-level `variables:`, the job's own `variables:`, or any `workflow:rules:variables:` block. Predefined GitLab CI variable namespaces (`CI_*`, `GITLAB_*`, `FF_*`, `RUNNER_*`, `TRIGGER_*`, `CHAT_*`) are exempt. Because variables can also be set in GitLab CI/CD project settings (invisible to glint), the finding is a `[WARNING]` rather than an error. Each undeclared variable is reported at most once per job to keep the output concise.
+
+- **Structured rule IDs** — every finding now carries a stable `GL###` identifier (e.g. `GL003`) that appears in the output alongside the location and message: `.gitlab-ci.yml:14: GL003 [error] job "deploy": missing required field 'script'`. IDs are assigned per check function across 31 rules (GL001–GL031) and are stable across versions. The `linter.Finding` struct exposes the ID as a `Rule string` field for programmatic consumers. The README lint rules table is updated with ID columns.
+
+- **`workflow:rules:variables:` now propagate to job rule evaluation** — when a `workflow:rules:` entry matches, any `variables:` it defines are injected into the evaluation context so job `rules:if:` expressions can reference them. Pipeline-level `variables:` are also available as defaults (lower priority). Variable priority order, highest first: `--var` CLI overrides → `--branch`/`--tag`/`--source` shortcuts → workflow-rule variables → pipeline-level variable defaults. This means `$DEPLOY_TARGET == "production"` in a job rule correctly evaluates when a workflow rule sets `DEPLOY_TARGET: production` for the matching branch. The `glint graph tree` command benefits from the same enrichment.
+
+- **`rules:if:` expression evaluator improvements** — six correctness fixes to the GitLab CI expression parser:
+  - **Multi-line expressions** — newlines (`\n`, `\r`) are now treated as whitespace between tokens, so block-scalar `if:` values (e.g. `if: | ...`) and folded YAML scalars with `||`/`&&` on a continuation line are parsed correctly instead of falling back to permissive `true`.
+  - **`${VAR}` curly-brace variable syntax** — `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH}` is now equivalent to `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH` everywhere a value is expected.
+  - **Regex flags** — `/pattern/i`, `/pattern/m`, `/pattern/s` are now honoured; the `i` flag (case-insensitive) is translated to Go's `(?i)` prefix before compiling. Unknown flags are silently ignored.
+  - **Variable as regex RHS** — `$BRANCH =~ $PATTERN` where `$PATTERN` holds a `/regex/[flags]` string is now evaluated by extracting and compiling the pattern from the variable's value; if the value is empty or does not look like a regex literal the expression falls back to permissive `true`.
+  - **`true` / `false` keywords** — bare `true` and `false` (without quotes) are now recognised as the string values `"true"` and `"false"`, matching GitLab CI's own behaviour. `$GATEWAY_ENABLED == true` and `$FEATURE_FLAG == false` now evaluate correctly.
+  - **Integer literals** — bare integers (e.g. `$PARALLEL == 4`, `$ENABLED == 1`, `$DISABLED == 0`) are now parsed as their decimal string representations and compared accordingly.
+
+- **File and line numbers on findings** — every finding now includes the source file and line where the job is defined, e.g. `[ERROR] job "deploy" (src/deploy.yml:14): …`. For jobs that come from local or fetched includes the file reflects the include source. Pipeline-level findings (workflow rules, missing stages) reference the root pipeline file.
+
+- **`glint graph includes` shows jobs per file** — each node in the Mermaid include dependency graph now shows the jobs defined directly in that file. Jobs are rendered as rounded nodes (`(name)`) in a distinct light-purple style, connected with dashed arrows (`-.->`) to distinguish ownership from the include hierarchy (solid `-->` arrows). The root pipeline file always shows its direct jobs; local and fetched project/component nodes show theirs when the file can be read.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`include: remote:` URL includes are now fetched and merged** — glint fetches plain HTTPS URLs in `include: remote:` entries (no authentication), parses the resulting YAML, merges its jobs into the pipeline, and recursively resolves any sub-includes the remote file itself declares. Unreachable or unparseable URLs emit a `[WARNING]` and lint continues on the rest of the pipeline. The `glint graph includes` command now expands remote nodes with their jobs and sub-include tree, matching the behaviour of local and project includes.
+
+- **`needs: optional: true` downgraded to warning** — a `needs:` entry that carries `optional: true` and references a job not present in the pipeline now emits `[WARNING]` instead of `[ERROR]`. GitLab CI silently skips such dependencies at runtime (the job is absent when its include was not triggered), so the finding was a false positive. Non-optional missing needs remain errors. Optional missing deps are also excluded from the cycle-detection graph.
+
+- **`extends:` jobs with missing script downgraded to warning** — a job that declares `extends:` but has no `script` after resolution now emits `[WARNING]` instead of `[ERROR]`. The script may legitimately come from a base job in a remote include that could not be fetched at lint time (e.g. no token configured).
+
+- **Variable map form now parses correctly** — `variables:` entries that use the extended `{value, description, options}` form (GitLab CI 13.7+) no longer cause `yaml: cannot unmarshal !!map into string`. Both `Pipeline.Variables` and per-job `Variables` now accept either plain strings or map-form declarations.
+- **`default.image` map form now parses correctly** — `default: image: {name: ..., pull_policy: ...}` used to cause `yaml: cannot unmarshal !!map into string`; `DefaultConfig.Image` is now typed as `any` to match `Job.Image`.
+- **`default.before_script` / `default.after_script` now accept both list and scalar forms** — previously `DefaultConfig.BeforeScript` and `DefaultConfig.AfterScript` were `[]string`, causing a parse error when the field was written as a block scalar string. They are now typed as `any` to match the corresponding `Job` fields.
+- **`rules.changes` / `rules.exists` map form now parses correctly** — extended `changes: {paths: [...], compare_to: "..."}` syntax (GitLab CI 15.3+) used to cause `yaml: cannot unmarshal !!map into []string`.
 
 ## [0.2.0] - 2026-06-11
 

README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
-# glint
+<p align="center">
+  <img src="assets/glint-logo.png" alt="glint logo" width="220" />
+</p>
 
-[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
-[![Release](https://img.shields.io/badge/release-v0.2.0-blue.svg)](CHANGELOG.md)
+<h1 align="center">glint</h1>
+
+<p align="center">
+  <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-Apache%202.0-blue.svg" alt="License"></a>
+  <a href="CHANGELOG.md"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/release-v0.2.15-blue.svg" alt="Release"></a>
+</p>
 
 > **Disclaimer:** This tool was built through iterative AI-assisted development with [Claude](https://claude.ai). It is experimental, incomplete, and not intended for production use. Coverage of GitLab CI keywords is best-effort and may lag behind GitLab's evolving spec. Use it at your own discretion — no correctness guarantees are made. Contributions and bug reports are welcome.
 
@@ -19,8 +25,15 @@ A local tool to validate and lint `.gitlab-ci.yml` pipelines without needing a G
 - **CI/CD catalog components** — resolves `include: component:` references from the GitLab CI/CD Catalog; public components work without a token
 - **Deprecation warnings** — flags `only`/`except` usage in favour of `rules`
 - **Local include resolution** — `include: local:` entries are read from disk and recursively merged before linting, so multi-file pipelines are fully validated
+- **Extended variable declarations** — `variables:` entries may use the `{value, description, options}` map form (GitLab CI 13.7+); `default.image` accepts both string and map form; `rules.changes`/`rules.exists` accept both list and `{paths, compare_to}` map form
 - **Graph output** — `glint graph` prints a job tree (stages → jobs) to the terminal; `glint graph includes` emits a Mermaid include dependency diagram; `glint graph pipeline` renders a GitLab CI-style PNG/SVG
 - **Context simulation** — pass `--branch`, `--tag`, or `--source` to `glint check` or `glint graph` to see which jobs would be active, manual, or skipped for a specific pipeline event; evaluates `rules:if:` expressions and `only`/`except` filters
+- **Variable expansion** — `$VAR` and `${VAR}` references inside variable values are expanded after all sources are merged (pipeline defaults → workflow-rule overrides → CLI flags); transitive chains resolve automatically; visible via `--list-vars`
+- **Non-string variable scalars** — `BUILD: true`, `RETRIES: 3` and other bare boolean/integer variable values are handled correctly throughout: they render in `--list-vars` output and are injected into the evaluation context as their string equivalents, matching GitLab CI's behaviour
+- **Static reachability (GL033)** — warns when a job's `rules:` block can never activate: if every rule has `when: never` the job is permanently excluded from any pipeline run, provable without evaluating any `if:` expressions
+- **Sorted findings output** — findings are sorted by source file then line number, so all issues from the same file appear together in order; pipeline-level findings (no file) sort first
+- **Consistent ruff-style warnings** — all warnings (unresolvable includes, skipped extends chains, workflow non-start) use the same `path: [warning] message` format as lint findings
+- **`--version` / `-v` flag** — prints the compiled version string (e.g. `glint v0.2.14`); the version is also shown at the top of every `--help` output
 
 See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for planned improvements.
 
@@ -193,6 +206,7 @@ glint check --branch main --var DEPLOY_ENV=production .gitlab-ci.yml
 **Evaluated:**
 - `rules:if:` — full expression language: `==`, `!=`, `=~`, `!~`, `&&`, `||`, `!`, `()`, `$VAR`, string literals, `null`
 - `only:` / `except:` — ref keywords (`branches`, `tags`, `merge_requests`, `schedules`, …), branch name globs (`feat/*`), and `/regex/` patterns
+- Variable expansion — `$VAR` / `${VAR}` references within variable values are expanded after all sources are merged; use `--list-vars` to inspect the resolved values
 
 **Not evaluated** (no git tree at lint time): `rules:changes:`, `rules:exists:`.
 Rules without an `if:` clause always match.
@@ -209,8 +223,12 @@ Rules without an `if:` clause always match.
 ### Example output
 
 ```
-# Clean pipeline, no context
-OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 jobs, 3 stages)
+# Clean pipeline (implicit default: --branch main --source push)
+Context: branch=main, source=push
+
+Active  (5): build, deploy-staging, test, ...
+
+OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 job(s), 3 stage(s))
 
 # With --branch develop context
 Context: branch=develop, source=push
@@ -218,7 +236,7 @@ Context: branch=develop, source=push
 Active  (3): build, deploy-staging, test
 Skipped (2): deploy-prod, release-notes
 
-OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 jobs, 3 stages)
+OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 job(s), 3 stage(s))
 
 # With --tag v1.0.0 context
 Context: tag=v1.0.0, source=push
@@ -226,75 +244,77 @@ Context: tag=v1.0.0, source=push
 Active  (4): build, deploy-prod, release-notes, test
 Skipped (1): deploy-staging
 
-OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 jobs, 3 stages)
+OK: .gitlab-ci.yml — no issues found (5 job(s), 3 stage(s))
 
 # Pipeline with issues
-[ERROR] job "deploy": stage "production" is not defined in 'stages'
-[ERROR] job "test": needs unknown job "build-app"
-[WARNING] job "old-job": 'only'/'except' are deprecated; prefer 'rules'
+.gitlab-ci.yml:14: GL004 [error] job "deploy": stage "production" is not defined in 'stages'
+.gitlab-ci.yml:22: GL027 [error] job "test": needs unknown job "build-app"
+.gitlab-ci.yml:31: GL007 [warning] job "old-job": 'only'/'except' are deprecated; prefer 'rules'
 
 3 finding(s): 2 error(s)
 ```
 
 ## Lint rules
 
+Every finding includes a stable rule ID (e.g. `GL003`) that can be used to filter output or reference a specific check in documentation.
+
 ### Pipeline-level
 
-| Severity | Rule |
-|----------|------|
-| ERROR | `workflow.rules[*].when` is not `always` or `never` |
-| WARNING | No `stages` defined (GitLab falls back to default stages) |
+| ID | Severity | Rule |
+|----|----------|------|
+| GL002 | ERROR | `workflow.rules[*].when` is not `always` or `never` |
+| GL001 | WARNING | No `stages` defined (GitLab falls back to default stages) |
 
 ### Job-level — structure
 
-| Severity | Rule |
-|----------|------|
-| ERROR | Job is missing required `script` (or `run`) — non-trigger, non-template jobs |
-| ERROR | Job references a `stage` not declared in `stages` |
-| ERROR | `only` and `rules` used together on the same job |
-| ERROR | `except` and `rules` used together on the same job |
-| WARNING | `only`/`except` used (deprecated, prefer `rules`) |
+| ID | Severity | Rule |
+|----|----------|------|
+| GL003 | ERROR | Job is missing required `script` (or `run`) — non-trigger, non-template jobs |
+| GL004 | ERROR | Job references a `stage` not declared in `stages` |
+| GL005 | ERROR | `only` and `rules` used together on the same job |
+| GL006 | ERROR | `except` and `rules` used together on the same job |
+| GL007 | WARNING | `only`/`except` used (deprecated, prefer `rules`) |
 
 ### Job-level — keyword constraints
 
-| Severity | Rule |
-|----------|------|
-| ERROR | `when` is not one of `on_success`, `on_failure`, `always`, `manual`, `delayed`, `never` |
-| ERROR | `when: delayed` without `start_in` |
-| ERROR | `start_in` set but `when` is not `delayed` |
-| ERROR | `parallel` integer not in range 2–200 |
-| ERROR | `parallel` map form missing `matrix` key |
-| ERROR | `retry` integer not in range 0–2 |
-| ERROR | `retry.max` not in range 0–2 |
-| ERROR | `retry.when` contains an invalid failure type |
-| ERROR | `allow_failure` is not a boolean or a map with `exit_codes` |
-| ERROR | `interruptible` is not a boolean |
-| ERROR | `trigger` job also has `script` |
-| ERROR | `trigger` map missing `project` or `include` |
-| ERROR | `coverage` is not a regex pattern wrapped in `/` |
-| ERROR | `release` missing required `tag_name` |
-| ERROR | `environment.url` set without `environment.name` |
-| ERROR | `environment.action` is not one of `start`, `stop`, `prepare`, `verify`, `access` |
-| ERROR | `artifacts.when` is not `on_success`, `on_failure`, or `always` |
-| ERROR | `artifacts.expose_as` set without `artifacts.paths` |
-| ERROR | `cache.when` is not `on_success`, `on_failure`, or `always` |
-| ERROR | `cache.policy` is not `pull`, `push`, or `pull-push` |
-| ERROR | `rules[*].when` is not one of the valid `when` values |
-| ERROR | `image` map form missing `name` key |
-| ERROR | `inherit.default` / `inherit.variables` is not a boolean or list |
-| WARNING | `pages` job `artifacts.paths` does not include `public` |
+| ID | Severity | Rule |
+|----|----------|------|
+| GL008 | ERROR | `when` is not one of `on_success`, `on_failure`, `always`, `manual`, `delayed`, `never` |
+| GL009 | ERROR | `when: delayed` without `start_in` |
+| GL010 | ERROR | `start_in` set but `when` is not `delayed` |
+| GL011 | ERROR | `parallel` integer not in range 2–200, or map form missing `matrix` key |
+| GL012 | ERROR | `retry` integer not in range 0–2, or `retry.max` out of range |
+| GL013 | ERROR | `retry.when` contains an unrecognised failure type |
+| GL014 | ERROR | `allow_failure` is not a boolean or a map with `exit_codes` |
+| GL015 | ERROR | `interruptible` is not a boolean |
+| GL016 | ERROR | `trigger` job also has `script` |
+| GL017 | ERROR | `trigger` map missing `project` or `include` |
+| GL018 | ERROR | `coverage` is not a regex pattern wrapped in `/` |
+| GL019 | ERROR | `release` missing required `tag_name`, or is not a map |
+| GL020 | ERROR | `environment.url` set without `environment.name`, or invalid `environment.action` |
+| GL021 | ERROR | `artifacts.when` invalid, or `artifacts.expose_as` set without `artifacts.paths` |
+| GL022 | WARNING | `pages` job `artifacts.paths` does not include `public` |
+| GL023 | ERROR | `cache.when` or `cache.policy` has an invalid value |
+| GL024 | ERROR | `rules[*].when` is not one of the valid `when` values |
+| GL025 | ERROR | `image` map form missing `name` key |
+| GL026 | ERROR | `inherit.default` / `inherit.variables` is not a boolean or list |
 
 ### Cross-job graph
 
-| Severity | Rule |
-|----------|------|
-| ERROR | `needs:` references a job that does not exist |
-| ERROR | `needs:` references a job in a later stage |
-| ERROR | Circular dependency detected in `needs:` graph |
-| ERROR | `dependencies:` references a job that does not exist |
-| ERROR | `dependencies:` references a job in the same or a later stage |
-| WARNING | `extends:` references an unknown base job (resolver warning; extends chain skipped for that job) |
-| ERROR | Cycle detected in `extends:` graph |
+| ID | Severity | Rule |
+|----|----------|------|
+| GL027 | ERROR/WARNING | `needs:` references a job that does not exist (WARNING when `optional: true`) |
+| GL028 | ERROR | `needs:` references a job in a later stage |
+| GL029 | ERROR | Circular dependency detected in `needs:` graph |
+| GL030 | ERROR | `dependencies:` references a job that does not exist |
+| GL031 | ERROR | `dependencies:` references a job in the same or a later stage |
+
+### Expression validation
+
+| ID | Severity | Rule |
+|----|----------|------|
+| GL032 | WARNING | `rules:if:` references `$VAR` not declared in `variables:` (pipeline, job, or `workflow:rules:variables:`) — may be a false positive for variables set in GitLab CI/CD project settings |
+| GL033 | WARNING | Every rule in `rules:` has `when: never` — job is permanently excluded from the pipeline (statically provable without context) |
 
 ### Hidden jobs (templates)
 

ROADMAP.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ This document tracks planned improvements to `glint`. Items are grouped by theme
 
 ---
 
-## Context-aware validation — ✓ single-context shipped in v0.2.0
+## Context-aware validation — ✓ single-context shipped in v0.2.0; expression evaluator hardened post-v0.2.0; implicit defaults and --list-vars shipped v0.2.11; variable expansion and scalar handling shipped v0.2.13; workflow evaluation and output fixes shipped v0.2.14
 
 Single-context simulation is fully implemented. Pass `--branch`, `--tag`, `--source`, or `--var` to either `glint check` or `glint graph`; jobs are evaluated and shown as active / manual / skipped.
 
@@ -16,6 +16,35 @@ glint check --source merge_request_event --var CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NA
 glint graph tree --branch main .gitlab-ci.yml   # tree annotated with [skipped] / [manual]
 ```
 
+**Shipped post-v0.2.0 (unreleased)**
+
+- ✓ **`workflow:rules:variables:` propagation** — variables defined on the matching `workflow:rules:` entry are injected into the evaluation context before job `rules:if:` expressions are evaluated. Pipeline-level `variables:` defaults are also available. Priority chain (highest wins): `--var` > shortcuts > workflow-rule vars > pipeline defaults.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: multi-line expressions** — newlines in block-scalar and folded YAML `if:` values are now treated as whitespace; `||` / `&&` on a continuation line evaluate correctly.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: `${VAR}` curly-brace syntax** — `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH}` is equivalent to `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH` everywhere.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: regex flags** — `/pattern/i`, `/pattern/m`, `/pattern/s` are now supported; `i` maps to `(?i)` in Go's regexp.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: variable as regex RHS** — `$BRANCH =~ $PATTERN` where `$PATTERN` holds a `/regex/` string is evaluated correctly.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: bare `true` / `false` keywords** — treated as the strings `"true"` / `"false"` matching GitLab CI's own behaviour; `$GATEWAY_ENABLED == true` now evaluates correctly.
+- ✓ **Expression evaluator: integer literals** — `$COUNT == 4`, `$ENABLED == 1`, `$DISABLED == 0` compare as decimal strings.
+
+~~**Implicit default context**~~ — ✓ shipped v0.2.11; `glint check` and `glint graph` default to `--branch main --source push` when no context flag is given, so `rules:if:` expressions are always evaluated out of the box.
+
+~~**`--list-vars` debug flag**~~ — ✓ shipped v0.2.11; prints sorted `KEY=VALUE` of all collected variables (pipeline YAML + included files + workflow-rule union + effective context) to stderr.
+
+**Shipped in v0.2.13**
+
+- ✓ **Variable expansion** — `$VAR` / `${VAR}` references within variable values are expanded after all sources are merged; transitive chains resolve over multiple passes; visible in `--list-vars` effective-context output.
+- ✓ **Non-string scalar variables** — `BUILD: true`, `RETRIES: 3` and similar bare boolean/integer values now render correctly in `--list-vars` and are injected into the evaluation context as string equivalents; previously shown as `(complex)` and silently dropped.
+- ✓ **YAML `\/` escape in double-quoted strings** — regex patterns like `/^us\//` in double-quoted `if:` blocks no longer cause a parse error; the raw bytes are preprocessed before YAML unmarshalling.
+
+**Shipped in v0.2.14**
+
+- ✓ **Workflow rule strict evaluation** — workflow `rules:if:` now uses strict mode (parse failure → skip rule, not match); fixes premature matching that blocked later rules and injected wrong variables.
+- ✓ **Single `=` operator** — `=` is now accepted as an alias for `==` in `rules:if:` expressions, matching common user intent.
+- ✓ **Source location through `extends:` resolution** — `File` and `Line` are now preserved when a job is rebuilt via extends, so findings reference the correct source location.
+- ✓ **Sorted findings output** — findings are sorted by `(File, Line, Rule)`; same-file issues group together in line order.
+- ✓ **Consistent warning format** — all warnings use ruff-style `path: [warning] message` format.
+- ✓ **`--version` / `-v` flag** — prints compiled version; version also shown at the top of every `--help` output.
+
 **Remaining work**
 
 - **Multi-context simulation** — run multiple contexts in one invocation and print a comparison table:
@@ -23,7 +52,7 @@ glint graph tree --branch main .gitlab-ci.yml   # tree annotated with [skipped]
   glint check --context branch=main --context branch=develop --context tag=v1.0.0 .gitlab-ci.yml
   ```
 - **Context-scoped linting** — skip `needs:`/`dependencies:` cross-checks for jobs that are statically unreachable in the given context
-- **`rules:changes:` evaluation** — path glob evaluation against the local git tree (expression evaluator priority 5)
+- **`rules:changes:` evaluation** — path glob evaluation against the local git tree
 
 ---
 
@@ -31,14 +60,15 @@ glint graph tree --branch main .gitlab-ci.yml   # tree annotated with [skipped]
 
 The current rule set covers the most common sources of broken pipelines. These are the gaps most likely to matter in practice.
 
-- **Variable reference validation** — warn when a job references `$VAR` (or `${VAR}`) that is not declared anywhere in `variables:`, `default.variables`, or the job itself
+- ~~**Variable reference validation (GL032)**~~ — ✓ shipped v0.2.11; warns when a `rules:if:` expression references `$VAR` / `${VAR}` not declared anywhere in pipeline YAML; predefined GitLab namespaces (`CI_*`, `GITLAB_*`, …) exempt; variables from included files are also considered
+- ~~**`rules:if:` static reachability (GL033)**~~ — ✓ shipped v0.2.15; warns when every rule in a job's `rules:` block has `when: never`, making the job permanently excluded from any pipeline run; no `if:` evaluation required
 - **`services:` validation** — map form requires `name`; `alias` must be a valid DNS label
 - **`rules:changes` / `rules:exists`** — warn on glob patterns that can never match (e.g. absolute paths, double `**` on unsupported versions)
 - **`timeout` format** — must be a duration string GitLab understands (`1h 30m`, `90 minutes`, etc.)
 - **`id_tokens:` / `secrets:`** — presence and required-key checks
 - **`pages:publish`** — validate that the path is consistent with `artifacts.paths`
 - **`inherit:` completeness** — flag when a job overrides a default field that would require `inherit: default: false` to suppress
-- **Unreachable jobs** — detect jobs that can never run because every `rules:` branch evaluates to `never` (static analysis only, no variable expansion)
+- **Unreachable jobs** — detect jobs that can never run because every `rules:` branch evaluates to `never` (static analysis only)
 - **Duplicate stage names** — GitLab silently merges them; warn to avoid confusion
 - **`cache:key:files`** — must be a list of paths, not a glob
 
@@ -47,7 +77,7 @@ The current rule set covers the most common sources of broken pipelines. These a
 ## Include resolution
 
 - ~~**`include: local:`** full resolution~~ — ✓ shipped in v0.2.0; local files are read from disk, recursively resolved, and merged before linting
-- **`include: remote:`** (URL) — fetch and merge plain HTTP/HTTPS URLs (no auth required)
+- ~~**`include: remote:`** (URL)~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; plain HTTPS URLs are fetched (unauthenticated), parsed, and merged; sub-includes are resolved recursively; unreachable URLs emit `[WARNING]` and linting continues
 - **Recursive include depth limit** — guard against include cycles across files
 - **Offline mode / cache** — persist fetched remote templates to a local cache directory; `--offline` flag to skip network calls and use only cached copies
 - **`include: inputs:`** — substitute CI component input values into fetched templates before merging, so component-scoped jobs get their correct `stage:` and keyword values
@@ -70,6 +100,7 @@ Right now the only output is plain-text findings. Structured output enables inte
 The SVG renderer and terminal tree cover the basic layout. These would bring it closer to GitLab's full interactive view.
 
 - ~~**Terminal job tree**~~ — ✓ shipped in v0.2.0 as `glint graph tree`; stages as branches, jobs as leaves, context-aware annotations
+- ~~**`glint graph includes` shows jobs per file**~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; each include node shows the jobs it defines as dashed-arrow rounded nodes in a distinct style
 - **Multi-job connector accuracy** — draw one connector per job pair rather than one per stage pair in classic mode, so pipelines with uneven columns look correct
 - **Job tooltip / detail panel** — embed a hidden `<title>` and `<desc>` per chip so SVG viewers show `stage`, `when`, `image`, and `needs` on hover
 - **`when: on_failure` visual distinction** — dashed border or distinct icon for failure-path jobs
@@ -79,6 +110,20 @@ The SVG renderer and terminal tree cover the basic layout. These would bring it
 
 ---
 
+## Findings quality — ✓ file and line numbers shipped post-v0.2.0; ruff-style format shipped v0.2.11
+
+~~**File and line numbers on findings**~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; every finding includes the source file and exact line of the job key. Works across local includes, remote project templates, and fetched component templates.
+
+~~**Ruff-style output format**~~ — ✓ shipped v0.2.11; findings follow `file:line: RULEID [severity] message` matching the convention used by ruff and other modern linters.
+
+**Remaining improvements**
+
+- ~~**`needs: optional: true` false-positive errors**~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; optional missing needs are downgraded to `[WARNING]`
+- ~~**`extends:` jobs with missing script false errors**~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; jobs using `extends:` that have no `script` after resolution emit `[WARNING]` (the script may come from an unfetchable remote base)
+- **`rules:if:` static reachability** — report when a job's entire `rules:` block can never evaluate to `when: on_success` given the declared pipeline variables (pure static, no context required)
+
+---
+
 ## CI / editor integration
 
 - **GitLab CI template** — a `.gitlab-ci.yml` snippet that runs `glint` as a pipeline-validation job before the real pipeline executes; publishable to the GitLab CI/CD Catalog
@@ -102,7 +147,7 @@ The SVG renderer and terminal tree cover the basic layout. These would bring it
 
 ## Reliability and developer experience
 
-- **Structured rule IDs** — assign a stable short ID to every rule (e.g. `GS001`) so suppression, documentation, and SARIF output are stable across versions
+- ~~**Structured rule IDs**~~ — ✓ shipped post-v0.2.0; GL001–GL031 assigned; GL032 added v0.2.11
 - **`--explain <rule-id>`** — print the rule description, rationale, and an example fix
 - ~~**Semantic versioning and first release**~~ — shipped as `v0.1.0` (2026-06-07)
 - ~~**Subcommand CLI**~~ — shipped as `v0.2.0` (2026-06-11); `glint check` / `glint graph [mode]` with ruff-style `--help`

Taskfile.yml

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ version: "3"
 vars:
   BINARY: glint
   GO: /usr/local/go/bin/go
+  VERSION:
+    sh: git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || echo "dev"
 
 tasks:
   default:
@@ -12,7 +14,7 @@ tasks:
   build:
     desc: Build the glint binary
     cmds:
-      - "{{.GO}} build -o {{.BINARY}} ./cmd/glint/..."
+      - "{{.GO}} build -ldflags \"-X main.version={{.VERSION}}\" -o {{.BINARY}} ./cmd/glint/..."
     sources:
       - "**/*.go"
       - go.mod
@@ -41,10 +43,14 @@ tasks:
         ignore_error: true
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/keywords_invalid.yml
         ignore_error: true
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/includes_remote.yml
+        ignore_error: false
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/includes_project.yml
         ignore_error: false
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/includes_component.yml
         ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/script_multiline.yml
+        ignore_error: false
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/context_rules.yml
         ignore_error: false
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch main testdata/context_rules.yml
@@ -55,21 +61,48 @@ tasks:
         ignore_error: false
       - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --tag v1.0.0 testdata/context_rules.yml
         ignore_error: false
-      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci.yml
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/rules_if_expr.yml
         ignore_error: false
-      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci-coverage.yml
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch main testdata/rules_if_expr.yml
         ignore_error: false
-      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci-private.yml
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch feat/x testdata/rules_if_expr.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/workflow_vars.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch main testdata/workflow_vars.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch develop testdata/workflow_vars.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check --branch feat/x testdata/workflow_vars.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/workflow_escape.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/variable_refs.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/variable_refs_included.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/dead_rules.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci-coverage.yml
+        ignore_error: false
+      - cmd: ./{{.BINARY}} check testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci-private.yml
         ignore_error: false
 
   lint-go:
     desc: Run go vet on all packages
     cmd: "{{.GO}} vet ./..."
 
+  lint-static:
+    desc: Run staticcheck on all packages
+    cmd: "{{.GO}} tool staticcheck ./..."
+
   ci:
-    desc: Full CI check — vet, test, build, validate
+    desc: Full CI check — vet, staticcheck, test, build, validate
     cmds:
       - task: lint-go
+      - task: lint-static
       - task: test
       - task: build
       - task: validate
@@ -83,7 +116,7 @@ tasks:
       - sh: git describe --tags --exact-match
         msg: "Current commit is not tagged — Windows build requires a git tag"
     cmds:
-      - "GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 {{.GO}} build -o {{.BINARY}}-{{.TAG}}.exe ./cmd/glint/..."
+      - "GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 {{.GO}} build -ldflags \"-X main.version={{.TAG}}\" -o {{.BINARY}}-{{.TAG}}.exe ./cmd/glint/..."
     sources:
       - "**/*.go"
       - go.mod
@@ -99,7 +132,7 @@ tasks:
       - sh: git describe --tags --exact-match
         msg: "Current commit is not tagged — Linux build requires a git tag"
     cmds:
-      - "GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 {{.GO}} build -o {{.BINARY}}-{{.TAG}}-linux-amd64 ./cmd/glint/..."
+      - "GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 {{.GO}} build -ldflags \"-X main.version={{.TAG}}\" -o {{.BINARY}}-{{.TAG}}-linux-amd64 ./cmd/glint/..."
     sources:
       - "**/*.go"
       - go.mod

cmd/glint/main.go

@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ import (
 	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/resolver"
 )
 
+// version is set at build time via -ldflags "-X main.version=vX.Y.Z".
+var version = "dev"
+
 const globalUsage = `glint: Lint and visualise GitLab CI pipelines locally.
 
 Usage: glint [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
@@ -26,6 +29,7 @@ Commands:
 
 Options:
   -h, --help     Print help
+  -v, --version  Print version
 
 For help with a specific command, see: ` + "`glint <command> --help`" + `.
 `
@@ -41,7 +45,10 @@ func main() {
 	case "graph":
 		cmdGraph(os.Args[2:])
 	case "-h", "--help", "help":
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "glint %s\n\n", version)
 		fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, globalUsage)
+	case "-v", "--version", "version":
+		fmt.Printf("glint %s\n", version)
 	default:
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "glint: unknown command %q\n\n%s", os.Args[1], globalUsage)
 		os.Exit(2)
@@ -64,9 +71,11 @@ func cmdCheck(args []string) {
 	branch := fs.String("branch", "", "simulate a branch push (sets CI_COMMIT_BRANCH, …)")
 	tag := fs.String("tag", "", "simulate a tag push (sets CI_COMMIT_TAG, …)")
 	source := fs.String("source", "", "set CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE")
+	listVars := fs.Bool("list-vars", false, "print all collected pipeline variables (from root and included files) to stderr, then continue")
 	var vars multiFlag
 	fs.Var(&vars, "var", "set a CI variable as KEY=VALUE; repeatable")
 	fs.Usage = func() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "glint %s\n\n", version)
 		fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, `Lint a GitLab CI pipeline file.
 
 Resolves local includes and extends chains, then runs all lint rules.
@@ -90,6 +99,7 @@ Options:
       --branch <NAME>
           Simulate a branch push. Populates: CI_COMMIT_BRANCH,
           CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME, CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG, CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE=push.
+          [default: main]
 
       --tag <NAME>
           Simulate a tag push. Populates: CI_COMMIT_TAG, CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME,
@@ -97,18 +107,30 @@ Options:
 
       --source <EVENT>
           Override CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE.
-          [possible values: push, merge_request_event, schedule, web, api]
+          [default: push] [possible values: push, merge_request_event, schedule, web, api]
 
       --var <KEY=VALUE>
           Set or override a CI variable. Takes precedence over --branch, --tag,
           and --source. Repeatable.
 
+      --list-vars
+          Print all pipeline-level variables collected from the root file and
+          every included file (sorted KEY=VALUE) to stderr, then continue
+          normally. Useful for debugging variable resolution and GL032 findings.
+
   -h, --help
           Print help
 
+Note: when none of --branch, --tag, --source, or --var are given, glint
+defaults to --branch main --source push so that rules:if: expressions are
+always evaluated.
+
 Examples:
   glint check .gitlab-ci.yml
-  glint check --branch main .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint check --branch develop .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint check --tag v1.0.0 .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint check --source merge_request_event .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint check --list-vars .gitlab-ci.yml
   GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat-xxxx glint check .gitlab-ci.yml
   glint check --token glpat-xxxx --gitlab-url https://gitlab.example.com .gitlab-ci.yml
   glint check --branch main --var DEPLOY_ENV=production .gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -116,6 +138,12 @@ Examples:
 	}
 	_ = fs.Parse(args)
 
+	// Apply implicit defaults when no context flag is given at all.
+	if *branch == "" && *tag == "" && *source == "" && len(vars) == 0 {
+		*branch = "main"
+		*source = "push"
+	}
+
 	if fs.NArg() != 1 {
 		fs.Usage()
 		os.Exit(2)
@@ -133,7 +161,7 @@ Examples:
 	rootDir := filepath.Dir(filepath.Clean(path))
 	warnings, _ := resolver.ResolveIncludes(p, cfg, rootDir)
 	for _, w := range warnings {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "[WARNING] include %s\n", w)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s: [warning] include %s\n", path, w)
 	}
 
 	extWarnings, err := resolver.Resolve(p)
@@ -142,10 +170,18 @@ Examples:
 		os.Exit(2)
 	}
 	for _, w := range extWarnings {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "[WARNING] job %q extends unknown job %q; extends chain skipped\n", w.Job, w.Base)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s: [warning] job %q extends unknown job %q; extends chain skipped\n", path, w.Job, w.Base)
 	}
 
 	ctx := cicontext.New(*branch, *tag, *source, vars)
+	if !ctx.IsEmpty() {
+		if !enrichContext(ctx, p) {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s: [warning] workflow:rules: pipeline would not start for this context\n", path)
+		}
+	}
+	if *listVars {
+		printVars(p, ctx)
+	}
 	if !ctx.IsEmpty() {
 		printContext(p, ctx)
 	}
@@ -193,6 +229,7 @@ func cmdGraph(args []string) {
 	gitlabURL := fs.String("gitlab-url", "", "GitLab instance URL (overrides CI_SERVER_URL / GITLAB_URL)")
 	out := fs.String("out", "glint-out", "output directory for Mermaid graph files (pipeline mode)")
 	fs.Usage = func() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "glint %s\n\n", version)
 		fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, `Visualise the pipeline as a job tree and/or Mermaid graph.
 
 Usage: glint graph [MODE] [OPTIONS] <PIPELINE>
@@ -221,6 +258,7 @@ Options:
           evaluated state ([skipped] or [manual]; no tag means active).
           Populates: CI_COMMIT_BRANCH, CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME, CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG,
           CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE=push.
+          [default: main]
 
       --tag <NAME>
           Simulate a tag push. Populates: CI_COMMIT_TAG, CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME,
@@ -228,18 +266,29 @@ Options:
 
       --source <EVENT>
           Override CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE.
-          [possible values: push, merge_request_event, schedule, web, api]
+          [default: push] [possible values: push, merge_request_event, schedule, web, api]
 
       --var <KEY=VALUE>
           Set or override a CI variable. Repeatable.
 
+      --list-vars
+          Print all pipeline-level variables collected from the root file and
+          every included file (sorted KEY=VALUE) to stderr, then continue
+          normally. Useful for debugging variable resolution.
+
   -h, --help
           Print help
 
+Note: when none of --branch, --tag, --source, or --var are given, glint
+defaults to --branch main --source push so that rules:if: expressions are
+always evaluated.
+
 Examples:
   glint graph .gitlab-ci.yml
   glint graph tree .gitlab-ci.yml
-  glint graph tree --branch main .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint graph tree --branch develop .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint graph tree --tag v1.0.0 .gitlab-ci.yml
+  glint graph tree --list-vars .gitlab-ci.yml
   glint graph includes .gitlab-ci.yml > includes.mmd
   glint graph pipeline .gitlab-ci.yml
   glint graph pipeline --out /tmp/graphs .gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -249,10 +298,17 @@ Examples:
 	branch := fs.String("branch", "", "simulate a branch push (sets CI_COMMIT_BRANCH, …)")
 	tag := fs.String("tag", "", "simulate a tag push (sets CI_COMMIT_TAG, …)")
 	source := fs.String("source", "", "set CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE")
+	listVars := fs.Bool("list-vars", false, "print all collected pipeline variables to stderr, then continue")
 	var vars multiFlag
 	fs.Var(&vars, "var", "set a CI variable as KEY=VALUE; repeatable")
 	_ = fs.Parse(args)
 
+	// Apply implicit defaults when no context flag is given at all.
+	if *branch == "" && *tag == "" && *source == "" && len(vars) == 0 {
+		*branch = "main"
+		*source = "push"
+	}
+
 	if fs.NArg() != 1 {
 		fs.Usage()
 		os.Exit(2)
@@ -272,6 +328,12 @@ Examples:
 	resolver.Resolve(p)                       //nolint:errcheck
 
 	ctx := cicontext.New(*branch, *tag, *source, vars)
+	if !ctx.IsEmpty() {
+		enrichContext(ctx, p)
+	}
+	if *listVars {
+		printVars(p, ctx)
+	}
 
 	switch mode {
 	case "default":
@@ -300,6 +362,85 @@ Examples:
 	}
 }
 
+// printVars prints the collected variable namespaces to stderr:
+//  1. Pipeline variables — declared in variables: blocks across the root file
+//     and all included files (merged by ResolveIncludes).
+//  2. Workflow-rule variables — union of variables: from every workflow:rules
+//     entry; any one of them may be injected at runtime.
+//  3. Effective context variables — only when ctx is non-empty; shows the
+//     fully merged set visible to job rules:if: after enrichContext.
+func printVars(p *model.Pipeline, ctx *cicontext.Context) {
+	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Pipeline variables (YAML, root + includes):")
+	printVarMap(p.Variables)
+
+	if p.Workflow != nil {
+		union := map[string]any{}
+		for _, rule := range p.Workflow.Rules {
+			for k, v := range rule.Variables {
+				union[k] = v
+			}
+		}
+		if len(union) > 0 {
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Workflow-rule variables (union across all rules):")
+			printVarMap(union)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !ctx.IsEmpty() {
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Effective context variables (after workflow + CLI flags):")
+		keys := make([]string, 0, len(ctx.Vars))
+		for k := range ctx.Vars {
+			keys = append(keys, k)
+		}
+		sort.Strings(keys)
+		for _, k := range keys {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s=%s\n", k, ctx.Vars[k])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func printVarMap(m map[string]any) {
+	keys := make([]string, 0, len(m))
+	for k := range m {
+		keys = append(keys, k)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(keys)
+	if len(keys) == 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "  (none)")
+		return
+	}
+	for _, k := range keys {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s=%s\n", k, varValueString(m[k]))
+	}
+}
+
+func varValueString(v any) string {
+	if s, ok := cicontext.ScalarString(v); ok {
+		return s
+	}
+	return "(complex)"
+}
+
+// enrichContext injects pipeline-level variable defaults and then
+// workflow-rule-generated variables into ctx before job evaluation.
+// Injection respects pinned variables (--branch/--tag/--source/--var always win).
+// Returns false when workflow:rules: would prevent the pipeline from starting.
+func enrichContext(ctx *cicontext.Context, p *model.Pipeline) bool {
+	// Pipeline variables: injected as defaults (lowest priority).
+	for k, v := range cicontext.ExtractStringVars(p.Variables) {
+		ctx.Inject(k, v)
+	}
+	// Workflow rules: evaluate to find which rule matches, then inject its variables.
+	runs, ruleVars := cicontext.EvalWorkflow(p, ctx)
+	for k, v := range ruleVars {
+		ctx.Inject(k, v)
+	}
+	// Expand $VAR / ${VAR} references within variable values now that all
+	// sources (pipeline, workflow rules, CLI) have been merged.
+	ctx.ExpandVars()
+	return runs
+}
+
 func printContext(p *model.Pipeline, ctx *cicontext.Context) {
 	fmt.Printf("Context: %s\n\n", ctx.Summary())
 

go.mod

@@ -2,4 +2,14 @@ module git.k3nny.fr/glint
 
 go 1.26.4
 
-require gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
+require (
+	github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.1-0.20240526193622-a339e1f7089c // indirect
+	golang.org/x/exp/typeparams v0.0.0-20231108232855-2478ac86f678 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/mod v0.31.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sync v0.19.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/tools v0.40.1-0.20260108161641-ca281cf95054 // indirect
+	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
+	honnef.co/go/tools v0.7.0 // indirect
+)
+
+tool honnef.co/go/tools/cmd/staticcheck

go.sum

@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.1-0.20240526193622-a339e1f7089c h1:pxW6RcqyfI9/kWtOwnv/G+AzdKuy2ZrqINhenH4HyNs=
+github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.1-0.20240526193622-a339e1f7089c/go.mod h1:ukJfTF/6rtPPRCnwkur4qwRxa8vTRFBF0uk2lLoLwho=
+golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20231110203233-9a3e6036ecaa h1:FRnLl4eNAQl8hwxVVC17teOw8kdjVDVAiFMtgUdTSRQ=
+golang.org/x/exp/typeparams v0.0.0-20231108232855-2478ac86f678 h1:1P7xPZEwZMoBoz0Yze5Nx2/4pxj6nw9ZqHWXqP0iRgQ=
+golang.org/x/exp/typeparams v0.0.0-20231108232855-2478ac86f678/go.mod h1:AbB0pIl9nAr9wVwH+Z2ZpaocVmF5I4GyWCDIsVjR0bk=
+golang.org/x/mod v0.31.0 h1:HaW9xtz0+kOcWKwli0ZXy79Ix+UW/vOfmWI5QVd2tgI=
+golang.org/x/mod v0.31.0/go.mod h1:43JraMp9cGx1Rx3AqioxrbrhNsLl2l/iNAvuBkrezpg=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.19.0 h1:vV+1eWNmZ5geRlYjzm2adRgW2/mcpevXNg50YZtPCE4=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.19.0/go.mod h1:9KTHXmSnoGruLpwFjVSX0lNNA75CykiMECbovNTZqGI=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.40.1-0.20260108161641-ca281cf95054 h1:CHVDrNHx9ZoOrNN9kKWYIbT5Rj+WF2rlwPkhbQQ5V4U=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.40.1-0.20260108161641-ca281cf95054/go.mod h1:Ik/tzLRlbscWpqqMRjyWYDisX8bG13FrdXp3o4Sr9lc=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
+honnef.co/go/tools v0.7.0 h1:w6WUp1VbkqPEgLz4rkBzH/CSU6HkoqNLp6GstyTx3lU=
+honnef.co/go/tools v0.7.0/go.mod h1:pm29oPxeP3P82ISxZDgIYeOaf9ta6Pi0EWvCFoLG2vc=

internal/cicontext/context.go

@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 package cicontext
 
-import "strings"
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
 
 // Context holds the simulated CI execution environment used for context-aware
 // pipeline evaluation (rules:if:, only:, except:, workflow:rules:).
 // Variables are keyed by their name without the leading $.
 type Context struct {
 	Vars   map[string]string
+	pinned map[string]bool // vars set via --var or shortcuts; never overwritten by Inject
 }
 
 // New builds a Context from high-level shortcut values and optional KEY=VALUE
@@ -17,46 +21,55 @@ type Context struct {
 // preserving the existing linting behaviour when no context flags are given.
 //
 // Override priority (highest wins): extraVars > branch/tag/source shortcuts.
+// Both shortcut-derived and extraVar variables are pinned — they will not be
+// overwritten by Inject (used for pipeline-level and workflow-rule variables).
 func New(branch, tag, source string, extraVars []string) *Context {
 	if branch == "" && tag == "" && source == "" && len(extraVars) == 0 {
 		return &Context{}
 	}
 
 	vars := make(map[string]string)
+	pinned := make(map[string]bool)
+
+	pin := func(k, v string) {
+		vars[k] = v
+		pinned[k] = true
+	}
 
 	if branch != "" {
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_BRANCH"] = branch
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME"] = branch
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG"] = slugify(branch)
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_BRANCH", branch)
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME", branch)
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG", slugify(branch))
 		if source == "" {
 			source = "push"
 		}
 	}
 	if tag != "" {
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_TAG"] = tag
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME"] = tag
-		vars["CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG"] = slugify(tag)
-		delete(vars, "CI_COMMIT_BRANCH") // tag pushes have no branch variable
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_TAG", tag)
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME", tag)
+		pin("CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG", slugify(tag))
+		delete(vars, "CI_COMMIT_BRANCH")
+		delete(pinned, "CI_COMMIT_BRANCH")
 		if source == "" {
 			source = "push"
 		}
 	}
 	if source != "" {
-		vars["CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE"] = source
+		pin("CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE", source)
 	}
 	if _, ok := vars["CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH"]; !ok {
 		vars["CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH"] = "main"
 	}
 
-	// KEY=VALUE overrides win over shortcuts.
+	// KEY=VALUE overrides win over shortcuts and everything else.
 	for _, kv := range extraVars {
 		k, v, ok := strings.Cut(kv, "=")
 		if ok {
-			vars[k] = v
+			pin(k, v)
 		}
 	}
 
-	return &Context{Vars: vars}
+	return &Context{Vars: vars, pinned: pinned}
 }
 
 // IsEmpty reports whether no variables have been set (no context flags given).
@@ -73,6 +86,21 @@ func (c *Context) Get(key string) string {
 	return c.Vars[key]
 }
 
+// Inject sets key=value only if key is not already pinned (i.e. not set via
+// --branch / --tag / --source / --var). Used to inject pipeline-level variable
+// defaults and workflow-rule variables without overriding explicit user input.
+// Calling Inject in order from lowest-priority to highest-priority source
+// ensures later calls win over earlier ones.
+func (c *Context) Inject(key, value string) {
+	if c.pinned[key] {
+		return
+	}
+	if c.Vars == nil {
+		c.Vars = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+	c.Vars[key] = value
+}
+
 // Summary returns a short human-readable description of the context for CLI output.
 func (c *Context) Summary() string {
 	if c.IsEmpty() {
@@ -90,6 +118,133 @@ func (c *Context) Summary() string {
 	return strings.Join(parts, ", ")
 }
 
+// ExtractStringVars converts a map[string]any variable block (as used by
+// Pipeline.Variables and Rule.Variables) to a flat map[string]string.
+// Plain string values are used directly. Extended {value: ...} map form uses
+// the "value" key. Scalar non-string values (bool, int, float64) are
+// converted to their string representation, matching GitLab's own behaviour
+// where all CI variable values are strings.
+func ExtractStringVars(m map[string]any) map[string]string {
+	if len(m) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	out := make(map[string]string, len(m))
+	for k, v := range m {
+		if s, ok := ScalarString(v); ok {
+			out[k] = s
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// ScalarString converts a YAML-decoded CI variable value to its string
+// representation. Handles plain scalars and the extended {value: ...} map
+// form. Returns (s, true) on success, ("", false) for unrecognised forms.
+func ScalarString(v any) (string, bool) {
+	switch val := v.(type) {
+	case string:
+		return val, true
+	case bool:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%t", val), true
+	case int:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d", val), true
+	case float64:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%g", val), true
+	case map[string]any:
+		inner, ok := val["value"]
+		if !ok {
+			return "", false
+		}
+		return ScalarString(inner)
+	}
+	return "", false
+}
+
+// ExpandVars expands $VAR and ${VAR} references within every value in
+// ctx.Vars, using the same map as the expansion source. Iteration repeats
+// (up to 10 passes) so transitive chains like A=$B, B=$C resolve fully.
+// Variables that form circular references are left as-is after the limit.
+func (c *Context) ExpandVars() {
+	if c == nil || len(c.Vars) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	for range 10 {
+		changed := false
+		for k, v := range c.Vars {
+			expanded := expandVarRefs(v, c.Vars)
+			if expanded != v {
+				c.Vars[k] = expanded
+				changed = true
+			}
+		}
+		if !changed {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// expandVarRefs replaces $VAR and ${VAR} occurrences in s with their values
+// from vars. Unknown variables are left unchanged.
+func expandVarRefs(s string, vars map[string]string) string {
+	if !strings.Contains(s, "$") {
+		return s
+	}
+	var sb strings.Builder
+	i := 0
+	for i < len(s) {
+		if s[i] != '$' {
+			sb.WriteByte(s[i])
+			i++
+			continue
+		}
+		i++ // consume '$'
+		if i >= len(s) {
+			sb.WriteByte('$')
+			break
+		}
+		if s[i] == '{' {
+			i++ // consume '{'
+			j := i
+			for j < len(s) && isIdentByte(s[j]) {
+				j++
+			}
+			if j < len(s) && s[j] == '}' {
+				name := s[i:j]
+				if val, ok := vars[name]; ok {
+					sb.WriteString(val)
+				} else {
+					sb.WriteString("${")
+					sb.WriteString(name)
+					sb.WriteByte('}')
+				}
+				i = j + 1
+			} else {
+				// Malformed ${…} — emit literally
+				sb.WriteString("${")
+				i = j
+			}
+		} else {
+			j := i
+			for j < len(s) && isIdentByte(s[j]) {
+				j++
+			}
+			if j > i {
+				name := s[i:j]
+				if val, ok := vars[name]; ok {
+					sb.WriteString(val)
+				} else {
+					sb.WriteByte('$')
+					sb.WriteString(name)
+				}
+				i = j
+			} else {
+				sb.WriteByte('$')
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return sb.String()
+}
+
 // slugify converts a ref name to its GitLab slug form:
 // lowercased, non-alphanumeric characters replaced with '-', leading/trailing '-' removed.
 func slugify(s string) string {

internal/cicontext/eval.go

@@ -9,21 +9,35 @@ import (
 // variable resolver.
 //
 // Supported:
-//   - Variable references: $VAR_NAME
+//   - Variable references: $VAR_NAME or ${VAR_NAME}
 //   - String literals:     "value" or 'value'
 //   - Null keyword:        null
-//   - Comparison:          == != =~ !~
+//   - Comparison:          == != =~ !~  (single = is accepted as == for user convenience)
 //   - Boolean:             && || !
 //   - Grouping:            ( )
+//   - Regex flags:         /pattern/i (case-insensitive), /pattern/m, /pattern/s
+//   - Multi-line:          newlines between tokens are treated as whitespace
+//   - Variable regex RHS:  $VAR =~ $PATTERN when $PATTERN holds a /regex/ string
 //
 // Regex patterns use Go's regexp syntax, which covers the common RE2 subset
 // used by GitLab CI. Unsupported or unparseable expressions fall back to true
 // (permissive) so the linter never silently drops jobs it cannot evaluate.
 func EvalIf(expr string, vars func(string) string) bool {
+	return evalIf(expr, vars, true)
+}
+
+// EvalIfStrict is like EvalIf but returns false (instead of true) when the
+// expression cannot be fully parsed. Use for workflow:rules: evaluation where
+// a failed parse should skip to the next rule rather than matching everything.
+func EvalIfStrict(expr string, vars func(string) string) bool {
+	return evalIf(expr, vars, false)
+}
+
+func evalIf(expr string, vars func(string) string, permissive bool) bool {
 	p := &exprParser{s: strings.TrimSpace(expr), vars: vars}
 	result, ok := p.parseOr()
 	if !ok || p.pos < len(p.s) {
-		return true // unparseable → permissive
+		return permissive
 	}
 	return result
 }
@@ -56,8 +70,13 @@ func (p *exprParser) consume(tok string) bool {
 }
 
 func (p *exprParser) skipWS() {
-	for p.pos < len(p.s) && (p.s[p.pos] == ' ' || p.s[p.pos] == '\t') {
+	for p.pos < len(p.s) {
+		b := p.s[p.pos]
+		if b == ' ' || b == '\t' || b == '\n' || b == '\r' {
 			p.pos++
+			continue
+		}
+		break
 	}
 }
 
@@ -67,11 +86,11 @@ func (p *exprParser) skipWS() {
 //   and_expr   → not_expr ( '&&' not_expr )*
 //   not_expr   → '!' not_expr | primary
 //   primary    → '(' or_expr ')' | comparison
-//   comparison → value ( op value | regex_op regex )? | value
-//   value      → '$' ident | '"' … '"' | "'" … "'" | 'null'
+//   comparison → value ( op value | regex_op regex_rhs )?
+//   value      → '$' '{' ident '}' | '$' ident | '"' … '"' | "'" … "'" | 'null'
 //   op         → '==' | '!='
 //   regex_op   → '=~' | '!~'
-//   regex      → '/' … '/'
+//   regex_rhs  → '/' … '/' flags? | '$' ident (where ident value is '/…/flags')
 
 func (p *exprParser) parseOr() (bool, bool) {
 	left, ok := p.parseAnd()
@@ -165,8 +184,11 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseComparison() (bool, bool) {
 
 	case p.consume("=~"):
 		p.skipWS()
-		pat, ok := p.parseRegexLiteral()
-		if !ok {
+		pat, patOk, permissive := p.parseRegexRHS()
+		if permissive {
+			return true, true
+		}
+		if !patOk {
 			return false, false
 		}
 		re, err := regexp.Compile(pat)
@@ -177,8 +199,11 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseComparison() (bool, bool) {
 
 	case p.consume("!~"):
 		p.skipWS()
-		pat, ok := p.parseRegexLiteral()
-		if !ok {
+		pat, patOk, permissive := p.parseRegexRHS()
+		if permissive {
+			return true, true
+		}
+		if !patOk {
 			return false, false
 		}
 		re, err := regexp.Compile(pat)
@@ -186,19 +211,66 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseComparison() (bool, bool) {
 			return true, true // bad pattern → permissive
 		}
 		return !re.MatchString(leftStr), true
+
+	// Single = not followed by = or ~ — accepted as == (common user mistake;
+	// GitLab CI only supports == but = is frequently written by accident).
+	case p.peek() == '=' && !p.startsWith("==") && !p.startsWith("=~"):
+		p.pos++ // consume '='
+		p.skipWS()
+		rightStr, ok := p.parseValue()
+		if !ok {
+			return false, false
+		}
+		return leftStr == rightStr, true
 	}
 
 	// No operator: variable is truthy when non-empty (defined and non-null).
 	return leftStr != "", true
 }
 
-// parseValue reads $VAR, "string", 'string', or null.
-// null and undefined variables both produce an empty string.
+// parseRegexRHS parses the right-hand side of =~ / !~ operators.
+// Returns (pattern, ok, permissive):
+//   - /regex/flags literal  → (pattern, true, false)
+//   - $VAR whose value is /regex/flags → (pattern, true, false)
+//   - $VAR whose value is empty or not a /regex/ → ("", false, true) — caller uses permissive true
+//   - parse error → ("", false, false)
+func (p *exprParser) parseRegexRHS() (pat string, ok bool, permissive bool) {
+	if p.peek() == '/' {
+		pat, ok = p.parseRegexLiteral()
+		return pat, ok, false
+	}
+	if p.peek() == '$' {
+		varVal, varOk := p.parseValue()
+		if !varOk {
+			return "", false, false
+		}
+		pat, ok = extractRegexFromString(varVal)
+		if !ok {
+			return "", false, true // variable is not a /regex/ value → permissive
+		}
+		return pat, true, false
+	}
+	return "", false, false
+}
+
+// parseValue reads $VAR, ${VAR}, "string", 'string', null, true, false, or an
+// integer literal. null and undefined variables both produce an empty string.
+// true/false and integers produce their string representations (GitLab CI
+// compares all values as strings).
 func (p *exprParser) parseValue() (string, bool) {
 	p.skipWS()
 
 	if p.peek() == '$' {
 		p.pos++ // consume '$'
+		if p.peek() == '{' {
+			p.pos++ // consume '{'
+			name := p.parseIdent()
+			if name == "" || p.peek() != '}' {
+				return "", false
+			}
+			p.pos++ // consume '}'
+			return p.vars(name), true
+		}
 		name := p.parseIdent()
 		if name == "" {
 			return "", false
@@ -206,12 +278,18 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseValue() (string, bool) {
 		return p.vars(name), true
 	}
 
-	// null keyword — must not be a prefix of a longer identifier.
-	if p.startsWith("null") {
-		end := p.pos + 4
+	// Keywords and string literals must not be prefixes of longer identifiers.
+	for _, kw := range []struct{ tok, val string }{
+		{"null", ""},
+		{"true", "true"},
+		{"false", "false"},
+	} {
+		if p.startsWith(kw.tok) {
+			end := p.pos + len(kw.tok)
 			if end >= len(p.s) || !isIdentByte(p.s[end]) {
-			p.pos += 4
-			return "", true // null → empty string
+				p.pos += len(kw.tok)
+				return kw.val, true
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -219,6 +297,15 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseValue() (string, bool) {
 		return p.parseStringLiteral()
 	}
 
+	// Integer literal — returned as its decimal string for string comparison.
+	if p.peek() >= '0' && p.peek() <= '9' {
+		start := p.pos
+		for p.pos < len(p.s) && p.s[p.pos] >= '0' && p.s[p.pos] <= '9' {
+			p.pos++
+		}
+		return p.s[start:p.pos], true
+	}
+
 	return "", false
 }
 
@@ -261,7 +348,8 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseRegexLiteral() (string, bool) {
 		b := p.s[p.pos]
 		if b == '/' {
 			p.pos++ // consume closing '/'
-			return sb.String(), true
+			flags := p.parseRegexFlags()
+			return applyRegexFlags(flags, sb.String()), true
 		}
 		if b == '\\' && p.pos+1 < len(p.s) {
 			p.pos++
@@ -275,6 +363,68 @@ func (p *exprParser) parseRegexLiteral() (string, bool) {
 	return "", false // unterminated regex
 }
 
+// parseRegexFlags reads zero or more regex flag letters (i, m, s) after the
+// closing '/'. Unknown letters are consumed but ignored.
+func (p *exprParser) parseRegexFlags() string {
+	start := p.pos
+	for p.pos < len(p.s) && isIdentByte(p.s[p.pos]) {
+		p.pos++
+	}
+	return p.s[start:p.pos]
+}
+
+// applyRegexFlags prepends Go regexp flag groups to pattern (e.g. (?i) for 'i').
+// Unknown flags are silently ignored.
+func applyRegexFlags(flags, pattern string) string {
+	if flags == "" {
+		return pattern
+	}
+	var prefix strings.Builder
+	for _, f := range flags {
+		switch f {
+		case 'i':
+			prefix.WriteString("(?i)")
+		case 'm':
+			prefix.WriteString("(?m)")
+		case 's':
+			prefix.WriteString("(?s)")
+		}
+	}
+	return prefix.String() + pattern
+}
+
+// extractRegexFromString parses a /pattern/flags string (typically from a CI
+// variable) and returns a Go regexp pattern with flags applied.
+func extractRegexFromString(s string) (string, bool) {
+	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+	if len(s) == 0 || s[0] != '/' {
+		return "", false
+	}
+	var sb strings.Builder
+	i := 1
+	for i < len(s) {
+		b := s[i]
+		if b == '/' {
+			i++ // past closing '/'
+			var flags strings.Builder
+			for i < len(s) && isIdentByte(s[i]) {
+				flags.WriteByte(s[i])
+				i++
+			}
+			return applyRegexFlags(flags.String(), sb.String()), true
+		}
+		if b == '\\' && i+1 < len(s) {
+			i++
+			sb.WriteByte('\\')
+			sb.WriteByte(s[i])
+		} else {
+			sb.WriteByte(b)
+		}
+		i++
+	}
+	return "", false // unterminated
+}
+
 func isIdentByte(b byte) bool {
 	return (b >= 'a' && b <= 'z') || (b >= 'A' && b <= 'Z') || (b >= '0' && b <= '9') || b == '_'
 }

internal/cicontext/eval_test.go

@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ func TestEvalIf(t *testing.T) {
 			"CI_COMMIT_TAG":     "",
 			"CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE": "push",
 			"DEPLOY_ENV":        "staging",
+			"BRANCH_PATTERN":    "/^dev/",
+			"BRANCH_PATTERN_CI": "/^DEV/i",
+			"EMPTY_PATTERN":     "",
+			"PLAIN_PATTERN":     "develop",
 		}
 		return m[key]
 	}
@@ -69,9 +73,59 @@ func TestEvalIf(t *testing.T) {
 		{"extra spaces", `  $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH  ==  "develop"  `, true},
 		{"tabs", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH\t==\t\"develop\"", true},
 
+		// ── Multi-line expressions (newlines between tokens) ──────────────────
+		{"multiline or true", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"develop\" ||\n$CI_COMMIT_TAG != null", true},
+		{"multiline or false", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\" ||\n$CI_COMMIT_TAG != null", false},
+		{"multiline and true", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"develop\" &&\n$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"push\"", true},
+		{"multiline and false", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\" &&\n$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"push\"", false},
+		{"multiline with crlf", "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"develop\" ||\r\n$CI_COMMIT_TAG != null", true},
+
+		// ── ${VAR} curly-brace syntax ─────────────────────────────────────────
+		{"curly var eq match", `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH} == "develop"`, true},
+		{"curly var eq no match", `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH} == "main"`, false},
+		{"curly var truthiness", `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH}`, true},
+		{"curly var falsy", `${CI_COMMIT_TAG}`, false},
+		{"curly var neq null", `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH} != null`, true},
+		{"curly mixed", `${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH} == "develop" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"`, true},
+
+		// ── Regex flags (/pattern/i etc.) ─────────────────────────────────────
+		{"regex flag i match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^DEV/i`, true},
+		{"regex flag i no match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^MAIN/i`, false},
+		{"regex flag i not match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH !~ /^MAIN/i`, true},
+		{"regex no flag case sensitive", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^DEV/`, false},
+		{"regex flag i version tag", `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE =~ /^PUSH$/i`, true},
+
+		// ── Variable on right side of =~ ──────────────────────────────────────
+		{"var regex rhs match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ $BRANCH_PATTERN`, true},
+		{"var regex rhs no match", `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE =~ $BRANCH_PATTERN`, false},
+		{"var regex rhs ci flag match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ $BRANCH_PATTERN_CI`, true},
+		{"var regex rhs empty permissive", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ $EMPTY_PATTERN`, true},
+		{"var regex rhs plain permissive", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ $PLAIN_PATTERN`, true},
+		{"var regex rhs not match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH !~ $BRANCH_PATTERN`, false},
+
+		// ── Bare true/false keywords ─────────────────────────────────────────
+		// GitLab CI treats true/false as the string values "true"/"false".
+		{"bare true match", `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == true`, false},       // "push" != "true"
+		{"bare false match", `$CI_COMMIT_TAG == false`, false},           // "" != "false"
+		{"bare true var set to true", `$DEPLOY_ENV == true`, false},      // "staging" != "true"
+		{"bare false neq", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != false`, true},           // "develop" != "false"
+		{"bare true in compound", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != null && $CI_COMMIT_TAG == false`, false},
+
+		// ── Integer literals ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		// Compared as decimal strings (GitLab CI converts integers to strings).
+		{"int eq match", `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE != 0`, true},  // "push" != "0"
+		{"int eq no match", `$CI_COMMIT_TAG == 0`, false},    // "" != "0"
+		{"int in compound", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != null && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != 0`, true},
+
 		// ── Permissive fallback ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 		{"unparseable returns true", `this is not valid syntax %%%`, true},
 		{"empty expr returns true", ``, true},
+
+		// ── Single = as alias for == ──────────────────────────────────────────
+		{"single eq match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH = "develop"`, true},
+		{"single eq no match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH = "main"`, false},
+		{"single eq in compound", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH = "develop" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE = "push"`, true},
+		{"single eq compound false", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH = "main" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE = "push"`, false},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range tests {
@@ -83,3 +137,48 @@ func TestEvalIf(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestEvalIfStrict(t *testing.T) {
+	vars := func(key string) string {
+		m := map[string]string{
+			"CI_COMMIT_BRANCH":   "develop",
+			"CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE": "push",
+			"WORKFLOW":           "",
+		}
+		return m[key]
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		expr string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		// Parseable expressions behave identically to EvalIf.
+		{"parseable match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"`, true},
+		{"parseable no match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, false},
+		{"single eq match", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH = "develop"`, true},
+		// Empty expression: ruleIfMatchesStrict handles the empty→true case
+		// before calling EvalIfStrict, so empty falls through to false here.
+		{"empty expr", ``, false},
+
+		// Unparseable expressions return false (strict) instead of true (permissive).
+		{"unparseable returns false", `this is not valid syntax %%%`, false},
+
+		// The key workflow-rule scenario: a complex condition with an
+		// unevaluable sub-expression should not match (strict=false) so that
+		// later workflow rules can be evaluated.
+		{"workflow rule complex no match", `$WORKFLOW = "gitflow" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == /(push|web)/`, false},
+
+		// Compound with a bad second operand: strict returns false.
+		{"and with bad rhs strict false", `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop" && !(((`, false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := EvalIfStrict(tc.expr, vars)
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("EvalIfStrict(%q) = %v, want %v", tc.expr, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

internal/cicontext/reachability.go

@@ -28,26 +28,34 @@ func (s JobState) String() string {
 	}
 }
 
-// EvalWorkflow returns false when the pipeline's workflow:rules block would
-// prevent any pipeline from starting in the given context.
-// Returns true when ctx is empty, when there is no workflow block, or when no
-// rule is configured.
-func EvalWorkflow(p *model.Pipeline, ctx *Context) bool {
+// EvalWorkflow evaluates the pipeline's workflow:rules block against ctx.
+// Returns (runs, ruleVars):
+//   - runs=false means the pipeline would not start for this context.
+//   - ruleVars holds any variables: defined on the matching rule; inject these
+//     into the context so job rules can reference them.
+//
+// Returns (true, nil) when ctx is empty, when there is no workflow block, or
+// when no rules are configured.
+func EvalWorkflow(p *model.Pipeline, ctx *Context) (bool, map[string]string) {
 	if ctx.IsEmpty() || p.Workflow == nil || len(p.Workflow.Rules) == 0 {
-		return true
+		return true, nil
 	}
 	vars := ctx.Get
 	for _, rule := range p.Workflow.Rules {
-		if !ruleIfMatches(rule.If, vars) {
+		// Workflow rules use strict evaluation: an unparseable condition is
+		// treated as no-match so later rules (with valid conditions or a
+		// bare when:) are reached. Permissive-true would cause an early rule
+		// with a complex/invalid condition to block all subsequent rules.
+		if !ruleIfMatchesStrict(rule.If, vars) {
 			continue
 		}
 		when := rule.When
 		if when == "" {
 			when = "always"
 		}
-		return when != "never"
+		return when != "never", ExtractStringVars(rule.Variables)
 	}
-	return false // no rule matched → pipeline does not run
+	return false, nil // no rule matched → pipeline does not run
 }
 
 // EvalJob returns the effective JobState for job in the given context.
@@ -90,6 +98,13 @@ func ruleIfMatches(ifExpr string, vars func(string) string) bool {
 	return EvalIf(ifExpr, vars)
 }
 
+func ruleIfMatchesStrict(ifExpr string, vars func(string) string) bool {
+	if ifExpr == "" {
+		return true // no if: condition → rule always matches
+	}
+	return EvalIfStrict(ifExpr, vars)
+}
+
 func whenToState(when string) JobState {
 	switch when {
 	case "never":

internal/cicontext/reachability_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+package cicontext
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
+)
+
+func TestEvalWorkflow(t *testing.T) {
+	makePipeline := func(rules []model.Rule) *model.Pipeline {
+		return &model.Pipeline{Workflow: &model.Workflow{Rules: rules}}
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		rules    []model.Rule
+		branch   string
+		wantRuns bool
+		wantVars map[string]string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "no workflow block",
+			rules:    nil,
+			branch:   "main",
+			wantRuns: true,
+			wantVars: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "matching rule runs always",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "always"},
+			},
+			branch:   "main",
+			wantRuns: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "matching rule when never",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "never"},
+			},
+			branch:   "main",
+			wantRuns: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no rule matched",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`},
+			},
+			branch:   "develop",
+			wantRuns: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "matching rule with variables",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{
+					If:   `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`,
+					When: "always",
+					Variables: map[string]any{
+						"DEPLOY_TARGET": "production",
+						"ENVIRONMENT":   "prod",
+					},
+				},
+				{When: "always"},
+			},
+			branch:   "main",
+			wantRuns: true,
+			wantVars: map[string]string{
+				"DEPLOY_TARGET": "production",
+				"ENVIRONMENT":   "prod",
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "fallback rule with different variables",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, Variables: map[string]any{"DEPLOY_TARGET": "production"}},
+				{When: "always", Variables: map[string]any{"DEPLOY_TARGET": "staging"}},
+			},
+			branch:   "develop",
+			wantRuns: true,
+			wantVars: map[string]string{"DEPLOY_TARGET": "staging"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "empty context always runs",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "never"},
+			},
+			branch:   "", // no context
+			wantRuns: true,
+			wantVars: nil,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			var p *model.Pipeline
+			if tc.rules == nil {
+				p = &model.Pipeline{}
+			} else {
+				p = makePipeline(tc.rules)
+			}
+			ctx := New(tc.branch, "", "", nil)
+			runs, vars := EvalWorkflow(p, ctx)
+			if runs != tc.wantRuns {
+				t.Errorf("EvalWorkflow runs = %v, want %v", runs, tc.wantRuns)
+			}
+			for k, want := range tc.wantVars {
+				if got := vars[k]; got != want {
+					t.Errorf("EvalWorkflow vars[%q] = %q, want %q", k, got, want)
+				}
+			}
+			if len(vars) != len(tc.wantVars) {
+				t.Errorf("EvalWorkflow returned %d vars, want %d; got %v", len(vars), len(tc.wantVars), vars)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestContextInject(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("inject does not overwrite pinned var", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := New("main", "", "", []string{"DEPLOY_TARGET=override"})
+		ctx.Inject("DEPLOY_TARGET", "workflow-value")
+		if got := ctx.Get("DEPLOY_TARGET"); got != "override" {
+			t.Errorf("Inject overwrote pinned var: got %q, want %q", got, "override")
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("inject does not overwrite shortcut var", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := New("main", "", "", nil)
+		ctx.Inject("CI_COMMIT_BRANCH", "other")
+		if got := ctx.Get("CI_COMMIT_BRANCH"); got != "main" {
+			t.Errorf("Inject overwrote shortcut var: got %q, want %q", got, "main")
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("inject sets new variable", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := New("main", "", "", nil)
+		ctx.Inject("DEPLOY_TARGET", "production")
+		if got := ctx.Get("DEPLOY_TARGET"); got != "production" {
+			t.Errorf("Inject did not set variable: got %q", got)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("inject later call overrides earlier call", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := New("main", "", "", nil)
+		ctx.Inject("DEPLOY_TARGET", "pipeline-default")
+		ctx.Inject("DEPLOY_TARGET", "workflow-override")
+		if got := ctx.Get("DEPLOY_TARGET"); got != "workflow-override" {
+			t.Errorf("second Inject did not win: got %q, want %q", got, "workflow-override")
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestExtractStringVars(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		in   map[string]any
+		want map[string]string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "plain strings",
+			in:   map[string]any{"A": "hello", "B": "world"},
+			want: map[string]string{"A": "hello", "B": "world"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "extended value form",
+			in: map[string]any{
+				"KEY": map[string]any{"value": "extended", "description": "some desc"},
+			},
+			want: map[string]string{"KEY": "extended"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "mixed forms",
+			in: map[string]any{
+				"PLAIN":   "str",
+				"COMPLEX": map[string]any{"value": "val"},
+			},
+			want: map[string]string{"PLAIN": "str", "COMPLEX": "val"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "nil map",
+			in:   nil,
+			want: nil,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := ExtractStringVars(tc.in)
+			for k, want := range tc.want {
+				if got[k] != want {
+					t.Errorf("ExtractStringVars[%q] = %q, want %q", k, got[k], want)
+				}
+			}
+			if len(got) != len(tc.want) {
+				t.Errorf("ExtractStringVars returned %d entries, want %d", len(got), len(tc.want))
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestWorkflowVarsJobEval verifies the end-to-end flow: workflow rule injects
+// DEPLOY_TARGET, which is then used in a job's rules:if: expression.
+func TestWorkflowVarsJobEval(t *testing.T) {
+	rules := []model.Rule{
+		{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, Variables: map[string]any{"DEPLOY_TARGET": "production"}},
+		{When: "always", Variables: map[string]any{"DEPLOY_TARGET": "staging"}},
+	}
+	p := &model.Pipeline{
+		Workflow: &model.Workflow{Rules: rules},
+		Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+			"deploy-prod": {
+				Rules: []model.Rule{
+					{If: `$DEPLOY_TARGET == "production"`, When: "on_success"},
+					{When: "never"},
+				},
+			},
+			"deploy-staging": {
+				Rules: []model.Rule{
+					{If: `$DEPLOY_TARGET == "staging"`, When: "on_success"},
+					{When: "never"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		branch      string
+		wantProd    JobState
+		wantStaging JobState
+	}{
+		{"main", JobActive, JobSkipped},
+		{"develop", JobSkipped, JobActive},
+	} {
+		ctx := New(tc.branch, "", "", nil)
+		_, ruleVars := EvalWorkflow(p, ctx)
+		for k, v := range ruleVars {
+			ctx.Inject(k, v)
+		}
+		if got := EvalJob(p.Jobs["deploy-prod"], ctx); got != tc.wantProd {
+			t.Errorf("branch=%q deploy-prod = %v, want %v", tc.branch, got, tc.wantProd)
+		}
+		if got := EvalJob(p.Jobs["deploy-staging"], ctx); got != tc.wantStaging {
+			t.Errorf("branch=%q deploy-staging = %v, want %v", tc.branch, got, tc.wantStaging)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/fetcher/gitlab.go

@@ -142,6 +142,24 @@ func (cfg GitLabConfig) FetchFile(project, filePath, ref string) ([]byte, error)
 	return body, nil
 }
 
+// FetchURL downloads the content at a plain HTTPS URL without authentication.
+// Used for include: remote: entries which are public by definition.
+func FetchURL(rawURL string) ([]byte, error) {
+	resp, err := http.Get(rawURL) //nolint:noctx
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("GET %s: %w", rawURL, err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading body: %w", err)
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("GET %s: status %d", rawURL, resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	return body, nil
+}
+
 func firstNonEmpty(values ...string) string {
 	for _, v := range values {
 		if v != "" {

internal/graph/includes.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
 	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/fetcher"
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 // Includes returns a Mermaid flowchart of the full include dependency tree.
+// Each node shows the jobs defined directly in that file, connected with
+// dashed arrows (solid arrows represent the include hierarchy itself).
 // It recurses into project:, component:, and local: includes to expose
 // transitive dependencies. Includes that cannot be fetched are shown but not expanded.
 func Includes(sourcePath string, rawIncludes []any, cfg fetcher.GitLabConfig) string {
@@ -19,7 +22,12 @@ func Includes(sourcePath string, rawIncludes []any, cfg fetcher.GitLabConfig) st
 		cfg:     cfg,
 		baseDir: filepath.Dir(sourcePath),
 	}
-	root := &treeNode{id: "root", label: mermaidLabel(sourcePath), class: "main"}
+	root := &treeNode{
+		id:    "root",
+		label: mermaidLabel(sourcePath),
+		class: "main",
+		jobs:  directJobs(sourcePath),
+	}
 	b.buildChildren(root, rawIncludes)
 	return renderTree(root)
 }
@@ -29,6 +37,7 @@ type treeNode struct {
 	label    string
 	class    string
 	children []*treeNode
+	jobs     []string // job names defined directly in this file
 }
 
 // treeBuilder accumulates state while recursively traversing include entries.
@@ -46,9 +55,7 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) nextID() string {
 
 func (b *treeBuilder) buildChildren(parent *treeNode, rawIncludes []any) {
 	for _, entry := range rawIncludes {
-		for _, child := range b.parseEntry(entry) {
-			parent.children = append(parent.children, child)
-		}
+		parent.children = append(parent.children, b.parseEntry(entry)...)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -105,7 +112,9 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) parseMap(m map[string]any) []*treeNode {
 		return []*treeNode{node}
 	}
 	if remote, ok := m["remote"].(string); ok {
-		return []*treeNode{{id: b.nextID(), label: "remote:<br>" + mermaidLabel(remote), class: "remote"}}
+		node := &treeNode{id: b.nextID(), label: "remote:<br>" + mermaidLabel(remote), class: "remote"}
+		b.recurseRemote(node, remote)
+		return []*treeNode{node}
 	}
 	if tmpl, ok := m["template"].(string); ok {
 		return []*treeNode{{id: b.nextID(), label: "template:<br>" + mermaidLabel(tmpl), class: "template"}}
@@ -126,7 +135,11 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) recurseLocal(node *treeNode, path string) {
 		return
 	}
 	p, err := model.ParseBytes(data)
-	if err != nil || len(p.Include) == 0 {
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	node.jobs = jobNames(p)
+	if len(p.Include) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 	orig := b.baseDir
@@ -147,7 +160,33 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) recurseProject(node *treeNode, project, filePath, ref stri
 		return
 	}
 	p, err := model.ParseBytes(data)
-	if err != nil || len(p.Include) == 0 {
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	node.jobs = jobNames(p)
+	if len(p.Include) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	b.buildChildren(node, p.Include)
+}
+
+func (b *treeBuilder) recurseRemote(node *treeNode, rawURL string) {
+	key := "remote:" + rawURL
+	if b.visited[key] {
+		return
+	}
+	b.visited[key] = true
+
+	data, err := fetcher.FetchURL(rawURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	p, err := model.ParseBytes(data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	node.jobs = jobNames(p)
+	if len(p.Include) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 	b.buildChildren(node, p.Include)
@@ -172,7 +211,11 @@ func (b *treeBuilder) recurseComponent(node *treeNode, ref string) {
 		return
 	}
 	p, err := model.ParseBytes(data)
-	if err != nil || len(p.Include) == 0 {
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	node.jobs = jobNames(p)
+	if len(p.Include) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 	b.buildChildren(node, p.Include)
@@ -193,11 +236,19 @@ func renderTree(root *treeNode) string {
 	w("    classDef local fill:#428fdc,stroke:#1068bf,color:#fff")
 	w("    classDef remote fill:#868686,stroke:#686868,color:#fff")
 	w("    classDef template fill:#fc6d26,stroke:#e56b1f,color:#fff")
+	w("    classDef job fill:#f5f5ff,stroke:#7175a0,color:#333")
 	w("")
 
+	jobCounter := 0
 	var emit func(n *treeNode)
 	emit = func(n *treeNode) {
 		wf("    %s[\"%s\"]:::%s", n.id, n.label, n.class)
+		for _, jobName := range n.jobs {
+			jobCounter++
+			jobID := fmt.Sprintf("job%d", jobCounter)
+			wf("    %s(\"%s\"):::job", jobID, mermaidLabel(jobName))
+			wf("    %s -.-> %s", n.id, jobID)
+		}
 		for _, child := range n.children {
 			emit(child)
 			wf("    %s --> %s", n.id, child.id)
@@ -208,6 +259,29 @@ func renderTree(root *treeNode) string {
 	return sb.String()
 }
 
+// directJobs parses a single pipeline file (without include resolution) and
+// returns the sorted list of job names defined directly in it.
+func directJobs(path string) []string {
+	p, err := model.Parse(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return jobNames(p)
+}
+
+// jobNames returns a sorted slice of all job names defined in p.
+func jobNames(p *model.Pipeline) []string {
+	if len(p.Jobs) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(p.Jobs))
+	for name := range p.Jobs {
+		names = append(names, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return names
+}
+
 // parseComponentRef parses a CI/CD component reference of the form
 // <host>/<project-path>/<component-name>@<version>.
 func parseComponentRef(ref string) (host, project, component, version string, err error) {

internal/linter/dead_rules_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package linter
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
+)
+
+func TestCheckDeadRules(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		rules    []model.Rule
+		wantHit  bool // whether GL033 should fire
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "no rules — not dead",
+			rules:   nil,
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "single bare when:never — dead",
+			rules:   []model.Rule{{When: "never"}},
+			wantHit: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "all rules when:never with if — dead",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "never"},
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"`, When: "never"},
+				{When: "never"},
+			},
+			wantHit: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "first rule on_success — not dead",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "on_success"},
+				{When: "never"},
+			},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "rule with empty when (defaults to on_success) — not dead",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`},
+				{When: "never"},
+			},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "when:manual — not dead",
+			rules:   []model.Rule{{When: "manual"}},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "when:always — not dead",
+			rules:   []model.Rule{{When: "always"}},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "when:on_failure — not dead",
+			rules:   []model.Rule{{When: "on_failure"}},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "mixed never and manual — not dead",
+			rules: []model.Rule{
+				{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`, When: "never"},
+				{When: "manual"},
+			},
+			wantHit: false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			job := model.Job{Rules: tc.rules}
+			findings := checkDeadRules("test-job", job)
+			hit := false
+			for _, f := range findings {
+				if f.Rule == RuleDeadRules {
+					hit = true
+				}
+			}
+			if hit != tc.wantHit {
+				t.Errorf("checkDeadRules: got hit=%v, want hit=%v; findings=%v", hit, tc.wantHit, findings)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

internal/linter/dependencies.go

@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ func checkDependencies(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 			if !exists {
 				findings = append(findings, Finding{
 					Severity: Error,
+					Rule:     RuleUnknownDependency,
 					Job:      name,
+					File:     job.File,
+					Line:     job.Line,
 					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'dependencies' references unknown job %q", dep),
 				})
 				continue
@@ -33,7 +36,10 @@ func checkDependencies(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 				if depHasStage && depIdx >= jobStageIdx {
 					findings = append(findings, Finding{
 						Severity: Error,
+						Rule:     RuleDependencyStage,
 						Job:      name,
+						File:     job.File,
+						Line:     job.Line,
 						Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'dependencies' job %q must be in an earlier stage (in %q, current job is in %q)", dep, depJob.Stage, job.Stage),
 					})
 				}

internal/linter/keywords.go

@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ func checkJobKeywords(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	findings = append(findings, checkArtifacts(name, job)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkCache(name, job)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkRules(name, job)...)
+	findings = append(findings, checkDeadRules(name, job)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkImage(name, job)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkInherit(name, job)...)
 	return findings
@@ -105,6 +106,7 @@ func checkWhen(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if job.When != "" && !validJobWhen[job.When] {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidWhen,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'when' has invalid value %q; valid: on_success, on_failure, always, manual, delayed, never", job.When),
 		})
@@ -112,6 +114,7 @@ func checkWhen(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if job.When == "delayed" && job.StartIn == "" {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleDelayedNoStartIn,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'when: delayed' requires 'start_in' (e.g. 'start_in: 30 minutes')",
 		})
@@ -119,6 +122,7 @@ func checkWhen(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if job.When != "delayed" && job.StartIn != "" {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleStartInNoDelayed,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'start_in' is only valid when 'when: delayed'",
 		})
@@ -135,6 +139,7 @@ func checkParallel(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if v < 2 || v > 200 {
 			return []Finding{{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidParallel,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'parallel' must be between 2 and 200, got %d", v),
 			}}
@@ -143,6 +148,7 @@ func checkParallel(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if _, ok := v["matrix"]; !ok {
 			return []Finding{{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidParallel,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  "'parallel' map form must have a 'matrix' key",
 			}}
@@ -150,6 +156,7 @@ func checkParallel(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	default:
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidParallel,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'parallel' must be an integer (2–200) or a map with 'matrix'",
 		}}
@@ -166,6 +173,7 @@ func checkRetry(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if v < 0 || v > 2 {
 			return []Finding{{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidRetry,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'retry' must be 0, 1, or 2; got %d", v),
 			}}
@@ -176,6 +184,7 @@ func checkRetry(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 			if n, ok := maxVal.(int); ok && (n < 0 || n > 2) {
 				findings = append(findings, Finding{
 					Severity: Error,
+					Rule:     RuleInvalidRetry,
 					Job:      name,
 					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'retry.max' must be 0, 1, or 2; got %d", n),
 				})
@@ -188,6 +197,7 @@ func checkRetry(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	default:
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidRetry,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'retry' must be an integer (0–2) or a map with 'max'/'when'",
 		}}
@@ -201,6 +211,7 @@ func validateRetryWhen(name string, val any) []Finding {
 		if !validRetryWhen[s] {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidRetryWhen,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'retry.when' has invalid value %q", s),
 			})
@@ -230,6 +241,7 @@ func checkAllowFailure(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if _, ok := v["exit_codes"]; !ok {
 			return []Finding{{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidAllowFailure,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  "'allow_failure' map form must contain 'exit_codes'",
 			}}
@@ -238,6 +250,7 @@ func checkAllowFailure(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		_ = v
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidAllowFailure,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'allow_failure' must be a boolean or a map with 'exit_codes'",
 		}}
@@ -252,6 +265,7 @@ func checkInterruptible(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if _, ok := job.Interruptible.(bool); !ok {
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidInterruptible,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'interruptible' must be a boolean",
 		}}
@@ -267,6 +281,7 @@ func checkTrigger(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if scriptNonEmpty(job.Script) {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleTriggerWithScript,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "jobs with 'trigger' cannot use 'script'",
 		})
@@ -277,6 +292,7 @@ func checkTrigger(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if !hasProject && !hasInclude {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidTrigger,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  "'trigger' map must specify 'project' or 'include'",
 			})
@@ -294,6 +310,7 @@ func checkCoverage(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if !coveragePattern.MatchString(job.Coverage) {
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidCoverage,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'coverage' must be a regex pattern wrapped in '/' (e.g. '/\\d+\\.?\\d*%%/'), got %q", job.Coverage),
 		}}
@@ -309,6 +326,7 @@ func checkRelease(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if !ok {
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidRelease,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'release' must be a map",
 		}}
@@ -317,6 +335,7 @@ func checkRelease(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if !exists || tagName == "" || tagName == nil {
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidRelease,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'release' requires 'tag_name'",
 		}}
@@ -334,11 +353,12 @@ func checkEnvironment(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		return nil
 	}
 	var findings []Finding
-	envName, _ := m["name"]
+	envName := m["name"]
 	_, hasURL := m["url"]
 	if (envName == nil || envName == "") && hasURL {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidEnvironment,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'environment.url' requires 'environment.name' to be set",
 		})
@@ -346,6 +366,7 @@ func checkEnvironment(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if action, ok := m["action"].(string); ok && !validEnvironmentAction[action] {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidEnvironment,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'environment.action' has invalid value %q; valid: start, stop, prepare, verify, access", action),
 		})
@@ -365,15 +386,17 @@ func checkArtifacts(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if w, ok := m["when"].(string); ok && !validArtifactsWhen[w] {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidArtifacts,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'artifacts.when' has invalid value %q; valid: on_success, on_failure, always", w),
 		})
 	}
 	if _, hasExposeAs := m["expose_as"]; hasExposeAs {
-		paths, _ := m["paths"]
+		paths := m["paths"]
 		if paths == nil {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidArtifacts,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  "'artifacts.expose_as' requires 'artifacts.paths'",
 			})
@@ -392,6 +415,7 @@ func checkArtifacts(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 			if !found {
 				findings = append(findings, Finding{
 					Severity: Warning,
+					Rule:     RulePagesPublic,
 					Job:      name,
 					Message:  "the 'pages' job should include 'public' in 'artifacts.paths' for GitLab Pages to deploy",
 				})
@@ -421,6 +445,7 @@ func checkCache(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if w, ok := m["when"].(string); ok && !validCacheWhen[w] {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidCache,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'cache.when' has invalid value %q; valid: on_success, on_failure, always", w),
 			})
@@ -428,6 +453,7 @@ func checkCache(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if p, ok := m["policy"].(string); ok && !validCachePolicy[p] {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidCache,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'cache.policy' has invalid value %q; valid: pull, push, pull-push", p),
 			})
@@ -442,6 +468,7 @@ func checkRules(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		if rule.When != "" && !validRuleWhen[rule.When] {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidRulesWhen,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("rules[%d].when has invalid value %q; valid: on_success, on_failure, always, manual, delayed, never", i, rule.When),
 			})
@@ -450,6 +477,28 @@ func checkRules(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	return findings
 }
 
+// checkDeadRules reports when every rule in a job's rules: block has an
+// explicit when: never, making the job permanently unreachable. This is a
+// provably-correct static claim: no matter which if: condition matches, the
+// outcome is always "never"; and if no rule matches, the implicit fallback is
+// also skip. No if: evaluation is required.
+func checkDeadRules(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
+	if len(job.Rules) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, r := range job.Rules {
+		if r.When != "never" {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return []Finding{{
+		Severity: Warning,
+		Rule:     RuleDeadRules,
+		Job:      name,
+		Message:  "rules: block can never activate; every rule has 'when: never' — job is permanently excluded from the pipeline",
+	}}
+}
+
 func checkImage(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if job.Image == nil {
 		return nil
@@ -458,10 +507,11 @@ func checkImage(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 	if !ok {
 		return nil // String form is valid.
 	}
-	imgName, _ := m["name"]
+	imgName := m["name"]
 	if imgName == nil || imgName == "" {
 		return []Finding{{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleInvalidImage,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'image' map form requires a 'name' key",
 		}}
@@ -489,6 +539,7 @@ func checkInherit(name string, job model.Job) []Finding {
 		default:
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleInvalidInherit,
 				Job:      name,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("'inherit.%s' must be a boolean or a list of names", key),
 			})

internal/linter/linter.go

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 package linter
 
 import (
+	"cmp"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 
 	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
@@ -16,18 +18,40 @@ const (
 
 type Finding struct {
 	Severity Severity
+	Rule     string // stable rule ID, e.g. "GL003" — see rules.go
 	Job      string // empty for pipeline-level findings
+	File     string // source file where the finding originates
+	Line     int    // line number in File (0 = unknown)
 	Message  string
 }
 
 func (f Finding) String() string {
-	if f.Job != "" {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("[%s] job %q: %s", f.Severity, f.Job, f.Message)
+	var loc string
+	if f.File != "" {
+		if f.Line > 0 {
+			loc = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d: ", f.File, f.Line)
+		} else {
+			loc = fmt.Sprintf("%s: ", f.File)
 		}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("[%s] %s", f.Severity, f.Message)
 	}
 
-// Lint runs all rules against p and returns findings sorted by job name.
+	rule := ""
+	if f.Rule != "" {
+		rule = f.Rule + " "
+	}
+
+	sev := "[" + strings.ToLower(string(f.Severity)) + "]"
+
+	msg := f.Message
+	if f.Job != "" {
+		msg = fmt.Sprintf("job %q: %s", f.Job, f.Message)
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s%s%s %s", loc, rule, sev, msg)
+}
+
+// Lint runs all rules against p and returns findings sorted by (File, Line, Rule).
+// Findings with no File (pipeline-level) sort before file-scoped ones.
 func Lint(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 	var findings []Finding
 	findings = append(findings, checkStages(p)...)
@@ -35,6 +59,16 @@ func Lint(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 	findings = append(findings, checkJobs(p)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkNeeds(p)...)
 	findings = append(findings, checkDependencies(p)...)
+	findings = append(findings, checkVariableRefs(p)...)
+	slices.SortStableFunc(findings, func(a, b Finding) int {
+		if c := cmp.Compare(a.File, b.File); c != 0 {
+			return c
+		}
+		if c := cmp.Compare(a.Line, b.Line); c != 0 {
+			return c
+		}
+		return cmp.Compare(a.Rule, b.Rule)
+	})
 	return findings
 }
 
@@ -43,6 +77,8 @@ func checkStages(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 	if len(p.Stages) == 0 {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Warning,
+			Rule:     RuleNoStages,
+			File:     p.SourceFile,
 			Message:  "no stages defined; GitLab will use default stages (build, test, deploy)",
 		})
 	}
@@ -58,6 +94,8 @@ func checkWorkflow(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 		if rule.When != "" && !validWorkflowRuleWhen[rule.When] {
 			findings = append(findings, Finding{
 				Severity: Error,
+				Rule:     RuleWorkflowWhen,
+				File:     p.SourceFile,
 				Message:  fmt.Sprintf("workflow.rules[%d].when has invalid value %q; valid: always, never", i, rule.When),
 			})
 		}
@@ -88,10 +126,17 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 
 	// After extends resolution, a job with no script/run is an error.
 	// Exceptions: trigger jobs, pages jobs (use pages: keyword), and template jobs.
+	// When the job has extends:, the script may come from a base that couldn't be
+	// fetched (e.g. a remote include without a token), so downgrade to warning.
 	hasScript := scriptNonEmpty(job.Script) || job.Run != nil
 	if !isTemplate && !isTrigger && job.Pages == nil && !hasScript {
+		sev := Error
+		if job.Extends != nil {
+			sev = Warning
+		}
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
-			Severity: Error,
+			Severity: sev,
+			Rule:     RuleMissingScript,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "missing required field 'script' (or 'run')",
 		})
@@ -103,6 +148,7 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 	if job.Stage != "" && !strings.Contains(job.Stage, "$[[") && len(stageSet) > 0 && !stageSet[job.Stage] {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleUnknownStage,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  fmt.Sprintf("stage %q is not defined in 'stages'", job.Stage),
 		})
@@ -112,6 +158,7 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 	if job.Only != nil && len(job.Rules) > 0 {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleOnlyRulesConflict,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'only' and 'rules' cannot be used together",
 		})
@@ -121,6 +168,7 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 	if job.Except != nil && len(job.Rules) > 0 {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Error,
+			Rule:     RuleExceptRulesConflict,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'except' and 'rules' cannot be used together",
 		})
@@ -130,6 +178,7 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 	if job.Only != nil || job.Except != nil {
 		findings = append(findings, Finding{
 			Severity: Warning,
+			Rule:     RuleDeprecatedOnly,
 			Job:      name,
 			Message:  "'only'/'except' are deprecated; prefer 'rules'",
 		})
@@ -137,6 +186,13 @@ func checkJob(name string, job model.Job, stageSet map[string]bool) []Finding {
 
 	findings = append(findings, checkJobKeywords(name, job)...)
 
+	// Attach source location to every job-scoped finding collected above.
+	for i := range findings {
+		if findings[i].Job != "" && findings[i].File == "" {
+			findings[i].File = job.File
+			findings[i].Line = job.Line
+		}
+	}
 	return findings
 }
 

internal/linter/needs.go

@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ import (
 	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
 )
 
+// needEntry is a parsed element from a job's needs: list.
+type needEntry struct {
+	job      string
+	optional bool // true when the needs entry carries optional: true
+}
+
 func checkNeeds(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 	var findings []Finding
 
@@ -15,7 +21,7 @@ func checkNeeds(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 		stageIndex[s] = i
 	}
 
-	// needsGraph maps each job to the list of jobs it depends on.
+	// needsGraph maps each job to the jobs it depends on (existing jobs only).
 	// Used for cycle detection after individual checks.
 	needsGraph := make(map[string][]string)
 
@@ -24,32 +30,47 @@ func checkNeeds(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		neededNames := parseNeedJobNames(job.Needs)
-		needsGraph[name] = neededNames
-
+		entries := parseNeedEntries(job.Needs)
 		jobStageIdx, jobHasStage := stageIndex[job.Stage]
 
-		for _, needed := range neededNames {
-			neededJob, exists := p.Jobs[needed]
+		for _, entry := range entries {
+			neededJob, exists := p.Jobs[entry.job]
 			if !exists {
+				// optional: true means GitLab CI will silently skip the
+				// dependency when the job is absent (e.g. from a conditional
+				// include). Downgrade to warning so users are informed without
+				// failing the lint.
+				sev := Error
+				if entry.optional {
+					sev = Warning
+				}
 				findings = append(findings, Finding{
-					Severity: Error,
+					Severity: sev,
+					Rule:     RuleNeedsUnknown,
 					Job:      name,
-					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("needs unknown job %q", needed),
+					File:     job.File,
+					Line:     job.Line,
+					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("needs unknown job %q", entry.job),
 				})
 				continue
 			}
 
+			// Add to the cycle-detection graph only when the dep exists.
+			needsGraph[name] = append(needsGraph[name], entry.job)
+
 			// A job cannot need a job in a later stage.
 			if len(p.Stages) > 0 && jobHasStage && neededJob.Stage != "" {
 				neededStageIdx, neededHasStage := stageIndex[neededJob.Stage]
 				if neededHasStage && neededStageIdx > jobStageIdx {
 					findings = append(findings, Finding{
 						Severity: Error,
+						Rule:     RuleNeedsStageOrder,
 						Job:      name,
+						File:     job.File,
+						Line:     job.Line,
 						Message: fmt.Sprintf(
 							"needs %q which is in a later stage (%q after %q)",
-							needed, neededJob.Stage, job.Stage,
+							entry.job, neededJob.Stage, job.Stage,
 						),
 					})
 				}
@@ -57,32 +78,33 @@ func checkNeeds(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
 		}
 	}
 
-	findings = append(findings, detectNeedsCycles(needsGraph)...)
+	findings = append(findings, detectNeedsCycles(needsGraph, p.Jobs)...)
 	return findings
 }
 
-// parseNeedJobNames extracts job names from a needs: list.
-// Each element is either a plain string or a map with a "job" key.
-// Cross-pipeline needs (maps with a "pipeline" key) are skipped.
-func parseNeedJobNames(needs []any) []string {
-	var names []string
+// parseNeedEntries extracts needs entries from a needs: list, preserving the
+// optional flag. Each element is a plain string (job name) or a map with a
+// "job" key. Cross-pipeline needs (maps with a "pipeline" key) are skipped.
+func parseNeedEntries(needs []any) []needEntry {
+	var entries []needEntry
 	for _, n := range needs {
 		switch v := n.(type) {
 		case string:
-			names = append(names, v)
+			entries = append(entries, needEntry{job: v})
 		case map[string]any:
 			if _, crossPipeline := v["pipeline"]; crossPipeline {
 				continue
 			}
 			if job, ok := v["job"].(string); ok {
-				names = append(names, job)
+				optional, _ := v["optional"].(bool)
+				entries = append(entries, needEntry{job: job, optional: optional})
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	return names
+	return entries
 }
 
-func detectNeedsCycles(graph map[string][]string) []Finding {
+func detectNeedsCycles(graph map[string][]string, jobs map[string]model.Job) []Finding {
 	const (
 		unvisited = 0
 		visiting  = 1
@@ -101,9 +123,13 @@ func detectNeedsCycles(graph map[string][]string) []Finding {
 		case visiting:
 			if !reported[name] {
 				reported[name] = true
+				j := jobs[name]
 				findings = append(findings, Finding{
 					Severity: Error,
+					Rule:     RuleNeedsCycle,
 					Job:      name,
+					File:     j.File,
+					Line:     j.Line,
 					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("circular dependency in needs: %v → %s", path, name),
 				})
 			}

internal/linter/rules.go

@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+package linter
+
+// Rule ID constants. Each ID is stable across versions and uniquely identifies
+// one lint check. Use these when filtering output, writing suppression rules,
+// or referencing a check in documentation.
+//
+// Prefix GL = Glint / GitLab CI lint.
+// Numbering is sequential by category; gaps may appear as rules are added.
+const (
+	// ── Pipeline-level ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+	// GL001: no stages: block defined; GitLab falls back to default stages.
+	RuleNoStages = "GL001"
+
+	// GL002: workflow.rules[n].when has an invalid value (only always/never allowed).
+	RuleWorkflowWhen = "GL002"
+
+	// ── Job structure ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+	// GL003: job is missing a required script: (or run:) field.
+	RuleMissingScript = "GL003"
+
+	// GL004: job references a stage not declared in stages:.
+	RuleUnknownStage = "GL004"
+
+	// GL005: only: and rules: used together on the same job.
+	RuleOnlyRulesConflict = "GL005"
+
+	// GL006: except: and rules: used together on the same job.
+	RuleExceptRulesConflict = "GL006"
+
+	// GL007: only:/except: used (deprecated; prefer rules:).
+	RuleDeprecatedOnly = "GL007"
+
+	// ── Keyword constraints ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+	// GL008: when: has an invalid value.
+	RuleInvalidWhen = "GL008"
+
+	// GL009: when: delayed without start_in:.
+	RuleDelayedNoStartIn = "GL009"
+
+	// GL010: start_in: set when when: is not delayed.
+	RuleStartInNoDelayed = "GL010"
+
+	// GL011: parallel: value is invalid (integer out of range or map missing matrix:).
+	RuleInvalidParallel = "GL011"
+
+	// GL012: retry: integer is out of range 0–2, or retry: is neither int nor map.
+	RuleInvalidRetry = "GL012"
+
+	// GL013: retry.when: contains an unrecognised failure type.
+	RuleInvalidRetryWhen = "GL013"
+
+	// GL014: allow_failure: is not a boolean or a map with exit_codes:.
+	RuleInvalidAllowFailure = "GL014"
+
+	// GL015: interruptible: is not a boolean.
+	RuleInvalidInterruptible = "GL015"
+
+	// GL016: trigger: job also defines script: (mutually exclusive).
+	RuleTriggerWithScript = "GL016"
+
+	// GL017: trigger: map does not specify project: or include:.
+	RuleInvalidTrigger = "GL017"
+
+	// GL018: coverage: is not a regex pattern wrapped in /.
+	RuleInvalidCoverage = "GL018"
+
+	// GL019: release: is missing required tag_name:, or is not a map.
+	RuleInvalidRelease = "GL019"
+
+	// GL020: environment: has an invalid url/action configuration.
+	RuleInvalidEnvironment = "GL020"
+
+	// GL021: artifacts: has an invalid when/expose_as configuration.
+	RuleInvalidArtifacts = "GL021"
+
+	// GL022: pages job artifacts.paths does not include public/.
+	RulePagesPublic = "GL022"
+
+	// GL023: cache: has an invalid when/policy value.
+	RuleInvalidCache = "GL023"
+
+	// GL024: rules[n].when has an invalid value.
+	RuleInvalidRulesWhen = "GL024"
+
+	// GL025: image: map form is missing a name: key.
+	RuleInvalidImage = "GL025"
+
+	// GL026: inherit.default or inherit.variables is not a boolean or list.
+	RuleInvalidInherit = "GL026"
+
+	// ── Cross-job graph ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+	// GL027: needs: references a job that does not exist in the pipeline.
+	RuleNeedsUnknown = "GL027"
+
+	// GL028: needs: references a job in a later stage than the current job.
+	RuleNeedsStageOrder = "GL028"
+
+	// GL029: circular dependency detected in the needs: graph.
+	RuleNeedsCycle = "GL029"
+
+	// GL030: dependencies: references a job that does not exist.
+	RuleUnknownDependency = "GL030"
+
+	// GL031: dependencies: references a job in the same or a later stage.
+	RuleDependencyStage = "GL031"
+
+	// ── Expression validation ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+	// GL032: rules:if: references a variable not declared in pipeline variables:,
+	// the job's own variables:, or any workflow:rules:variables: block.
+	// May be a false positive for variables set in GitLab CI/CD project settings.
+	RuleUndeclaredVariable = "GL032"
+
+	// GL033: every rule in a job's rules: block has when: never, so the job
+	// can never be included in any pipeline run.
+	RuleDeadRules = "GL033"
+)

internal/linter/samba_test.go

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 // pipeline that is valid on GitLab) produces no Error findings.
 // These files exercise local include resolution and multi-level extends chains.
 func TestSambaCI(t *testing.T) {
-	entryPoint := "../../samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci.yml"
+	entryPoint := "../../testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci.yml"
 
 	p, err := model.Parse(entryPoint)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@ func TestSambaCIEntryFiles(t *testing.T) {
 		name string
 		path string
 	}{
-		{"default", "../../samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci.yml"},
-		{"coverage", "../../samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci-coverage.yml"},
-		{"private", "../../samba-testdata/.gitlab-ci-private.yml"},
+		{"default", "../../testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci.yml"},
+		{"coverage", "../../testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci-coverage.yml"},
+		{"private", "../../testdata/samba/.gitlab-ci-private.yml"},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range entryPoints {

internal/linter/variables.go

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+package linter
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
+)
+
+// predefinedVarPrefixes lists GitLab-maintained variable namespaces that are
+// always available without an explicit declaration in variables: blocks.
+var predefinedVarPrefixes = []string{
+	"CI_",      // most predefined CI variables (CI_COMMIT_BRANCH, CI_JOB_ID, …)
+	"GITLAB_",  // user/project metadata (GITLAB_USER_ID, GITLAB_FEATURES, …)
+	"FF_",      // GitLab feature flags
+	"RUNNER_",  // runner-level variables
+	"TRIGGER_", // trigger token variables passed from upstream pipelines
+	"CHAT_",    // ChatOps variables
+}
+
+func isPredefinedVar(name string) bool {
+	for _, prefix := range predefinedVarPrefixes {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(name, prefix) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// extractIfVars returns every variable name referenced in a rules:if: expression.
+// String literals are skipped so that dollar signs inside quoted values are
+// not mistaken for variable references.
+func extractIfVars(expr string) []string {
+	var names []string
+	i := 0
+	for i < len(expr) {
+		switch expr[i] {
+		case '"', '\'':
+			quote := expr[i]
+			i++
+			for i < len(expr) && expr[i] != quote {
+				if expr[i] == '\\' {
+					i++ // skip escaped character
+				}
+				i++
+			}
+			if i < len(expr) {
+				i++ // consume closing quote
+			}
+		case '$':
+			i++ // consume '$'
+			if i < len(expr) && expr[i] == '{' {
+				i++ // consume '{'
+				start := i
+				for i < len(expr) && isVarNameByte(expr[i]) {
+					i++
+				}
+				if i < len(expr) && expr[i] == '}' && i > start {
+					names = append(names, expr[start:i])
+					i++ // consume '}'
+				}
+			} else {
+				start := i
+				for i < len(expr) && isVarNameByte(expr[i]) {
+					i++
+				}
+				if i > start {
+					names = append(names, expr[start:i])
+				}
+			}
+		default:
+			i++
+		}
+	}
+	return names
+}
+
+func isVarNameByte(b byte) bool {
+	return (b >= 'a' && b <= 'z') || (b >= 'A' && b <= 'Z') || (b >= '0' && b <= '9') || b == '_'
+}
+
+// checkVariableRefs warns when a rules:if: expression references a variable that
+// is not declared in pipeline variables:, the job's own variables:, or any
+// workflow:rules:variables: block. Predefined GitLab CI variables (CI_*, GITLAB_*,
+// …) are always exempt. Variables set in GitLab CI/CD project settings are
+// invisible to glint, so the finding is a WARNING rather than an error.
+func checkVariableRefs(p *model.Pipeline) []Finding {
+	pipelineVars := make(map[string]bool, len(p.Variables))
+	for k := range p.Variables {
+		pipelineVars[k] = true
+	}
+
+	// Union of all variables any workflow rule might inject into the context.
+	workflowRuleVars := make(map[string]bool)
+	if p.Workflow != nil {
+		for _, rule := range p.Workflow.Rules {
+			for k := range rule.Variables {
+				workflowRuleVars[k] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	var findings []Finding
+
+	// Check workflow rules:if: expressions.
+	if p.Workflow != nil {
+		seen := make(map[string]bool)
+		for i, rule := range p.Workflow.Rules {
+			if rule.If == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			for _, varName := range extractIfVars(rule.If) {
+				if isPredefinedVar(varName) || pipelineVars[varName] || seen[varName] {
+					continue
+				}
+				seen[varName] = true
+				findings = append(findings, Finding{
+					Severity: Warning,
+					Rule:     RuleUndeclaredVariable,
+					File:     p.SourceFile,
+					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("workflow.rules[%d].if: $%s is not declared in pipeline variables:", i, varName),
+				})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check each job's rules:if: expressions.
+	for name, job := range p.Jobs {
+		jobVars := make(map[string]bool, len(job.Variables))
+		for k := range job.Variables {
+			jobVars[k] = true
+		}
+
+		// Deduplicate per (job, varName): report each undeclared variable once per job.
+		seen := make(map[string]bool)
+		for i, rule := range job.Rules {
+			if rule.If == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			for _, varName := range extractIfVars(rule.If) {
+				if isPredefinedVar(varName) || pipelineVars[varName] || jobVars[varName] || workflowRuleVars[varName] || seen[varName] {
+					continue
+				}
+				seen[varName] = true
+				findings = append(findings, Finding{
+					Severity: Warning,
+					Rule:     RuleUndeclaredVariable,
+					Job:      name,
+					File:     job.File,
+					Line:     job.Line,
+					Message:  fmt.Sprintf("rules[%d].if: $%s is not declared in pipeline or job variables:", i, varName),
+				})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return findings
+}

internal/linter/variables_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+package linter
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.k3nny.fr/glint/internal/model"
+)
+
+func TestExtractIfVars(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		expr string
+		want []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "simple variable",
+			expr: `$MY_VAR == "value"`,
+			want: []string{"MY_VAR"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "curly brace syntax",
+			expr: `${MY_VAR} != null`,
+			want: []string{"MY_VAR"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple variables",
+			expr: `$BRANCH == "main" && $DEPLOY_ENV == "prod"`,
+			want: []string{"BRANCH", "DEPLOY_ENV"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "dollar sign inside string literal is skipped",
+			expr: `$REAL_VAR == "$not_a_var"`,
+			want: []string{"REAL_VAR"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no variables",
+			expr: `"main" == "main"`,
+			want: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "regex rhs variable",
+			expr: `$BRANCH =~ $PATTERN`,
+			want: []string{"BRANCH", "PATTERN"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiline expression",
+			expr: "$BRANCH == \"main\" ||\n$BRANCH == \"develop\"",
+			want: []string{"BRANCH", "BRANCH"},
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := extractIfVars(tc.expr)
+			if len(got) != len(tc.want) {
+				t.Fatalf("extractIfVars(%q) = %v, want %v", tc.expr, got, tc.want)
+			}
+			for i, v := range got {
+				if v != tc.want[i] {
+					t.Errorf("[%d] got %q, want %q", i, v, tc.want[i])
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestIsPredefinedVar(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		input string
+		want  bool
+	}{
+		{"CI_COMMIT_BRANCH", true},
+		{"CI_JOB_TOKEN", true},
+		{"GITLAB_USER_ID", true},
+		{"GITLAB_FEATURES", true},
+		{"FF_SOME_FLAG", true},
+		{"RUNNER_ID", true},
+		{"TRIGGER_PAYLOAD", true},
+		{"CHAT_INPUT", true},
+		{"MY_CUSTOM_VAR", false},
+		{"DEPLOY_ENV", false},
+		{"FEATURE_ENABLED", false},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.input, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := isPredefinedVar(tc.input); got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("isPredefinedVar(%q) = %v, want %v", tc.input, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckVariableRefs(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name         string
+		pipeline     *model.Pipeline
+		wantWarnings int
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "declared pipeline variable — no warning",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Variables: map[string]any{"MY_VAR": "value"},
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$MY_VAR == "value"`}}},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 0,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "predefined CI variable — no warning",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`}}},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 0,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "undeclared variable — one warning",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$UNDEFINED_VAR == "yes"`}}},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "same undeclared var in multiple rules — one warning per job",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {
+						Rules: []model.Rule{
+							{If: `$UNDEFINED_VAR == "yes"`},
+							{If: `$UNDEFINED_VAR == "no"`},
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "job-level variable — no warning",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {
+						Variables: map[string]any{"LOCAL_VAR": "value"},
+						Rules:     []model.Rule{{If: `$LOCAL_VAR == "value"`}},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 0,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "workflow rule variable available to job rules — no warning",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Workflow: &model.Workflow{
+					Rules: []model.Rule{
+						{
+							If:        `$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"`,
+							Variables: map[string]any{"DEPLOY_ENV": "production"},
+						},
+					},
+				},
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$DEPLOY_ENV == "production"`}}},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 0,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "undeclared variable in workflow rules:if",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Workflow: &model.Workflow{
+					Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$UNDECLARED == "main"`}},
+				},
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "two jobs each with a different undeclared variable — two warnings",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$UNDEF_A == "x"`}}},
+					"job-b": {Rules: []model.Rule{{If: `$UNDEF_B == "y"`}}},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 2,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no rules — no warnings",
+			pipeline: &model.Pipeline{
+				Jobs: map[string]model.Job{
+					"job-a": {Script: "echo ok"},
+				},
+			},
+			wantWarnings: 0,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			findings := checkVariableRefs(tc.pipeline)
+			count := 0
+			for _, f := range findings {
+				if f.Severity == Warning && f.Rule == RuleUndeclaredVariable {
+					count++
+				}
+			}
+			if count != tc.wantWarnings {
+				t.Errorf("got %d GL032 warnings, want %d; findings: %v", count, tc.wantWarnings, findings)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

internal/model/parser.go

@@ -13,14 +13,24 @@ func Parse(path string) (*Pipeline, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading file: %w", err)
 	}
-	return ParseBytes(data)
+	p, err := ParseBytes(data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	p.SourceFile = path
+	p.SetJobOrigin(path)
+	return p, nil
 }
 
 // ParseBytes parses YAML from an in-memory byte slice.
 func ParseBytes(data []byte) (*Pipeline, error) {
-	// First pass: decode into a raw map to extract job keys.
-	var raw map[string]yaml.Node
-	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &raw); err != nil {
+	data = sanitizeYAMLEscapes(data)
+
+	// First pass: parse into a yaml.Node document to extract job keys with
+	// their exact source line numbers (key nodes carry the line, value nodes
+	// carry the body we decode into Job / map[string]any).
+	var doc yaml.Node
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &doc); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parsing YAML: %w", err)
 	}
 
@@ -32,23 +42,98 @@ func ParseBytes(data []byte) (*Pipeline, error) {
 
 	p.Jobs = make(map[string]Job)
 	p.RawJobs = make(map[string]map[string]any)
-	for key, node := range raw {
+
+	if doc.Kind != yaml.DocumentNode || len(doc.Content) == 0 {
+		return p, nil
+	}
+	root := doc.Content[0]
+	if root.Kind != yaml.MappingNode {
+		return p, nil
+	}
+
+	// Walk root mapping in key/value pairs.
+	for i := 0; i+1 < len(root.Content); i += 2 {
+		keyNode := root.Content[i]
+		valNode := root.Content[i+1]
+		key := keyNode.Value
 		if ReservedKeys[key] {
 			continue
 		}
+
 		var rawMap map[string]any
-		if err := node.Decode(&rawMap); err != nil {
+		if err := valNode.Decode(&rawMap); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("parsing raw job %q: %w", key, err)
 		}
 		p.RawJobs[key] = rawMap
 
 		var j Job
-		if err := node.Decode(&j); err != nil {
+		if err := valNode.Decode(&j); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("parsing job %q: %w", key, err)
 		}
 		j.Name = key
+		j.Line = keyNode.Line // exact line of the job name key
 		p.Jobs[key] = j
 	}
 
 	return p, nil
 }
+
+// sanitizeYAMLEscapes rewrites double-quoted YAML strings, replacing the \/
+// escape sequence (unrecognised by gopkg.in/yaml.v3) with \\/ so that the
+// parser produces a literal backslash+slash — preserving regex patterns like
+// /^us\// that appear in GitLab CI if: expressions.
+func sanitizeYAMLEscapes(data []byte) []byte {
+	type state int
+	const (
+		stOutside state = iota
+		stSingleQ
+		stDoubleQ
+		stEscape
+	)
+
+	out := make([]byte, 0, len(data))
+	s := stOutside
+
+	for i := 0; i < len(data); i++ {
+		b := data[i]
+		switch s {
+		case stOutside:
+			out = append(out, b)
+			switch b {
+			case '"':
+				s = stDoubleQ
+			case '\'':
+				s = stSingleQ
+			}
+		case stSingleQ:
+			out = append(out, b)
+			if b == '\'' {
+				if i+1 < len(data) && data[i+1] == '\'' {
+					// '' inside a single-quoted string is an escaped single-quote
+					out = append(out, data[i+1])
+					i++
+				} else {
+					s = stOutside
+				}
+			}
+		case stDoubleQ:
+			out = append(out, b)
+			switch b {
+			case '\\':
+				s = stEscape
+			case '"':
+				s = stOutside
+			}
+		case stEscape:
+			if b == '/' {
+				// \/ is not recognised by yaml.v3; rewrite as \\/ which
+				// the parser resolves to a literal backslash + slash.
+				out = append(out, '\\', '/')
+			} else {
+				out = append(out, b)
+			}
+			s = stDoubleQ
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}

internal/model/pipeline.go

@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ package model
 // Pipeline represents the top-level structure of a .gitlab-ci.yml file.
 // Unknown top-level keys are collected into Jobs.
 type Pipeline struct {
+	SourceFile string         // path of the root pipeline file; set by Parse
 	Stages     []string       `yaml:"stages"`
-	Variables map[string]string `yaml:"variables"`
+	Variables  map[string]any `yaml:"variables"` // string or {value,description,options} map
 	Default    *DefaultConfig `yaml:"default"`
 	Include    []any          `yaml:"include"`
 	Workflow   *Workflow      `yaml:"workflow"`
@@ -13,10 +14,21 @@ type Pipeline struct {
 	RawJobs map[string]map[string]any `yaml:"-"` // pre-resolution raw maps, used by the resolver
 }
 
+// SetJobOrigin sets the File field on all jobs that don't already have one.
+// Called after ParseBytes to record which file each job came from.
+func (p *Pipeline) SetJobOrigin(file string) {
+	for name, j := range p.Jobs {
+		if j.File == "" {
+			j.File = file
+		}
+		p.Jobs[name] = j
+	}
+}
+
 type DefaultConfig struct {
-	Image        string   `yaml:"image"`
-	BeforeScript []string `yaml:"before_script"`
-	AfterScript  []string `yaml:"after_script"`
+	Image        any      `yaml:"image"`        // string or {name,pull_policy,...} map
+	BeforeScript any      `yaml:"before_script"` // []string or string (block scalar)
+	AfterScript  any      `yaml:"after_script"`  // []string or string
 	Cache        any      `yaml:"cache"`
 	Artifacts    any      `yaml:"artifacts"`
 	Retry        any      `yaml:"retry"`
@@ -30,6 +42,8 @@ type Workflow struct {
 
 type Job struct {
 	Name string // set by parser, not from YAML
+	File string // source file; set by Parse / resolver
+	Line int    // line of the job key in its source file; set by parser
 	Stage        string   `yaml:"stage"`
 	Script       any `yaml:"script"`       // []string or string (block scalar)
 	Run          any `yaml:"run"`          // alternative to script (CI steps)
@@ -37,7 +51,7 @@ type Job struct {
 	AfterScript  any `yaml:"after_script"`  // []string or string
 	Image        any      `yaml:"image"`
 	Services     []any    `yaml:"services"`
-	Variables    map[string]string `yaml:"variables"`
+	Variables    map[string]any `yaml:"variables"` // string or {value,description,options} map
 	Rules        []Rule         `yaml:"rules"`
 	Only         any      `yaml:"only"`
 	Except       any      `yaml:"except"`
@@ -68,8 +82,9 @@ type Job struct {
 type Rule struct {
 	If        string         `yaml:"if"`
 	When      string         `yaml:"when"`
-	Changes []string `yaml:"changes"`
-	Exists  []string `yaml:"exists"`
+	Changes   any            `yaml:"changes"`   // []string or {paths,compare_to} map
+	Exists    any            `yaml:"exists"`    // []string or map form
+	Variables map[string]any `yaml:"variables"` // set/override variables when rule matches (GitLab CI 15.0+)
 }
 
 // ReservedKeys are top-level GitLab CI keys that are NOT job definitions.

internal/resolver/extends.go

@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ func Resolve(p *model.Pipeline) ([]ExtendWarning, error) {
 			return extWarnings, fmt.Errorf("job %q: re-decoding merged definition: %w", name, err)
 		}
 		j.Name = name
+		// Preserve source location — File/Line are not part of the YAML map
+		// and are lost during the encode/decode round-trip.
+		orig := p.Jobs[name]
+		j.File = orig.File
+		j.Line = orig.Line
 		p.Jobs[name] = j
 	}
 

internal/resolver/includes.go

@@ -90,7 +90,14 @@ func resolveIncludes(p *model.Pipeline, includes []any, cfg fetcher.GitLabConfig
 			continue
 		}
 
-		// remote, template — resolved by GitLab at runtime, skip silently.
+		if remote, _ := entry["remote"].(string); remote != "" {
+			w, ew := resolveRemoteInclude(p, remote, cfg, rootDir, visited)
+			warnings = append(warnings, w...)
+			extWarnings = append(extWarnings, ew...)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// template — resolved by GitLab at runtime, skip silently.
 	}
 	return warnings, extWarnings
 }
@@ -117,6 +124,7 @@ func resolveLocalInclude(p *model.Pipeline, rawPath string, cfg fetcher.GitLabCo
 	if err != nil {
 		return []IncludeWarning{{Label: label, Err: fmt.Errorf("parsing YAML: %w", err)}}, nil
 	}
+	included.SetJobOrigin(absPath)
 
 	// Recursively resolve the included file's own includes first, merging
 	// everything into `included` before we merge it into the parent `p`.
@@ -132,6 +140,39 @@ func resolveLocalInclude(p *model.Pipeline, rawPath string, cfg fetcher.GitLabCo
 	return warnings, extWarnings
 }
 
+// resolveRemoteInclude fetches a plain HTTPS URL, parses it as CI YAML, and
+// merges it into p. Sub-includes of the fetched file are resolved recursively.
+func resolveRemoteInclude(p *model.Pipeline, rawURL string, cfg fetcher.GitLabConfig, rootDir string, visited map[string]bool) ([]IncludeWarning, []ExtendWarning) {
+	label := "remote " + rawURL
+
+	if visited[rawURL] {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	visited[rawURL] = true
+
+	data, err := fetcher.FetchURL(rawURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return []IncludeWarning{{Label: label, Err: err}}, nil
+	}
+
+	included, err := model.ParseBytes(data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return []IncludeWarning{{Label: label, Err: fmt.Errorf("parsing YAML: %w", err)}}, nil
+	}
+	included.SetJobOrigin(rawURL)
+
+	var warnings []IncludeWarning
+	var extWarnings []ExtendWarning
+	if len(included.Include) > 0 {
+		w, ew := resolveIncludes(included, included.Include, cfg, rootDir, visited)
+		warnings = append(warnings, w...)
+		extWarnings = append(extWarnings, ew...)
+	}
+
+	mergeIncluded(p, included)
+	return warnings, extWarnings
+}
+
 // resolveProjectInclude fetches all files listed under a single project: entry
 // and merges them into p.
 func resolveProjectInclude(p *model.Pipeline, entry map[string]any, project string, cfg fetcher.GitLabConfig, rootDir string, visited map[string]bool) ([]IncludeWarning, []ExtendWarning) {
@@ -161,6 +202,7 @@ func resolveProjectInclude(p *model.Pipeline, entry map[string]any, project stri
 			warnings = append(warnings, IncludeWarning{Label: label, Err: fmt.Errorf("parsing YAML: %w", err)})
 			continue
 		}
+		included.SetJobOrigin(label)
 
 		if len(included.Include) > 0 {
 			w, ew := resolveIncludes(included, included.Include, cfg, rootDir, visited)
@@ -200,6 +242,7 @@ func resolveComponentInclude(p *model.Pipeline, ref string, cfg fetcher.GitLabCo
 	if err != nil {
 		return IncludeWarning{Label: label, Err: fmt.Errorf("parsing component YAML: %w", err)}, nil, true
 	}
+	included.SetJobOrigin(label)
 
 	var extWarnings []ExtendWarning
 	if len(included.Include) > 0 {
@@ -283,8 +326,9 @@ func includeFiles(entry map[string]any) []string {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// mergeIncluded copies jobs and stages from src into dst.
-// dst (the main pipeline) always wins when a key already exists.
+// mergeIncluded copies jobs, stages, and variables from src into dst.
+// dst (the main pipeline) always wins when a key already exists — this matches
+// GitLab's precedence rule where root-pipeline values override included templates.
 func mergeIncluded(dst, src *model.Pipeline) {
 	stageSet := make(map[string]bool, len(dst.Stages))
 	for _, s := range dst.Stages {
@@ -305,4 +349,16 @@ func mergeIncluded(dst, src *model.Pipeline) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Merge pipeline-level variables: dst wins on conflict (root overrides includes).
+	if len(src.Variables) > 0 {
+		if dst.Variables == nil {
+			dst.Variables = make(map[string]any, len(src.Variables))
+		}
+		for k, v := range src.Variables {
+			if _, exists := dst.Variables[k]; !exists {
+				dst.Variables[k] = v
+			}
+		}
+	}
 }

testdata/dead_rules.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+---
+# dead_rules.yml
+# Exercises GL033: rules: block where every rule has when: never.
+# All flagged jobs produce a WARNING (exit 0). Valid jobs must not be flagged.
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - test
+  - deploy
+
+# ── Jobs that should trigger GL033 ─────────────────────────────────────────
+
+# Single bare catch-all never — job is always excluded.
+disabled-job:
+  stage: build
+  script: echo disabled
+  rules:
+    - when: never
+
+# Multiple rules, all when: never — no branch can activate this job.
+dead-multi:
+  stage: test
+  script: echo dead
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
+      when: never
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"'
+      when: never
+    - when: never
+
+# ── Jobs that must NOT trigger GL033 ───────────────────────────────────────
+
+# First rule can activate.
+main-only:
+  stage: build
+  script: echo main
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never
+
+# Rule with no when: — defaults to on_success, so job is reachable.
+implicit-on-success:
+  stage: test
+  script: echo implicit
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"'
+
+# Manual is not never — job is reachable (just gated).
+manual-gate:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: echo deploy
+  rules:
+    - when: manual
+
+# No rules at all — always active.
+always-active:
+  stage: build
+  script: echo always

testdata/includes_remote.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+# Exercises include: remote: URL fetching and sub-include recursion.
+# The remote file is a real public GitLab CI template; it may contain its own
+# includes which should also be resolved. Exit code is 0 (warnings allowed).
+stages:
+  - test
+
+include:
+  - remote: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/raw/master/lib/gitlab/ci/templates/Bash.gitlab-ci.yml
+
+local-job:
+  stage: test
+  script:
+    - echo "local job alongside remote include"

testdata/needs.yml

@@ -38,3 +38,12 @@ missing-needs-job:
     - echo "bad"
   needs:
     - nonexistent-job    # ERROR: job doesn't exist
+
+# optional: true — missing dep should be WARNING not ERROR
+optional-needs-job:
+  stage: build
+  script:
+    - echo "I depend on something that may not exist"
+  needs:
+    - job: nonexistent-optional-job
+      optional: true

testdata/rules_if_expr.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+# rules_if_expr.yml
+# Exercises the rules:if: expression evaluator for:
+#   - Multi-line block-scalar expressions (|| on next line)
+#   - ${VAR} curly-brace variable syntax
+#   - Regex flags (/pattern/i case-insensitive)
+#   - Parenthesised compound expressions
+# Expected: exits 0 (lints clean with no context).
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - deploy
+
+variables:
+  DEPLOY_ENVIRONMENTS:
+    value: "staging"
+    description: "Target deployment environment"
+
+build:
+  stage: build
+  script: make build
+  rules:
+    # Multi-line expression: || on next line
+    - if: |
+        $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main" ||
+        $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never
+
+deploy-feature:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy
+  rules:
+    # ${VAR} curly-brace syntax
+    - if: '${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH} != null && ${CI_COMMIT_TAG} == null'
+      when: manual
+    - when: never
+
+release:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make release
+  rules:
+    # Case-insensitive regex flag
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^(main|master)$/i'
+      when: on_success
+    # Parenthesised compound with multi-line
+    - if: >-
+        ($CI_COMMIT_TAG != null) &&
+        ($CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push" || $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "web")
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never

testdata/script_multiline.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+---
+# Exercises multi-line script patterns and extended variable declarations.
+# Ref: https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/script/#split-long-commands
+# Ref: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/yaml/#variablesdescription
+# All patterns here must parse cleanly (exit 0).
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - test
+  - deploy
+
+# Pipeline-level variables: plain strings and extended {value, description} map form.
+variables:
+  PLAIN_VAR: "hello"
+  DEPLOY_ENV:
+    value: "staging"
+    description: "The deployment target. Set to staging or production."
+  RETRIES:
+    value: "3"
+    description: "Number of retry attempts."
+    options:
+      - "1"
+      - "3"
+      - "5"
+
+default:
+  # image in map form (name + pull_policy)
+  image:
+    name: alpine:latest
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+  # before_script as a block scalar (not a list)
+  before_script:
+    - apk add --no-cache curl git
+
+build-literal-block:
+  stage: build
+  # script items using literal block scalar (|)
+  script:
+    - |
+      if [[ "$DEPLOY_ENV" == "production" ]]; then
+        echo "Production build"
+      else
+        echo "Non-production build"
+      fi
+    - echo "Build step done"
+
+build-folded-block:
+  stage: build
+  # script items using folded block scalar (>)
+  script:
+    - >
+      apt-get update -qq &&
+      apt-get install -y curl wget
+    - echo "Packages installed"
+  before_script:
+    - |
+      echo "Job-level before_script"
+      echo "Using literal block scalar"
+
+test-job:
+  stage: test
+  script:
+    - echo "Running tests"
+    - |
+      set -e
+      go test ./...
+      echo "Tests passed"
+  # Job-level variable with extended form
+  variables:
+    TEST_FLAG:
+      value: "true"
+      description: "Enable verbose test output"
+  # rules.changes in map form (GitLab 15.3+)
+  rules:
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"
+      changes:
+        paths:
+          - "**/*.go"
+        compare_to: "main"
+      when: on_success
+    - when: on_success
+
+deploy-job:
+  stage: deploy
+  script:
+    - echo "Deploying to $DEPLOY_ENV"
+  when: manual

testdata/variable_refs.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+# variable_refs.yml
+# Verifies that GL032 does not fire for variables that are declared or predefined.
+# Covers: pipeline variables:, job variables:, workflow:rules:variables:, and CI_* prefixes.
+# Expected: exits 0 (no errors; no GL032 warnings).
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - deploy
+
+variables:
+  DEPLOY_TARGET: "staging"
+  FEATURE_FLAG: "false"
+
+workflow:
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
+      variables:
+        DEPLOY_TARGET: "production"
+    - when: always
+
+build:
+  stage: build
+  script: make build
+  rules:
+    # pipeline-level variable — GL032 must not fire
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "staging"'
+      when: on_success
+    # predefined CI variable — GL032 must not fire
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^feat\/.+/'
+      when: manual
+
+deploy:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy
+  variables:
+    DEPLOY_REGION: "us-east-1"
+  rules:
+    # pipeline-level variable — no warning
+    - if: '$FEATURE_FLAG == "true"'
+      when: never
+    # workflow-rule-injected variable — no warning
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "production"'
+      when: on_success
+    # job-level variable — no warning
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_REGION == "us-east-1"'
+      when: on_success
+    # predefined GITLAB_ variable — no warning
+    - if: '$GITLAB_USER_LOGIN == "bot"'
+      when: never
+    - when: manual

testdata/variable_refs_included.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+# variable_refs_included.yml
+# GL032 must NOT fire for variables declared in an included file.
+# The included file (variable_refs_included_template.yml) declares TEMPLATE_VAR.
+# Expected: exits 0 (no errors; no GL032 warnings).
+
+stages:
+  - build
+
+include:
+  - local: /variable_refs_included_template.yml
+
+build:
+  stage: build
+  script: make build
+  rules:
+    # TEMPLATE_VAR comes from the included file — GL032 must not fire.
+    - if: '$TEMPLATE_VAR == "enabled"'
+      when: on_success
+    # ROOT_VAR is declared in this file — GL032 must not fire.
+    - if: '$ROOT_VAR == "yes"'
+      when: manual
+
+variables:
+  ROOT_VAR: "yes"

testdata/variable_refs_included_template.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+# Included by variable_refs_included.yml — declares a pipeline-level variable
+# that the parent pipeline's jobs reference in rules:if: expressions.
+
+variables:
+  TEMPLATE_VAR: "enabled"

testdata/workflow_escape.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+# workflow_vars.yml
+# Exercises workflow:rules:variables: injection.
+# The matching workflow rule sets DEPLOY_TARGET; job rules use it.
+#
+# Expected behaviour per context:
+#   (no context)       → all jobs active (no context evaluation)
+#   --branch main      → deploy-prod active, deploy-staging skipped
+#   --branch develop   → deploy-prod skipped, deploy-staging active
+#   --branch feat/x    → deploy-prod skipped, deploy-staging skipped (manual)
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - deploy
+
+variables:
+  DEPLOY_TARGET:
+    value: ""
+    description: "Deployment target — set by workflow rules"
+
+workflow:
+  rules:
+    - if: "
+        $WORKFLOW = 'gitflow' &&
+        $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == /(push|web)/ && 
+        $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^us\//
+        "
+      variables:
+        DEPLOY_TARGET: production
+        BUILD: true
+        TEST: true        
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"'
+      variables:
+        DEPLOY_TARGET: staging
+    - when: always
+
+build:
+  stage: build
+  script: make build
+  rules:
+    - when: always
+
+deploy-prod:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy ENV=production
+  rules:
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "production"'
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never
+
+deploy-staging:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy ENV=staging
+  rules:
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "staging"'
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never

testdata/workflow_vars.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+# workflow_vars.yml
+# Exercises workflow:rules:variables: injection.
+# The matching workflow rule sets DEPLOY_TARGET; job rules use it.
+#
+# Expected behaviour per context:
+#   --branch main             → only build active (no workflow rule matches; WORKFLOW var not set)
+#   --branch develop          → deploy-staging active, deploy-prod skipped
+#   --branch feat/x           → only build active (when: always fallback, no deploy vars)
+#   --var WORKFLOW=gitflow --branch us/feature → deploy-prod + build active
+
+stages:
+  - build
+  - deploy
+
+variables:
+  DEPLOY_TARGET:
+    value: ""
+    description: "Deployment target — set by workflow rules"
+
+workflow:
+  rules:
+    - if: "
+        $WORKFLOW = 'gitflow' &&
+        $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == /(push|web)/ && 
+        $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^us\//
+        "
+      variables:
+        DEPLOY_TARGET: production
+        DEPLOY: true
+        BUILD: true
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"'
+      variables:
+        DEPLOY_TARGET: staging
+    - when: always
+
+build:
+  stage: build
+  script: make build
+  rules:
+    - when: always
+
+deploy-prod:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy ENV=production
+  rules:
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "production" && $DEPLOY == "true"'
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never
+
+deploy-staging:
+  stage: deploy
+  script: make deploy ENV=staging
+  rules:
+    - if: '$DEPLOY_TARGET == "staging" '
+      when: on_success
+    - when: never