diff --git a/AUDIT-ERROR-HANDLING.md b/AUDIT-ERROR-HANDLING.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0ab1d03 --- /dev/null +++ b/AUDIT-ERROR-HANDLING.md @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +# Error Handling & Logging Audit + +This document details the findings of an audit of the error handling and logging practices within the codebase. + +## Error Handling + +### Exception Handling + +- **Are exceptions caught appropriately?** + - Yes, in the Go sense, errors are generally handled and propagated up the call stack. The `pkg/` libraries correctly return errors to the caller. The `cmd/trix` application handles the final error in the `main` function. + +- **Generic catches hiding bugs?** + - No evidence of this. Error handling is explicit. + +- **Error information leakage?** + - The `pkg/` libraries are safe and do not leak sensitive information. However, the `cmd/trix` CLI prints raw error messages directly to the user, which could expose internal implementation details (e.g., function names, variable types) that are not user-friendly. + +### Error Recovery + +- **Graceful degradation?** + - Not applicable in the current context. The CLI tool is designed to succeed or fail. + +- **Retry logic with backoff?** + - Not implemented, and not necessary for the current functionality. + +- **Circuit breaker patterns?** + - Not implemented, and not necessary for the current functionality. + +### User-Facing Errors + +- **Helpful without exposing internals?** + - This is an area for improvement. The CLI prints raw errors from the underlying libraries, which is not ideal for the end-user. Errors should be caught, and user-friendly messages should be displayed, while the technical details are logged for debugging. + +- **Consistent error format?** + - The format is consistent in that it's whatever Go's `error.Error()` method returns. There is no structured error format for users. + +- **Localization support?** + - There is no support for localization of error messages. + +### API Errors + +- **Standard error response format?** + - Not applicable. The project is a CLI tool, not a web API. + +- **Appropriate HTTP status codes?** + - Not applicable. + +- **Error codes for clients?** + - Not applicable. + +## Logging + +### What is Logged + +- **Security events (auth, access)?** + - Nothing is currently logged. + +- **Errors with context?** + - Errors are not logged; they are printed to `stderr`. Some errors have context (e.g., `trix.Decode` wraps `ErrInvalidMagicNumber`), but this is inconsistent. The `fmt.Errorf("%w: message", err)` pattern should be used more widely to provide better context. + +- **Performance metrics?** + - Nothing is currently logged. + +### What Should NOT be Logged + +The application currently does not log anything, so there is no risk of logging sensitive information. If logging is implemented, care must be taken to avoid logging: +- Passwords/tokens +- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) +- Cryptographic keys or sensitive material + +### Log Quality + +- **Structured logging (JSON)?** + - No logging is implemented. Structured logging would be a significant improvement for machine-parsability and analysis. + +- **Correlation IDs?** + - Not applicable for a single-run CLI tool. + +- **Log levels used correctly?** + - No logging is implemented. + +### Log Security + +- **Injection-safe?** + - Not applicable as there is no logging. + +- **Tamper-evident?** + - Not applicable as there is no logging. + +- **Retention policy?** + - Not applicable as there is no logging. + +## Summary & Recommendations + +- **Error Handling:** The libraries in `pkg/` follow good practices by returning errors. `cmd/trix` should be improved to intercept these errors, log the technical details, and present a clear, user-friendly message instead of the raw error string. Error wrapping should be used more consistently to add context. + +- **Logging:** The complete absence of logging is a major gap. A structured logging library (like `logrus` or the standard library's `slog`) should be introduced in `cmd/trix`. This would allow for different log levels (e.g., controlled by a `--verbose` flag) and provide better insight into the application's behavior, especially during failures.