TRF027

Model files must raise explicit errors instead of using bare assert.

Default	Enabled
Scope	Models added on or after 2026-06-20
Source	mlinter/trf027.py
Show in terminal	mlinter --rule TRF027

What it does

Flags any assert statement in modeling_*.py, modular_*.py and configuration_*.py.

Why is this bad?

python -O strips assert statements, so a shape or config check written as an assert silently disappears in optimised runs. An assert also gives the user a bare AssertionError with no guidance, where a ValueError can name the offending value and what to do about it.

Example

 def forward(self, hidden_states):
-    assert hidden_states.dim() == 3
+    if hidden_states.dim() != 3:
+        raise ValueError(f"Expected a 3D tensor, got shape {tuple(hidden_states.shape)}.")

Suppressing this rule

Add a # trf-ignore: TRF027 comment on the flagged line or the line directly above it. See Suppressing rules for whole-file directives and when a suppression is the wrong answer.