From 85b60075d0063096b7c9fd06480ce1e9ec5522f4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mathis Pinsault <pinsaultm@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:04:21 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] feat: emit <no-hash> for zero-match entries instead of
 failing

Monorepo configs often glob files that aren't always present
(unreleased features, feature-flagged directories, packages that
don't have tests yet). A single zero-match entry shouldn't abort
the entire invocation. Return a <no-hash> sentinel and keep going.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .changeset/no-hash-sentinel.md | 24 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
 docs/guide/cli.md              | 16 +++++++++++++---
 src/cli/run-config-mode.ts     | 18 +++++++++++++-----
 tests/cli/run-modes.test.ts    | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
 4 files changed, 78 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/no-hash-sentinel.md

diff --git a/.changeset/no-hash-sentinel.md b/.changeset/no-hash-sentinel.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e31cbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/no-hash-sentinel.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+"@maastrich/hashup": minor
+---
+
+Zero-match entry globs no longer fail the run — the entry's hash is
+emitted as the sentinel `<no-hash>` and the remaining entries continue
+processing.
+
+Motivation: in a monorepo a package may not have tests yet, a feature
+flag may empty a directory, or a glob may intentionally target files
+that aren't always present. Previously any single zero-match entry
+aborted the whole invocation; now it's a local, addressable signal
+downstream tooling can detect.
+
+```
+app           48adf62a70c2645d0fc15ee3060973245af5dc30a542372791a7e1f05eaeacf6
+visual-tests  <no-hash>
+worker        0c4b8d9f…
+```
+
+In `--json` mode the sentinel appears as `{ "hash": "<no-hash>",
+"files": [] }`. The sentinel is also exported from
+`@maastrich/hashup/cli` as `NO_HASH` for programmatic callers of
+`runConfigMode`.
diff --git a/docs/guide/cli.md b/docs/guide/cli.md
index ac4a2c1..5e33526 100644
--- a/docs/guide/cli.md
+++ b/docs/guide/cli.md
@@ -130,9 +130,19 @@ this set change?" style cache keys. A single-match glob produces the
 same hash as the literal form, so converting a literal entry to a glob
 that still only matches one file is a no-op.
 
-If a glob matches **zero** files, the CLI exits with an error
-(`entries.<name>: pattern "<glob>" matched no files`) — almost always a
-typo or stale path is the cause.
+If a glob matches **zero** files, that entry's hash is emitted as the
+sentinel `<no-hash>` and the run continues with the remaining entries.
+This keeps CI configs stable through normal churn — a package that
+doesn't have visual tests yet, a feature flag that removes a whole
+directory — without forcing every entry to gate-keep the whole run.
+Downstream tooling can detect the sentinel to decide whether to skip,
+warn, or fail.
+
+```
+app           48adf62a70c2645d0fc15ee3060973245af5dc30a542372791a7e1f05eaeacf6
+visual-tests  <no-hash>
+worker        0c4b8d9f…
+```
 
 ## Editor integration
 
diff --git a/src/cli/run-config-mode.ts b/src/cli/run-config-mode.ts
index 65e5afb..5553926 100644
--- a/src/cli/run-config-mode.ts
+++ b/src/cli/run-config-mode.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@ export interface RunConfigModeInput {
 
 export type RunConfigModeResult = { ok: true; output: string } | { ok: false; error: string };
 
+/**
+ * Sentinel emitted when an entry's `entry` pattern matches zero files.
+ * Chosen to be visually distinct and lexicographically invalid as a
+ * hex digest so consumers can't confuse it with a real hash.
+ */
+export const NO_HASH = "<no-hash>";
+
 export async function runConfigMode(input: RunConfigModeInput): Promise<RunConfigModeResult> {
   const configPath = resolve(input.cwd, input.configPath ?? "hashup.json");
   const loaded = await loadConfig(configPath);
@@ -45,14 +52,15 @@ export async function runConfigMode(input: RunConfigModeInput): Promise<RunConfi
   for (const [name, entry] of Object.entries(loaded.data.entries)) {
     const baseDir = entry.baseDir !== undefined ? resolveFrom(configDir, entry.baseDir) : rootBase;
     const entryFiles = await expandPaths([entry.entry], baseDir);
+    const logLevel = input.logLevel ?? loaded.data.logLevel;
     if (entryFiles.length === 0) {
-      return {
-        ok: false,
-        error: `entries.${name}: pattern "${entry.entry}" matched no files`,
-      };
+      // Zero-match globs are a valid state (feature flags off, package
+      // doesn't have tests yet, etc.) — emit a sentinel hash instead
+      // of failing the whole run. Downstream tooling can detect it.
+      results[name] = { hash: NO_HASH, files: [] };
+      continue;
     }
     const extras = entry.extras ? await expandPaths(entry.extras, baseDir) : [];
-    const logLevel = input.logLevel ?? loaded.data.logLevel;
     results[name] = await hashEntrySet(entryFiles, extras, baseDir, logLevel, cache, resolver);
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/cli/run-modes.test.ts b/tests/cli/run-modes.test.ts
index e7f2553..4278d3c 100644
--- a/tests/cli/run-modes.test.ts
+++ b/tests/cli/run-modes.test.ts
@@ -224,8 +224,13 @@ describe("runConfigMode", () => {
     expect(third.ok && third.output).not.toBe(first.ok && first.output);
   });
 
-  test("glob that matches nothing produces a readable error", async () => {
-    await writeConfigFile({ entries: { none: { entry: "src/*.missing" } } });
+  test("zero-match glob emits <no-hash> and does not abort other entries", async () => {
+    await writeConfigFile({
+      entries: {
+        none: { entry: "src/*.missing" },
+        real: { entry: "src/a.ts" },
+      },
+    });
     const result = await runConfigMode({
       cwd: workDir,
       configPath: undefined,
@@ -233,10 +238,27 @@ describe("runConfigMode", () => {
       json: false,
       files: false,
     });
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!result.ok) {
-      expect(result.error).toMatch(/entries\.none/);
-      expect(result.error).toMatch(/matched no files/);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.output).toMatch(/none\s+<no-hash>/);
+      expect(result.output).toMatch(/real\s+[a-f0-9]{64}/);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("zero-match glob in --json mode emits <no-hash> with an empty files list", async () => {
+    await writeConfigFile({ entries: { none: { entry: "src/*.missing" } } });
+    const result = await runConfigMode({
+      cwd: workDir,
+      configPath: undefined,
+      baseDirOverride: undefined,
+      json: true,
+      files: true,
+    });
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (result.ok) {
+      const parsed = JSON.parse(result.output);
+      expect(parsed.none.hash).toBe("<no-hash>");
+      expect(parsed.none.files).toEqual([]);
     }
   });