Exit Codes

Reference for all exit codes returned by Vow commands.

Standard Exit Codes

CodeMeaningDescription
0SuccessNo issues found, operation completed successfully
1Issues FoundAnalysis found issues (severity depends on --min-severity)
2Configuration ErrorInvalid configuration file or options
3Model/Analyzer ErrorML model loading or analyzer execution failed
4File I/O ErrorCannot read input files or write output
5Network ErrorFailed to download models or updates
10Internal ErrorUnexpected internal error

Usage in Scripts

#!/bin/bash

vow check script.py
exit_code=$?

case $exit_code in
  0)
    echo "✅ No issues found"
    ;;
  1)
    echo "⚠️  Issues found, review needed"
    ;;
  2)
    echo "❌ Configuration error"
    exit 1
    ;;
  *)
    echo "❌ Unexpected error (code: $exit_code)"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

CI/CD Integration

Use exit codes to control build behavior:

  • Exit 0: Continue build
  • Exit 1: Continue with warnings or fail based on policy
  • Exit 2+: Fail build immediately

This page is under development. See CI/CD Integration for practical examples.