> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mergeguide.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reading findings

> Understand the parts of a finding and how to act on it.

A **finding** is what MergeGuide reports when your code doesn't satisfy a policy.
This page explains what's in a finding and how to act on it.

## Anatomy of a finding

Each finding tells you:

* **File and line** — where the issue is in your code.
* **Severity** — how serious it is (`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low`), and
  whether it blocks, per your [thresholds](/configuration/thresholds).
* **Message** — what the issue is, in plain language.
* **Remediation guidance** — how to fix it.

Text output prints one finding per issue with these details, then exits with a
[code](/reference/cli#exit-codes) that reflects whether anything blocking was found.

## Act on a finding

<Steps>
  <Step title="Read the message and guidance">
    The finding states the problem and a suggested fix. Start there.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the file at the reported line">
    Go to the file and line in the finding and make the change.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Re-run the check">
    ```bash theme={null}
    mergeguide check src/
    ```

    A fixed finding no longer appears. The run exits `0` when nothing blocking
    remains.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Low-confidence findings

Low-confidence findings are hidden from text output by default to keep the signal
high. To see them:

```bash theme={null}
mergeguide check src/ --show-low-confidence
```

## Suppress a finding

When a finding is a known, accepted exception, you can stop a specific policy from
firing across a project by disabling it in config:

```yaml .mergeguide/config.yaml theme={null}
disabled_policies:
  - example-noisy-rule
```

To exclude paths entirely (for example, generated code or vendored dependencies):

```yaml .mergeguide/config.yaml theme={null}
exclude_patterns:
  - "**/vendor/**"
  - "**/generated/**"
```

<Warning>
  Suppressing a finding turns off a control. Disable a policy or exclude a path only
  when you've reviewed the finding and accept the exception — and keep the scope as
  narrow as possible.
</Warning>

## Machine-readable output

For dashboards, CI, or your IDE's problems panel, emit JSON or SARIF instead of
text:

```bash theme={null}
mergeguide check src/ --format sarif --output results.sarif
```

See [Output formats](/reference/output-formats).

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Enforcement layers" icon="layer-group" href="/operation/enforcement-layers">
    Where findings surface in your workflow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dashboard" icon="gauge" href="/navigation/dashboard">
    Review findings across your repositories.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>