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using-warnings.rst 60.55 KiB

.. _options-sanity:

Warnings and sanity-checking
----------------------------

.. index::
single: sanity-checking options
single: warnings

GHC has a number of options that select which types of non-fatal error
messages, otherwise known as warnings, can be generated during compilation.
Some options control individual warnings and others control collections
of warnings.
To turn off an individual warning ``-W``, use ``-Wno-``.
To reverse ``-Werror``, which makes all warnings into errors, use ``-Wwarn``.

By default, you get a standard set of warnings which are
generally likely to indicate bugs in your program. These are:

.. hlist::
:columns: 3

* :ghc-flag:`-Woverlapping-patterns`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wwarnings-deprecations`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdeprecations`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdeprecated-flags`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunrecognised-pragmas`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wduplicate-exports`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wderiving-defaults`
* :ghc-flag:`-Woverflowed-literals`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wempty-enumerations`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-fields`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-methods`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wwrong-do-bind`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wsimplifiable-class-constraints`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wtyped-holes`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdeferred-type-errors`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wpartial-type-signatures`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunsupported-calling-conventions`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdodgy-foreign-imports`
* :ghc-flag:`-Winline-rule-shadowing`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunsupported-llvm-version`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissed-extra-shared-lib`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wtabs`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunrecognised-warning-flags`
* :ghc-flag:`-Winaccessible-code`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wstar-is-type`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wstar-binder`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wspace-after-bang`

The following flags are simple ways to select standard "packages" of warnings:

.. ghc-flag:: -W
:shortdesc: enable normal warnings
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -w
:category:

Provides the standard warnings plus

.. hlist::
:columns: 3

* :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-binds`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-matches`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-foralls`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-imports`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-patterns`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdodgy-exports`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wdodgy-imports`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wunbanged-strict-patterns`

.. ghc-flag:: -Wall
:shortdesc: enable almost all warnings (details in :ref:`options-sanity`)
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -w
:category:

Turns on all warning options that indicate potentially suspicious
code. The warnings that are *not* enabled by :ghc-flag:`-Wall` are

.. hlist::
:columns: 3

* :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-uni-patterns`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-record-updates`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmonomorphism-restriction`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wimplicit-prelude`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-local-signatures`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-exported-signatures`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-export-lists`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-import-lists`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-home-modules`
* :ghc-flag:`-Widentities`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wredundant-constraints`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wpartial-fields`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissed-specialisations`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wall-missed-specialisations`

.. ghc-flag:: -Weverything
:shortdesc: enable all warnings supported by GHC
:type: dynamic
:category:

Turns on every single warning supported by the compiler.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wcompat
:shortdesc: enable future compatibility warnings
(details in :ref:`options-sanity`)
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-compat
:category:

Turns on warnings that will be enabled by default in the future, but remain
off in normal compilations for the time being. This allows library authors
eager to make their code future compatible to adapt to new features before
they even generate warnings.

This currently enables

.. hlist::
:columns: 3

* :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-monadfail-instances`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wsemigroup`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wnoncanonical-monoid-instances`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wstar-is-type`
* :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat-unqualified-imports`

.. ghc-flag:: -Wno-compat
:shortdesc: Disables all warnings enabled by :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wcompat
:category:

Disables all warnings enabled by :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat`.

.. ghc-flag:: -w
:shortdesc: disable all warnings
:type: dynamic
:category:

Turns off all warnings, including the standard ones and those that
:ghc-flag:`-Wall` doesn't enable.

These options control which warnings are considered fatal and cause compilation
to abort.

.. ghc-flag:: -Werror
:shortdesc: make warnings fatal
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wwarn
:category:

Makes any warning into a fatal error. Useful so that you don't miss
warnings when doing batch compilation. To reverse ``-Werror`` and stop
treating any warnings as errors use ``-Wwarn``, or use ``-Wwarn=``
to stop treating specific warnings as errors.

.. ghc-flag:: -Werror=⟨wflag⟩
:shortdesc: make a specific warning fatal
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wwarn=⟨wflag⟩
:category:
:noindex:

:implies: ``-W``

Makes a specific warning into a fatal error. The warning will be enabled if
it hasn't been enabled yet. Can be reversed with ``-Wwarn=``.

``-Werror=compat`` has the same effect as ``-Werror=...`` for each warning
flag in the :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wwarn
:shortdesc: make warnings non-fatal
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Werror
:category:

Warnings are treated only as warnings, not as errors. This is the
default, but can be useful to negate a :ghc-flag:`-Werror` flag.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wwarn=⟨wflag⟩
:shortdesc: make a specific warning non-fatal
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Werror=⟨wflag⟩
:category:
:noindex:

Causes a specific warning to be treated as normal warning, not fatal error.

Note that it doesn't fully negate the effects of ``-Werror=`` - the
warning will still be enabled.

``-Wwarn=compat`` has the same effect as ``-Wwarn=...`` for each warning
flag in the :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group.

When a warning is emitted, the specific warning flag which controls
it is shown.

.. ghc-flag:: -fshow-warning-groups
:shortdesc: show which group an emitted warning belongs to.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fno-show-warning-groups
:category:

When showing which flag controls a warning, also show the
respective warning group flag(s) that warning is contained in.

This option is off by default.

The full set of warning options is described below. To turn off any
warning, simply give the corresponding ``-Wno-...`` option on the
command line. For backwards compatibility with GHC versions prior to 8.0,
all these warnings can still be controlled with ``-f(no-)warn-*`` instead
of ``-W(no-)*``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunrecognised-warning-flags
:shortdesc: throw a warning when an unrecognised ``-W...`` flag is
encountered on the command line.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unrecognised-warning-flags
:category:

:default: on

Enables warnings when the compiler encounters a ``-W...`` flag that is not
recognised.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wcompat-unqualified-imports
:shortdesc: Report unqualified imports of core libraries which are expected
to cause compatibility problems in future releases.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-compat-unqualified-imports
:category:

Warns on qualified imports of core library modules which are subject to
change in future GHC releases. Currently the following modules are covered
by this warning:

- ``Data.List`` due to the future addition of ``Data.List.singleton`` and
specialisation of exports to the ``[]`` type. See the
:ref:`mailing list
`
for details.

This warning can be addressed by either adding an explicit import list or
using a ``qualified`` import.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wtyped-holes
:shortdesc: Report warnings when :ref:`typed hole ` errors are
:ref:`deferred until runtime `. See
:ghc-flag:`-fdefer-typed-holes`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-typed-holes
:category:

:default: on

Determines whether the compiler reports typed holes warnings. Has no
effect unless typed holes errors are deferred until runtime. See
:ref:`typed-holes` and :ref:`defer-type-errors`

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdeferred-type-errors
:shortdesc: Report warnings when :ref:`deferred type errors
` are enabled. This option is enabled by
default. See :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-deferred-type-errors
:category:

Causes a warning to be reported when a type error is deferred until
runtime. See :ref:`defer-type-errors`

This warning is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -fdefer-type-errors
:shortdesc: Turn type errors into warnings, :ref:`deferring the error until
runtime `. Implies
:ghc-flag:`-fdefer-typed-holes` and
:ghc-flag:`-fdefer-out-of-scope-variables`.
See also :ghc-flag:`-Wdeferred-type-errors`
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fno-defer-type-errors
:category:

:implies: :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-typed-holes`, :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-out-of-scope-variables`

Defer as many type errors as possible until runtime. At compile time
you get a warning (instead of an error). At runtime, if you use a
value that depends on a type error, you get a runtime error; but you
can run any type-correct parts of your code just fine. See
:ref:`defer-type-errors`

.. ghc-flag:: -fdefer-typed-holes
:shortdesc: Convert :ref:`typed hole ` errors into warnings,
:ref:`deferring the error until runtime `.
Implied by :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors`.
See also :ghc-flag:`-Wtyped-holes`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fno-defer-typed-holes
:category:

Defer typed holes errors (errors about names with a leading underscore
(e.g., “_”, “_foo”, “_bar”)) until runtime. This will turn the errors
produced by :ref:`typed holes ` into warnings. Using a value
that depends on a typed hole produces a runtime error, the same as
:ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors` (which implies this option). See :ref:`typed-holes`
and :ref:`defer-type-errors`.

Implied by :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors`. See also :ghc-flag:`-Wtyped-holes`.

.. ghc-flag:: -fdefer-out-of-scope-variables
:shortdesc: Convert variable out of scope variables errors into warnings.
Implied by :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors`.
See also :ghc-flag:`-Wdeferred-out-of-scope-variables`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fno-defer-out-of-scope-variables
:category:

Defer variable out-of-scope errors (errors about names without a leading underscore)
until runtime. This will turn variable-out-of-scope errors into warnings.
Using a value that depends on an out-of-scope variable produces a runtime error,
the same as :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors` (which implies this option).
See :ref:`typed-holes` and :ref:`defer-type-errors`.

Implied by :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-type-errors`. See also :ghc-flag:`-Wdeferred-out-of-scope-variables`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdeferred-out-of-scope-variables
:shortdesc: Report warnings when variable out-of-scope errors are
:ref:`deferred until runtime `.
See :ghc-flag:`-fdefer-out-of-scope-variables`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-deferred-out-of-scope-variables
:category:

Warn when a deferred out-of-scope variable is encountered.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wpartial-type-signatures
:shortdesc: warn about holes in partial type signatures when
:extension:`PartialTypeSignatures` is enabled. Not applicable when
:extension:`PartialTypeSignatures` is not enabled, in which case
errors are generated for such holes.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-partial-type-signatures
:category:

Determines whether the compiler reports holes in partial type
signatures as warnings. Has no effect unless
:extension:`PartialTypeSignatures` is enabled, which controls whether
errors should be generated for holes in types or not. See
:ref:`partial-type-signatures`.

This warning is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -fhelpful-errors
:shortdesc: Make suggestions for mis-spelled names.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fno-helpful-errors
:category:

When a name or package is not found in scope, make suggestions for
the name or package you might have meant instead.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunrecognised-pragmas
:shortdesc: warn about uses of pragmas that GHC doesn't recognise
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unrecognised-pragmas
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted when a pragma that GHC doesn't
recognise is used. As well as pragmas that GHC itself uses, GHC also
recognises pragmas known to be used by other tools, e.g.
``OPTIONS_HUGS`` and ``DERIVE``.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissed-specialisations
:shortdesc: warn when specialisation of an imported, overloaded function
fails.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missed-specialisations
:category:

Emits a warning if GHC cannot specialise an overloaded function, usually
because the function needs an ``INLINABLE`` pragma. Reports when the
situation arises during specialisation of an imported function.

This form is intended to catch cases where an imported function
that is marked as ``INLINABLE`` (presumably to enable specialisation)
cannot be specialised as it calls other functions that are themselves not
specialised.

Note that this warning will not throw errors if used with
:ghc-flag:`-Werror`.

This option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wall-missed-specialisations
:shortdesc: warn when specialisation of any overloaded function fails.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-all-missed-specialisations
:category:

Emits a warning if GHC cannot specialise an overloaded function, usually
because the function needs an ``INLINABLE`` pragma. Reports
all such situations.

Note that this warning will not throw errors if used with
:ghc-flag:`-Werror`.

This option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wwarnings-deprecations
:shortdesc: warn about uses of functions & types that have warnings or
deprecated pragmas
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-warnings-deprecations
:category:

.. index::
pair: deprecations; warnings

Causes a warning to be emitted when a module, function or type with
a ``WARNING`` or ``DEPRECATED pragma`` is used. See
:ref:`warning-deprecated-pragma` for more details on the pragmas.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdeprecations
:shortdesc: warn about uses of functions & types that have warnings or
deprecated pragmas. Alias for :ghc-flag:`-Wwarnings-deprecations`
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-deprecations
:category:

.. index::
single: deprecations

Causes a warning to be emitted when a module, function or type with
a ``WARNING`` or ``DEPRECATED pragma`` is used. See
:ref:`warning-deprecated-pragma` for more details on the pragmas.
An alias for :ghc-flag:`-Wwarnings-deprecations`.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wnoncanonical-monad-instances
:shortdesc: warn when ``Applicative`` or ``Monad`` instances have
noncanonical definitions of ``return``, ``pure``, ``(>>)``,
or ``(*>)``.
See flag description in :ref:`options-sanity` for more details.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-noncanonical-monad-instances
:category:

Warn if noncanonical ``Applicative`` or ``Monad`` instances
declarations are detected.

When this warning is enabled, the following conditions are verified:

In ``Monad`` instances declarations warn if any of the following
conditions does not hold:

* If ``return`` is defined it must be canonical (i.e. ``return = pure``).
* If ``(>>)`` is defined it must be canonical (i.e. ``(>>) = (*>)``).

Moreover, in ``Applicative`` instance declarations:

* Warn if ``pure`` is defined backwards (i.e. ``pure = return``).
* Warn if ``(*>)`` is defined backwards (i.e. ``(*>) = (>>)``).

This option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wnoncanonical-monadfail-instances
:shortdesc: warn when ``Monad`` or ``MonadFail`` instances have
noncanonical definitions of ``fail``.
See flag description in :ref:`options-sanity` for more details.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-noncanonical-monadfail-instances
:category:

Warn if noncanonical ``Monad`` or ``MonadFail`` instances
declarations are detected.

When this warning is enabled, the following conditions are verified:

In ``Monad`` instances declarations warn if any of the following
conditions does not hold:

* If ``fail`` is defined it must be canonical
(i.e. ``fail = Control.Monad.Fail.fail``).

Moreover, in ``MonadFail`` instance declarations:

* Warn if ``fail`` is defined backwards
(i.e. ``fail = Control.Monad.fail``).

See also :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-monadfail-instances`.

This option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wnoncanonical-monoid-instances
:shortdesc: warn when ``Semigroup`` or ``Monoid`` instances have
noncanonical definitions of ``(<>)`` or ``mappend``.
See flag description in :ref:`options-sanity` for more details.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-noncanonical-monoid-instances
:category:

Warn if noncanonical ``Semigroup`` or ``Monoid`` instances
declarations are detected.

When this warning is enabled, the following conditions are verified:

In ``Monoid`` instances declarations warn if any of the following
conditions does not hold:

* If ``mappend`` is defined it must be canonical
(i.e. ``mappend = (Data.Semigroup.<>)``).

Moreover, in ``Semigroup`` instance declarations:

* Warn if ``(<>)`` is defined backwards (i.e. ``(<>) = mappend``).

This warning is off by default. However, it is part of the
:ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-monadfail-instances
:shortdesc: Warn when a failable pattern is used in a do-block that does
not have a ``MonadFail`` instance.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-monadfail-instances
:category:

.. index::
single: MFP
single: MonadFail Proposal

Warn when a failable pattern is used in a do-block that does not have a
``MonadFail`` instance.

See also :ghc-flag:`-Wnoncanonical-monadfail-instances`.

Being part of the :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group, this warning is off by
default, but will be switched on in a future GHC release, as part of
the `MonadFail Proposal (MFP)
`__.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wsemigroup
:shortdesc: warn when a ``Monoid`` is not ``Semigroup``, and on non-
``Semigroup`` definitions of ``(<>)``?
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-semigroup
:category:

.. index::
single: semigroup; warning

Warn when definitions are in conflict with the future inclusion of
``Semigroup`` into the standard typeclasses.

1. Instances of ``Monoid`` should also be instances of ``Semigroup``
2. The ``Semigroup`` operator ``(<>)`` will be in ``Prelude``, which
clashes with custom local definitions of such an operator

Being part of the :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group, this warning is off by
default, but will be switched on in a future GHC release.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdeprecated-flags
:shortdesc: warn about uses of commandline flags that are deprecated
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-deprecated-flags
:category:

.. index::
single: deprecated flags

Causes a warning to be emitted when a deprecated command-line flag
is used.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunsupported-calling-conventions
:shortdesc: warn about use of an unsupported calling convention
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unsupported-calling-conventions
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted for foreign declarations that use
unsupported calling conventions. In particular, if the ``stdcall``
calling convention is used on an architecture other than i386 then
it will be treated as ``ccall``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdodgy-foreign-imports
:shortdesc: warn about dodgy foreign imports
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-dodgy-foreign-import
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted for foreign imports of the following
form: ::

foreign import "f" f :: FunPtr t

on the grounds that it probably should be ::

foreign import "&f" f :: FunPtr t

The first form declares that ``f`` is a (pure) C function that takes
no arguments and returns a pointer to a C function with type ``t``,
whereas the second form declares that ``f`` itself is a C function
with type ``t``. The first declaration is usually a mistake, and one
that is hard to debug because it results in a crash, hence this
warning.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdodgy-exports
:shortdesc: warn about dodgy exports
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-dodgy-exports
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted when a datatype ``T`` is exported
with all constructors, i.e. ``T(..)``, but is it just a type
synonym.

Also causes a warning to be emitted when a module is re-exported,
but that module exports nothing.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wdodgy-imports
:shortdesc: warn about dodgy imports
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-dodgy-imports
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted in the following cases:

- When a datatype ``T`` is imported with all constructors, i.e.
``T(..)``, but has been exported abstractly, i.e. ``T``.

- When an ``import`` statement hides an entity that is not
exported.

.. ghc-flag:: -Woverflowed-literals
:shortdesc: warn about literals that will overflow their type
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-overflowed-literals
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted if a literal will overflow, e.g.
``300 :: Word8``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wempty-enumerations
:shortdesc: warn about enumerations that are empty
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-empty-enumerations
:category:

Causes a warning to be emitted if an enumeration is empty, e.g.
``[5 .. 3]``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wderiving-defaults
:shortdesc: warn about default deriving when using both
:extension:`DeriveAnyClass` and :extension:`GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving`
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-deriving-defaults
:category:

:since: 8.10

Causes a warning when both :extension:`DeriveAnyClass` and
:extension:`GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving` are enabled and no explicit
deriving strategy is in use. For example, this would result a
warning: ::

class C a
newtype T a = MkT a deriving C

.. ghc-flag:: -Wduplicate-constraints
:shortdesc: warn when a constraint appears duplicated in a type signature
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-duplicate-constraints
:category:

.. index::
single: duplicate constraints, warning

Have the compiler warn about duplicate constraints in a type
signature. For example ::

f :: (Eq a, Show a, Eq a) => a -> a

The warning will indicate the duplicated ``Eq a`` constraint.

This option is now deprecated in favour of
:ghc-flag:`-Wredundant-constraints`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wredundant-constraints
:shortdesc: Have the compiler warn about redundant constraints in type
signatures.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-redundant-constraints
:category:

:since: 8.0

.. index::
single: redundant constraints, warning

Have the compiler warn about redundant constraints in a type
signature. In particular:

- A redundant constraint within the type signature itself: ::

f :: (Eq a, Ord a) => a -> a

The warning will indicate the redundant ``Eq a`` constraint: it
is subsumed by the ``Ord a`` constraint.

- A constraint in the type signature is not used in the code it
covers: ::

f :: Eq a => a -> a -> Bool
f x y = True

The warning will indicate the redundant ``Eq a`` constraint: : it
is not used by the definition of ``f``.)

Similar warnings are given for a redundant constraint in an instance
declaration.

When turning on, you can suppress it on a per-module basis with
:ghc-flag:`-Wno-redundant-constraints <-Wredundant-constraints>`.
Occasionally you may specifically want a function to have a more
constrained signature than necessary, perhaps to leave yourself
wiggle-room for changing the implementation without changing the
API. In that case, you can suppress the warning on a per-function
basis, using a call in a dead binding. For example: ::

f :: Eq a => a -> a -> Bool
f x y = True
where
_ = x == x -- Suppress the redundant-constraint warning for (Eq a)

Here the call to ``(==)`` makes GHC think that the ``(Eq a)``
constraint is needed, so no warning is issued.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wduplicate-exports
:shortdesc: warn when an entity is exported multiple times
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-duplicate-exports
:category:

.. index::
single: duplicate exports, warning
single: export lists, duplicates

Have the compiler warn about duplicate entries in export lists. This
is useful information if you maintain large export lists, and want
to avoid the continued export of a definition after you've deleted
(one) mention of it in the export list.

This option is on by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Whi-shadowing
:shortdesc: *(deprecated)*
warn when a ``.hi`` file in the current directory shadows a library
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-hi-shadowing
:category:

.. index::
single: shadowing; interface files

Causes the compiler to emit a warning when a module or interface
file in the current directory is shadowing one with the same module
name in a library or other directory.

This flag was not implemented correctly and is now deprecated.
It will be removed in a later version of GHC.

.. ghc-flag:: -Widentities
:shortdesc: warn about uses of Prelude numeric conversions that are probably
the identity (and hence could be omitted)
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-identities
:category:

Causes the compiler to emit a warning when a Prelude numeric
conversion converts a type ``T`` to the same type ``T``; such calls are
probably no-ops and can be omitted. The functions checked for are:
``toInteger``, ``toRational``, ``fromIntegral``, and ``realToFrac``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wimplicit-kind-vars
:shortdesc: warn when kind variables are implicitly quantified over.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-implicit-kind-vars
:category:

.. index::
single: implicit prelude, warning

Have the compiler warn if a kind variable is not explicitly quantified
over. For instance, the following would produce a warning: ::

f :: forall (a :: k). Proxy a

This can be fixed by explicitly quantifying over ``k``: ::

f :: forall k (a :: k). Proxy a

.. ghc-flag:: -Wimplicit-prelude
:shortdesc: warn when the Prelude is implicitly imported
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-implicit-prelude
:category:

.. index::
single: implicit prelude, warning

Have the compiler warn if the Prelude is implicitly imported. This happens
unless either the Prelude module is explicitly imported with an ``import
... Prelude ...`` line, or this implicit import is disabled (either by
:extension:`NoImplicitPrelude` or a ``LANGUAGE NoImplicitPrelude``
pragma).

Note that no warning is given for syntax that implicitly refers to the
Prelude, even if :extension:`NoImplicitPrelude` would change whether it
refers to the Prelude. For example, no warning is given when ``368`` means
``Prelude.fromInteger (368::Prelude.Integer)`` (where ``Prelude`` refers
to the actual Prelude module, regardless of the imports of the module
being compiled).

This warning is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wincomplete-patterns
:shortdesc: warn when a pattern match could fail
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-incomplete-patterns
:category:

.. index::
single: incomplete patterns, warning
single: patterns, incomplete

The option :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-patterns` warns about places where a
pattern-match might fail at runtime. The function ``g`` below will
fail when applied to non-empty lists, so the compiler will emit a
warning about this when :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-patterns` is enabled. ::

g [] = 2

This option isn't enabled by default because it can be a bit noisy,
and it doesn't always indicate a bug in the program. However, it's
generally considered good practice to cover all the cases in your
functions, and it is switched on by :ghc-flag:`-W`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wincomplete-uni-patterns
:shortdesc: warn when a pattern match in a lambda expression or
pattern binding could fail
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-incomplete-uni-patterns
:category:

The flag :ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-uni-patterns` is similar to
:ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-patterns`, except that it applies only to
lambda-expressions and pattern bindings, constructs that only allow a
single pattern: ::

h = \[] -> 2
Just k = f y

.. ghc-flag:: -fmax-pmcheck-models=⟨n⟩
:shortdesc: soft limit on the number of parallel models the pattern match
checker should check a pattern match clause against
:type: dynamic
:category:

:default: 100

The pattern match checker works by assigning symbolic values to each
pattern. We call each such assignment a 'model'. Now, each pattern match
clause leads to potentially multiple splits of that model, encoding
different ways for the pattern match to fail. For example, when matching
``x`` against ``Just 4``, we split each incoming matching model into two
uncovered sub-models: One where ``x`` is ``Nothing`` and one where ``x`` is
``Just y`` but ``y`` is not ``4``.

This can be exponential in the arity of the pattern and in the number of
guards in some cases. The :ghc-flag:`-fmax-pmcheck-models=⟨n⟩` limit makes sure
we scale polynomially in the number of patterns, by forgetting refined
information gained from a partially successful match. For the above example,
if we had a limit of 1, we would continue checking the next clause with the
original, unrefined model.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wincomplete-record-updates
:shortdesc: warn when a record update could fail
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-incomplete-record-updates
:category:

.. index::
single: incomplete record updates, warning
single: record updates, incomplete

The function ``f`` below will fail when applied to ``Bar``, so the
compiler will emit a warning about this when
:ghc-flag:`-Wincomplete-record-updates` is enabled. ::

data Foo = Foo { x :: Int }
| Bar

f :: Foo -> Foo
f foo = foo { x = 6 }

This option isn't enabled by default because it can be very noisy,
and it often doesn't indicate a bug in the program.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-deriving-strategies
:shortdesc: warn when a deriving clause is missing a deriving strategy
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-deriving-strategies
:category:

:since: 8.8

The datatype below derives the ``Eq`` typeclass, but doesn't specify a
strategy. When :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-deriving-strategies` is enabled,
the compiler will emit a warning about this. ::

data Foo a = Foo a
deriving (Eq)

The compiler will warn here that the deriving clause doesn't specify a
strategy. If the warning is enabled, but :extension:`DerivingStrategies` is
not enabled, the compiler will suggest turning on the
:extension:`DerivingStrategies` extension. This option is not on by default,
having to be turned on manually or with :ghc-flag:`-Weverything`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-fields
:shortdesc: warn when fields of a record are uninitialised
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-fields
:category:

.. index::
single: missing fields, warning
single: fields, missing

This option is on by default, and warns you whenever the
construction of a labelled field constructor isn't complete, missing
initialisers for one or more fields. While not an error (the missing
fields are initialised with bottoms), it is often an indication of a
programmer error.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-export-lists
:shortdesc: warn when a module declaration does not explicitly list all
exports
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fnowarn-missing-export-lists
:category:

:since: 8.4

.. index::
single: missing export lists, warning
single: export lists, missing

This flag warns if you declare a module without declaring an explicit
export list. For example ::

module M where

p x = x

The :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-export-lists` flag will warn that ``M`` does not
declare an export list. Declaring an explicit export list for ``M`` enables
GHC dead code analysis, prevents accidental export of names and can ease
optimizations like inlining.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-import-lists
:shortdesc: warn when an import declaration does not explicitly list all the
names brought into scope
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -fnowarn-missing-import-lists
:category:

.. index::
single: missing import lists, warning
single: import lists, missing

This flag warns if you use an unqualified ``import`` declaration
that does not explicitly list the entities brought into scope. For
example ::

module M where
import X( f )
import Y
import qualified Z
p x = f x x

The :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-import-lists` flag will warn about the import of
``Y`` but not ``X`` If module ``Y`` is later changed to export (say) ``f``,
then the reference to ``f`` in ``M`` will become ambiguous. No warning is
produced for the import of ``Z`` because extending ``Z``\'s exports would be
unlikely to produce ambiguity in ``M``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-methods
:shortdesc: warn when class methods are undefined
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-methods
:category:

.. index::
single: missing methods, warning
single: methods, missing

This option is on by default, and warns you whenever an instance
declaration is missing one or more methods, and the corresponding
class declaration has no default declaration for them.

The ``MINIMAL`` pragma can be used to change which combination of
methods will be required for instances of a particular class. See
:ref:`minimal-pragma`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-signatures
:shortdesc: warn about top-level functions without signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-signatures
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing

If you would like GHC to check that every top-level function/value
has a type signature, use the :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-signatures` option.
As part of the warning GHC also reports the inferred type. The
option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-exported-sigs
:shortdesc: *(deprecated)*
warn about top-level functions without signatures, only if they
are exported. takes precedence over -Wmissing-signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-exported-sigs
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing

This option is now deprecated in favour of
:ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-exported-signatures`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-exported-signatures
:shortdesc: warn about top-level functions without signatures, only if they
are exported. takes precedence over -Wmissing-signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-exported-signatures
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing

If you would like GHC to check that every exported top-level
function/value has a type signature, but not check unexported
values, use the :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-exported-signatures`
option. This option takes precedence over
:ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-signatures`. As part of the warning GHC also
reports the inferred type. The option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-local-sigs
:shortdesc: *(deprecated)*
warn about polymorphic local bindings without signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-local-sigs
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing

This option is now deprecated in favour of
:ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-local-signatures`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-local-signatures
:shortdesc: warn about polymorphic local bindings without signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-local-signatures
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing

If you use the :ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-local-signatures` flag GHC
will warn you about any polymorphic local bindings. As part of the
warning GHC also reports the inferred type. The option is off by
default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-pattern-synonym-signatures
:shortdesc: warn when pattern synonyms do not have type signatures
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-pattern-synonym-signatures
:category:

.. index::
single: type signatures, missing, pattern synonyms

If you would like GHC to check that every pattern synonym has a
type signature, use the
:ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-pattern-synonym-signatures` option. If this
option is used in conjunction with
:ghc-flag:`-Wmissing-exported-signatures` then only exported pattern
synonyms must have a type signature. GHC also reports the inferred
type. This option is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wname-shadowing
:shortdesc: warn when names are shadowed
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-name-shadowing
:category:

.. index::
single: shadowing, warning

This option causes a warning to be emitted whenever an inner-scope
value has the same name as an outer-scope value, i.e. the inner
value shadows the outer one. This can catch typographical errors
that turn into hard-to-find bugs, e.g., in the inadvertent capture
of what would be a recursive call in
``f = ... let f = id in ... f ...``.

The warning is suppressed for names beginning with an underscore.
For example ::

f x = do { _ignore <- this; _ignore <- that; return (the other) }

.. ghc-flag:: -Worphans
:shortdesc: warn when the module contains :ref:`orphan instance declarations
or rewrite rules `
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-orphans
:category:

.. index::
single: orphan instances, warning
single: orphan rules, warning

These flags cause a warning to be emitted whenever the module
contains an "orphan" instance declaration or rewrite rule. An
instance declaration is an orphan if it appears in a module in which
neither the class nor the type being instanced are declared in the
same module. A rule is an orphan if it is a rule for a function
declared in another module. A module containing any orphans is
called an orphan module.

The trouble with orphans is that GHC must pro-actively read the
interface files for all orphan modules, just in case their instances
or rules play a role, whether or not the module's interface would
otherwise be of any use. See :ref:`orphan-modules` for details.

The flag :ghc-flag:`-Worphans` warns about user-written orphan rules or
instances.

.. ghc-flag:: -Woverlapping-patterns
:shortdesc: warn about overlapping patterns
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-overlapping-patterns
:category:

.. index::
single: overlapping patterns, warning
single: patterns, overlapping

By default, the compiler will warn you if a set of patterns are
overlapping, e.g., ::

f :: String -> Int
f [] = 0
f (_:xs) = 1
f "2" = 2

where the last pattern match in ``f`` won't ever be reached, as the
second pattern overlaps it. More often than not, redundant patterns
is a programmer mistake/error, so this option is enabled by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Winaccessible-code
:shortdesc: warn about inaccessible code
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-inaccessible-code
:category:

.. index::
single: inaccessible code, warning
single: inaccessible

By default, the compiler will warn you if types make a branch inaccessible.
This generally requires GADTs or similar extensions.

Take, for example, the following program ::

{-# LANGUAGE GADTs #-}

data Foo a where
Foo1 :: Foo Char
Foo2 :: Foo Int

data TyEquality a b where
Refl :: TyEquality a a

checkTEQ :: Foo t -> Foo u -> Maybe (TyEquality t u)
checkTEQ x y = error "unimportant"

step2 :: Bool
step2 = case checkTEQ Foo1 Foo2 of
Just Refl -> True -- Inaccessible code
Nothing -> False

The ``Just Refl`` case in ``step2`` is inaccessible, because in order for
``checkTEQ`` to be able to produce a ``Just``, ``t ~ u`` must hold, but
since we're passing ``Foo1`` and ``Foo2`` here, it follows that ``t ~
Char``, and ``u ~ Int``, and thus ``t ~ u`` cannot hold.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wstar-is-type
:shortdesc: warn when ``*`` is used to mean ``Data.Kind.Type``
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-star-is-type
:category:

:since: 8.6

The use of ``*`` to denote the kind of inhabited types relies on the
:extension:`StarIsType` extension, which in a future release will be
turned off by default and then possibly removed. The reasons for this and
the deprecation schedule are described in `GHC proposal #30
`__.

This warning allows to detect such uses of ``*`` before the actual
breaking change takes place. The recommended fix is to replace ``*`` with
``Type`` imported from ``Data.Kind``.

Being part of the :ghc-flag:`-Wcompat` option group, this warning is off by
default, but will be switched on in a future GHC release.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wstar-binder
:shortdesc: warn about binding the ``(*)`` type operator despite
:extension:`StarIsType`
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-star-binder

Under :extension:`StarIsType`, a ``*`` in types is not an operator nor
even a name, it is special syntax that stands for ``Data.Kind.Type``. This
means that an expression like ``Either * Char`` is parsed as ``Either (*)
Char`` and not ``(*) Either Char``.

In binding positions, we have similar parsing rules. Consider the following
example ::

{-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators, TypeFamilies, StarIsType #-}

type family a + b
type family a * b

While ``a + b`` is parsed as ``(+) a b`` and becomes a binding position for
the ``(+)`` type operator, ``a * b`` is parsed as ``a (*) b`` and is rejected.

As a workaround, we allow to bind ``(*)`` in prefix form::

type family (*) a b

This is a rather fragile arrangement, as generally a programmer expects
``(*) a b`` to be equivalent to ``a * b``. With :ghc-flag:`-Wstar-binder`
we warn when this special treatment of ``(*)`` takes place.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wsimplifiable-class-constraints
:shortdesc: Warn about class constraints in a type signature that can
be simplified using a top-level instance declaration.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-simplifiable-class-constraints
:category:

:since: 8.2

.. index::
single: simplifiable class constraints, warning

Warn about class constraints in a type signature that can be simplified
using a top-level instance declaration. For example: ::

f :: Eq [a] => a -> a

Here the ``Eq [a]`` in the signature overlaps with the top-level
instance for ``Eq [a]``. GHC goes to some efforts to use the former,
but if it should use the latter, it would then have an
insoluble ``Eq a`` constraint. Best avoided by instead writing: ::

f :: Eq a => a -> a

This option is on by default. As usual you can suppress it on a
per-module basis with :ghc-flag:`-Wno-simplifiable-class-constraints
<-Wsimplifiable-class-constraints>`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wspace-after-bang
:shortdesc: warn for missing space before the second argument
of an infix definition of ``(!)`` when
:extension:`BangPatterns` are not enabled
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-space-after-bang
.. ghc-flag:: -Wtabs
:shortdesc: warn if there are tabs in the source file
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-tabs
:category:

.. index::
single: tabs, warning

Have the compiler warn if there are tabs in your source file.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wtype-defaults
:shortdesc: warn when defaulting happens
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-type-defaults
:category:

.. index::
single: defaulting mechanism, warning

Have the compiler warn/inform you where in your source the Haskell
defaulting mechanism for numeric types kicks in. This is useful
information when converting code from a context that assumed one
default into one with another, e.g., the ‘default default’ for
Haskell 1.4 caused the otherwise unconstrained value ``1`` to be
given the type ``Int``, whereas Haskell 98 and later defaults it to
``Integer``. This may lead to differences in performance and
behaviour, hence the usefulness of being non-silent about this.

This warning is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmonomorphism-restriction
:shortdesc: warn when the Monomorphism Restriction is applied
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-monomorphism-restriction
:category:

.. index::
single: monomorphism restriction, warning

Have the compiler warn/inform you where in your source the Haskell
Monomorphism Restriction is applied. If applied silently the MR can
give rise to unexpected behaviour, so it can be helpful to have an
explicit warning that it is being applied.

This warning is off by default.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunsupported-llvm-version
:shortdesc: Warn when using :ghc-flag:`-fllvm` with an unsupported
version of LLVM.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-monomorphism-restriction
:category:

Warn when using :ghc-flag:`-fllvm` with an unsupported version of LLVM.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissed-extra-shared-lib
:shortdesc: Warn when GHCi can't load a shared lib.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missed-extra-shared-lib
:category:

Warn when GHCi can't load a shared lib it deduced it should load
when loading a package and analyzing the extra-libraries stanza
of the target package description.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunticked-promoted-constructors
:shortdesc: warn if promoted constructors are not ticked
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unticked-promoted-constructors
:category:

.. index::
single: promoted constructor, warning

Warn if a promoted data constructor is used without a tick preceding
its name.

For example: ::

data Nat = Succ Nat | Zero

data Vec n s where
Nil :: Vec Zero a
Cons :: a -> Vec n a -> Vec (Succ n) a

Will raise two warnings because ``Zero`` and ``Succ`` are not
written as ``'Zero`` and ``'Succ``.

This warning is enabled by default in :ghc-flag:`-Wall` mode.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-binds
:shortdesc: warn about bindings that are unused. Alias for
:ghc-flag:`-Wunused-top-binds`, :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-local-binds` and
:ghc-flag:`-Wunused-pattern-binds`
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-binds
:category:

.. index::
single: unused binds, warning
single: binds, unused

Report any function definitions (and local bindings) which are
unused. An alias for

- :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-top-binds`
- :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-local-binds`
- :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-pattern-binds`

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-top-binds
:shortdesc: warn about top-level bindings that are unused
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-top-binds
:category:

.. index::
single: unused binds, warning
single: binds, unused

Report any function definitions which are unused.

More precisely, warn if a binding brings into scope a variable that
is not used, except if the variable's name starts with an
underscore. The "starts-with-underscore" condition provides a way to
selectively disable the warning.

A variable is regarded as "used" if

- It is exported, or

- It appears in the right hand side of a binding that binds at
least one used variable that is used

For example: ::

module A (f) where
f = let (p,q) = rhs1 in t p -- No warning: q is unused, but is locally bound
t = rhs3 -- No warning: f is used, and hence so is t
g = h x -- Warning: g unused
h = rhs2 -- Warning: h is only used in the
-- right-hand side of another unused binding
_w = True -- No warning: _w starts with an underscore

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-local-binds
:shortdesc: warn about local bindings that are unused
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-local-binds
:category:

.. index::
single: unused binds, warning
single: binds, unused

Report any local definitions which are unused. For example: ::

module A (f) where
f = let (p,q) = rhs1 in t p -- Warning: q is unused
g = h x -- No warning: g is unused, but is a top-level binding

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-pattern-binds
:shortdesc: warn about pattern match bindings that are unused
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-pattern-binds
:category:

.. index::
single: unused binds, warning
single: binds, unused

Warn if a pattern binding binds no variables at all, unless it is a
lone wild-card pattern, or a banged pattern. For example: ::

Just _ = rhs3 -- Warning: unused pattern binding
(_, _) = rhs4 -- Warning: unused pattern binding
_ = rhs3 -- No warning: lone wild-card pattern
!() = rhs4 -- No warning: banged pattern; behaves like seq

In general a lazy pattern binding `p = e` is a no-op if `p` does not
bind any variables.
The motivation for allowing lone wild-card patterns is they are not
very different from ``_v = rhs3``, which elicits no warning; and
they can be useful to add a type constraint, e.g. ``_ = x::Int``. A
banged pattern (see :ref:`bang-patterns`) is *not* a no-op, because
it forces evaluation, and is useful as an alternative to ``seq``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-imports
:shortdesc: warn about unnecessary imports
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-imports
:category:

.. index::
single: unused imports, warning
single: imports, unused

Report any modules that are explicitly imported but never used.
However, the form ``import M()`` is never reported as an unused
import, because it is a useful idiom for importing instance
declarations, which are anonymous in Haskell.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-matches
:shortdesc: warn about variables in patterns that aren't used
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-matches
:category:

.. index::
single: unused matches, warning
single: matches, unused

Report all unused variables which arise from term-level pattern matches,
including patterns consisting of a single variable. For instance
``f x y = []`` would report ``x`` and ``y`` as unused. The warning
is suppressed if the variable name begins with an underscore, thus: ::

f _x = True

Note that :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-matches` does not warn about variables which
arise from type-level patterns, as found in type family and data family
instances. This must be enabled separately through the
:ghc-flag:`-Wunused-type-patterns` flag.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-do-bind
:shortdesc: warn about do bindings that appear to throw away values of types
other than ``()``
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-do-bind
:category:

.. index::
single: unused do binding, warning
single: do binding, unused

Report expressions occurring in ``do`` and ``mdo`` blocks that
appear to silently throw information away. For instance
``do { mapM popInt xs ; return 10 }`` would report the first
statement in the ``do`` block as suspicious, as it has the type
``StackM [Int]`` and not ``StackM ()``, but that ``[Int]`` value is
not bound to anything. The warning is suppressed by explicitly
mentioning in the source code that your program is throwing
something away: ::

do { _ <- mapM popInt xs ; return 10 }

Of course, in this particular situation you can do even better: ::

do { mapM_ popInt xs ; return 10 }

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-type-patterns
:shortdesc: warn about unused type variables which arise from patterns in
in type family and data family instances
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-type-patterns
:category:

.. index::
single: unused type patterns, warning
single: type patterns, unused

Report all unused implicitly bound type variables which arise from
patterns in type family and data family instances. For instance: ::

type instance F x y = []

would report ``x`` and ``y`` as unused on the right hand side. The warning
is suppressed if the type variable name begins with an underscore, like
so: ::

type instance F _x _y = []

When :extension:`ExplicitForAll` is enabled, explicitly quantified type
variables may also be identified as unused. For instance: ::

type instance forall x y. F x y = []

would still report ``x`` and ``y`` as unused on the right hand side

Unlike :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-matches`, :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-type-patterns` is
not implied by :ghc-flag:`-Wall`. The rationale for this decision is that
unlike term-level pattern names, type names are often chosen expressly for
documentation purposes, so using underscores in type names can make the
documentation harder to read.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-foralls
:shortdesc: warn about type variables in user-written
``forall``\\s that are unused
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-foralls
:category:

.. index::
single: unused foralls, warning
single: foralls, unused

Report all unused type variables which arise from explicit, user-written
``forall`` statements. For instance: ::

g :: forall a b c. (b -> b)

would report ``a`` and ``c`` as unused.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-record-wildcards
:shortdesc: Warn about record wildcard matches when none of the bound variables
are used.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-record-wildcards
:category:

:since: 8.10

.. index::
single: unused, warning, record wildcards

Report all record wildcards where none of the variables bound implicitly
are used. For instance: ::

data P = P { x :: Int, y :: Int }

f1 :: P -> Int
f1 P{..} = 1 + 3

would report that the ``P{..}`` match is unused.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wredundant-record-wildcards
:shortdesc: Warn about record wildcard matches when the wildcard binds no patterns.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-redundant-record-wildcards
:category:

:since: 8.10

.. index::
single: unused, warning, record wildcards

Report all record wildcards where the wild card match binds no patterns.
For instance: ::

data P = P { x :: Int, y :: Int }

f1 :: P -> Int
f1 P{x,y,..} = x + y

would report that the ``P{x, y, ..}`` match has a redundant use of ``..``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wwrong-do-bind
:shortdesc: warn about do bindings that appear to throw away monadic values
that you should have bound instead
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-wrong-do-bind
:category:

.. index::
single: apparently erroneous do binding, warning
single: do binding, apparently erroneous

Report expressions occurring in ``do`` and ``mdo`` blocks that
appear to lack a binding. For instance
``do { return (popInt 10) ; return 10 }`` would report the first
statement in the ``do`` block as suspicious, as it has the type
``StackM (StackM Int)`` (which consists of two nested applications
of the same monad constructor), but which is not then "unpacked" by
binding the result. The warning is suppressed by explicitly
mentioning in the source code that your program is throwing
something away: ::

do { _ <- return (popInt 10) ; return 10 }

For almost all sensible programs this will indicate a bug, and you
probably intended to write: ::

do { popInt 10 ; return 10 }

.. ghc-flag:: -Winline-rule-shadowing
:shortdesc: Warn if a rewrite RULE might fail to fire because the
function might be inlined before the rule has a chance to fire.
See :ref:`rules-inline`.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-inline-rule-shadowing
:category:

Warn if a rewrite RULE might fail to fire because the function might
be inlined before the rule has a chance to fire. See
:ref:`rules-inline`.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wcpp-undef
:shortdesc: warn on uses of the `#if` directive on undefined identifiers
:type: dynamic
:category:

:since: 8.2

This flag passes ``-Wundef`` to the C pre-processor (if its being used)
which causes the pre-processor to warn on uses of the `#if` directive on
undefined identifiers.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunbanged-strict-patterns
:shortdesc: warn on pattern bind of unlifted variable that is neither bare
nor banged
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unbanged-strict-patterns
:category:

This flag warns whenever you write a pattern that binds a variable whose
type is unlifted, and yet the pattern is not a bang pattern nor a bare variable.
See :ref:`glasgow-unboxed` for information about unlifted types.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wmissing-home-modules
:shortdesc: warn when encountering a home module imported, but not listed
on the command line. Useful for cabal to ensure GHC won't pick
up modules, not listed neither in ``exposed-modules``, nor in
``other-modules``.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-missing-home-modules
:category:

:since: 8.2

When a module provided by the package currently being compiled
(i.e. the "home" package) is imported, but not explicitly listed in
command line as a target. Useful for Cabal to ensure GHC won't
pick up modules, not listed neither in ``exposed-modules``, nor in
``other-modules``.

.. ghc-flag:: -Wpartial-fields
:shortdesc: warn when defining a partial record field.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-partial-fields
:category:

:since: 8.4

The option :ghc-flag:`-Wpartial-fields` warns about record fields that could
fail when accessed via a lacking constructor. The function ``f`` below will
fail when applied to ``Bar``, so the compiler will emit a warning at its
definition when :ghc-flag:`-Wpartial-fields` is enabled.

The warning is suppressed if the field name begins with an underscore. ::

data Foo = Foo { f :: Int } | Bar

.. ghc-flag:: -Wunused-packages
:shortdesc: warn when package is requested on command line, but was never loaded.
:type: dynamic
:reverse: -Wno-unused-packages
:category:

:since: 8.10

The option :ghc-flag:`-Wunused-packages` warns about packages, specified on
command line via :ghc-flag:`-package ⟨pkg⟩` or
:ghc-flag:`-package-id ⟨unit-id⟩`, but were not loaded during compication.
Usually it means that you have an unused dependency.

You may want to enable this warning on a clean build or enable :ghc-flag:`-fforce-recomp`
in order to get reliable results.

If you're feeling really paranoid, the :ghc-flag:`-dcore-lint` option is a good choice.
It turns on heavyweight intra-pass sanity-checking within GHC. (It checks GHC's
sanity, not yours.)