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Engine messages hard-code CLI flag names; give them structured codes instead

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Assessment

Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Newbie friendliness
35/100
Issue type
Refactor
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
go
Domain
backend-api-design, cli

Research direction

Start by reading the message strings in internal/scan/runner.go, options.go, scope.go, verdict.go, internal/dns/resolver.go and transport.go, then inspect the rewrite tables in pkg/subenum/subenum.go and their tests. The issue allows either structured codes and settings or neutral setting names, but replacing message parsing across engine and front ends is broad design work. Done means no engine message hard-codes CLI flags and the CLI, TUI and pkg/subenum each present settings in their own terms without parsing message text.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

area: scan enhancement

Why it matters

Engine messages name command-line flags ("Use -force to scan anyway", "set -max-queries or -force", "concurrency (-t) must be at least 1"). That reads well in the CLI but is wrong anywhere else: the TUI has form fields, and pkg/subenum callers have Config fields, not flags.

Evidence

  • About 40 flag references in message strings across internal/scan/runner.go, options.go, scope.go, verdict.go and internal/dns/resolver.go, transport.go.
  • pkg/subenum works around this with a regexp that rewrites -flag to the matching Config field (flagFields and fieldNames in pkg/subenum/subenum.go). It works and is tested, but a new message that names a flag missing from the table gets through unchanged.

Suggested approach

  • Give events and validation errors a structured part: a code such as wildcard_refused or cap_reached, and the setting involved (force, max_queries). Each front end then writes its own wording.
  • Or, as a smaller step, have the engine refer to settings by neutral names and let each front end map them.
  • Delete the regexp rewrite in pkg/subenum once the engine no longer writes flag names.

Done when

No engine message hard-codes a CLI flag, and the CLI, the TUI and pkg/subenum each name settings in their own terms without parsing message text.

Dominant language
Go
Stars
1
Forks
1
Avg merge
5d 2h
Merged PRs (30d)
3

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