Remove zero-violation JSON noise and restore concise LLM guidance

src/cli/orchestrator.ts

@@ -619,7 +619,6 @@ function routePromptResult(
     const { decisions, surfacedViolations } = getViolationFilterResults(
       result.violations
     );
-    const violationCount = surfacedViolations.length;
 
     // Score calculated from surfaced violations only — matches what user sees
     const scored = calculateCheckScore(
@@ -631,7 +630,6 @@ function routePromptResult(
       }
     );
     const severity = scored.severity;
-
     // Group violations by criterionName
     const violationsByCriterion = new Map<
       string | undefined,
@@ -681,22 +679,6 @@ function routePromptResult(
       }
     }
 
-    // If no violations but we have a message (JSON output), report it
-    if (violationCount === 0 && (outputFormat === OutputFormat.Json || outputFormat === OutputFormat.ValeJson) && scored.message) {
-      const ruleName = buildRuleName(promptFile.pack, promptId, undefined);
-      reportIssue({
-        file: relFile,
-        line: 1,
-        column: 1,
-        severity,
-        summary: scored.message,
-        ruleName,
-        outputFormat,
-        jsonFormatter,
-        match: "",
-      });
-    }
-
     // Create scoreEntry for Quality Scores display
     const scoreEntry: EvaluationSummary = {
       id: buildRuleName(promptFile.pack, promptId, undefined),

src/prompts/schema.ts

@@ -52,8 +52,15 @@ export function buildJudgeLLMSchema() {
                     context_before: { type: "string" },
                     context_after: { type: "string" },
                     description: { type: "string" },
-                    analysis: { type: "string" },
-                    suggestion: { type: "string" },
+                    analysis: {
+                      type: "string",
+                      description:
+                        "A concise 1-2 sentence explanation of the specific issue.",
+                    },
+                    suggestion: {
+                      type: "string",
+                      description: "Suggest a fix in 15 words or less.",
+                    },
                     fix: { type: "string" },
                     rule_quote: { type: "string" },
                     checks: {
@@ -156,8 +163,15 @@ export function buildCheckLLMSchema() {
               context_before: { type: "string" },
               context_after: { type: "string" },
               description: { type: "string" },
-              analysis: { type: "string" },
-              suggestion: { type: "string" },
+              analysis: {
+                type: "string",
+                description:
+                  "A concise 1-2 sentence explanation of the specific issue.",
+              },
+              suggestion: {
+                type: "string",
+                description: "Suggest a fix in 15 words or less.",
+              },
               fix: { type: "string" },
               rule_quote: { type: "string" },
               checks: {

tests/orchestrator-filtering.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ import path from "path";
 import { evaluateFiles } from "../src/cli/orchestrator";
 import { OutputFormat, type EvaluationOptions } from "../src/cli/types";
 import { EvaluationType, Severity } from "../src/evaluators/types";
+import type { Result } from "../src/output/json-formatter";
 import type { PromptFile } from "../src/prompts/prompt-loader";
+import type { ValeOutput } from "../src/schemas/vale-responses";
 import type { JudgeResult, RawCheckResult } from "../src/prompts/schema";
 
 const { EVALUATE_MOCK } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -358,4 +360,74 @@ describe("CLI violation filtering", () => {
     );
     expect(zeroThresholdRun.totalWarnings).toBe(2);
   });
+
+  it("does not emit dummy issues in JSON output when no violations are surfaced", async () => {
+    const targetFile = createTempFile("Alpha text\n");
+    const prompt = createPrompt({
+      id: "CheckJsonPrompt",
+      name: "Check JSON Prompt",
+      type: "check",
+      severity: Severity.WARNING,
+    });
+
+    EVALUATE_MOCK.mockResolvedValue(
+      makeCheckResult({
+        violations: [
+          makeCheckViolation({
+            confidence: 0.2,
+          }),
+        ],
+      })
+    );
+
+    const run = await evaluateFiles([targetFile], {
+      ...createBaseOptions([prompt]),
+      outputFormat: OutputFormat.Json,
+    });
+
+    expect(run.totalWarnings).toBe(0);
+
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(
+      String(vi.mocked(console.log).mock.calls.at(-1)?.[0])
+    ) as Result;
+    const allIssues = Object.values(parsed.files).flatMap((file) => file.issues);
+
+    expect(allIssues).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(JSON.stringify(parsed)).not.toContain("No issues found");
+  });
+
+  it("does not emit dummy issues in Vale JSON output when no violations are surfaced", async () => {
+    const targetFile = createTempFile("Alpha text\n");
+    const prompt = createPrompt({
+      id: "CheckValeJsonPrompt",
+      name: "Check Vale JSON Prompt",
+      type: "check",
+      severity: Severity.WARNING,
+    });
+
+    EVALUATE_MOCK.mockResolvedValue(
+      makeCheckResult({
+        violations: [
+          makeCheckViolation({
+            confidence: 0.2,
+          }),
+        ],
+      })
+    );
+
+    const run = await evaluateFiles([targetFile], {
+      ...createBaseOptions([prompt]),
+      outputFormat: OutputFormat.ValeJson,
+    });
+
+    expect(run.totalWarnings).toBe(0);
+
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(
+      String(vi.mocked(console.log).mock.calls.at(-1)?.[0])
+    ) as ValeOutput;
+    const allIssues = Object.values(parsed).flat();
+
+    expect(allIssues).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(JSON.stringify(parsed)).not.toContain("No issues found");
+  });
 });

tests/prompt-schema.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { buildCheckLLMSchema, buildJudgeLLMSchema } from "../src/prompts/schema";
+
+describe("prompt schema verbosity constraints", () => {
+  it("includes concise analysis and suggestion descriptions for check schema", () => {
+    const schema = buildCheckLLMSchema();
+    const violationProperties =
+      schema.schema.properties.violations.items.properties;
+
+    expect(violationProperties.analysis).toEqual({
+      type: "string",
+      description: "A concise 1-2 sentence explanation of the specific issue.",
+    });
+    expect(violationProperties.suggestion).toEqual({
+      type: "string",
+      description: "Suggest a fix in 15 words or less.",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("includes concise analysis and suggestion descriptions for judge schema", () => {
+    const schema = buildJudgeLLMSchema();
+    const violationProperties =
+      schema.schema.properties.criteria.items.properties.violations.items
+        .properties;
+
+    expect(violationProperties.analysis).toEqual({
+      type: "string",
+      description: "A concise 1-2 sentence explanation of the specific issue.",
+    });
+    expect(violationProperties.suggestion).toEqual({
+      type: "string",
+      description: "Suggest a fix in 15 words or less.",
+    });
+  });
+});