# H4.5: Referenced project file is missing

An instruction sends the agent to a project file that does not exist.

<div class="rule-facts"><span>H4.5</span><span>MEDIUM</span><span>LintLang 0.8.0</span></div>

**Applies to:** Eligible instruction or skill Markdown read from disk. Manual repair; no automatic fix for this example.

## What triggers it

Requires a literal relative path with a directory part and known extension, in backticks or a Markdown link outside a code fence. The first directory must exist; neither document-relative nor repository-root resolution may find the file. Creation, removal, rename, and example language is excluded.

## How to repair it

Correct the path to the existing file, or remove the reference if the procedure no longer requires it.

## Reproduce the finding

Use [uv and Python 3.10+](/docs/install), plus curl. Run the examples in a scratch directory.

[Download the finding example](/examples/rules/h4.5-bad.md).

```markdown
---
name: invoice-review
description: "Use when the user asks to review an invoice."
---

# Invoice review

Compare the invoice total with its line items. Report discrepancies by line number.

Read `docs/invoice-policy-old.md` before checking totals.
```

```sh
mkdir -p rule-check/docs
curl -fsS https://lintlang.ai/examples/rules/invoice-policy.md -o rule-check/docs/invoice-policy.md
curl -fsS https://lintlang.ai/examples/rules/h4.5-bad.md -o rule-check/invoice-review.md
uvx --from lintlang==0.8.0 lintlang scan rule-check/invoice-review.md --format json
```

Expected with **0.8.0**: the JSON report includes **H4.5**, severity **MEDIUM**. The example creates docs/invoice-policy.md beside the fixture; the stale docs/invoice-policy-old.md reference is intentionally absent. H4.5 does not run on stdin.

## Improved example

[Download the improved example](/examples/rules/h4.5-improved.md).

```markdown
---
name: invoice-review
description: "Use when the user asks to review an invoice."
---

# Invoice review

Compare the invoice total with its line items. Report discrepancies by line number.

Read `docs/invoice-policy.md` before checking totals.
```

```sh
mkdir -p rule-check/docs
curl -fsS https://lintlang.ai/examples/rules/invoice-policy.md -o rule-check/docs/invoice-policy.md
curl -fsS https://lintlang.ai/examples/rules/h4.5-improved.md -o rule-check/invoice-review.md
uvx --from lintlang==0.8.0 lintlang scan rule-check/invoice-review.md --format json
```

Expected with **0.8.0**: **H4.5 is absent**. Other diagnostics may still appear; this repair targets the rule above.

Both commands use advisory mode: a finding does not itself make the command fail. To fail CI on MEDIUM findings, add --fail-on review. --fail-on fail gates only HIGH and CRITICAL. See [outputs and exit codes](/docs/outputs).

## Detection details

<details>
<summary>Released H4 detection contract and scope</summary>

Checks selected unscoped requests to remember everything or use all conversation,
history, or context; unbounded always-remember language; and, for chat prompts
only, long prompts without recognized boundary markers. It does not inspect a
host's actual context window.

H4.5 (MEDIUM; only `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `GEMINI.md`, `SKILL.md`, Copilot
instruction files and files with skill front matter, read from disk) reports a
referenced project file that does not exist. It needs all of: a literal relative
path with a directory part and a known file extension, in backticks or a Markdown
link, outside fenced code; a first segment that exists beside the document or at
the repository root; a path that resolves from neither; and a line that does not
talk about creating, renaming, removing or exemplifying it. It reads the
filesystem, so it does not run on standard input, and it is deliberately quiet:
directories, globs, placeholders and paths into other projects are never reported.

</details>

Related: [H4: Context Boundary Erosion](/rules/h4).

[All scan rules](/rules) · [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart) · [Separate preflight checks](/docs/preflight).