Support configuration file in parent directory of CWD

[zhimsel]

I understand this tool supports merging/overriding a hierarchy of configuration files in parent directories of the target file to lint. However, it does not appear to consider configuration files in anything above the current working directory.

Consider this directory structure:

.
├── .markdownlint.yaml
└── foo
    ├── .markdownlint.yaml
    └── bar
        └── baz.md

If I run markdownlint-cli2 from the root of this directory tree, then both .markdownlint.yaml and foo/.markdownlint.yaml will be used to lint foo/bar/baz.md.

However, if I change my directory to foo, then run it again, only foo/.markdownlint.yaml is used. If I then change to foo/bar, then neither will be used.

This is counterintuitive considering the behavior of nested/parent configs below the current directory. One would expect that relationship to work the other way, too.

[DavidAnson]

Scanning is rooted from the current directory when the tool is run. The behavior you describe is therefore expected. The alternative is to scan every parent directory all the way up to the root of the file system which would be a performance hit and feels to me like a security/expectation violation. That said, I am aware some other tools do so.

[DavidAnson]

Note all the time and energy ESLint spends describing this behavior and all the implications/unexpected side effects: https://eslint.org/docs/latest/user-guide/configuring/configuration-files#cascading-and-hierarchy

[zhimsel]

Understood, thanks. I wasn't sure if this was a bug or intended behavior. I can see merits for both approaches, and I wouldn't suggest changing the approach used here.