github / github/codeql

Rust: False positive for unused variable names

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#22,342 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
false-positive
Dominant language
CodeQL
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Description

**Description of the false positive**

CodeQL seems to produce false positives for Rust variables in format strings.

**Code samples or links to source code**

On 2026-08-13, the folllowing Rust snippet got [flagged](https://github.com/alltheplaces/osm-diffs/security/code-scanning/30) by CodeQL on https://github.com/alltheplaces/osm-diffs/pull/660. CodeQL posted a notice, claiming `Variable 'name' is not used`. However, the variable _does_ get used in this snippet, via a `format!` macro. We also check for unused variables with clippy, which does not flag an unused variable for this code. So, this looks like a false positive from CodeQL.

```rust
let producers: Vec<_> = sources
.into_iter()
.map(|(name, reader)| {
let tx = tx.clone();
s.spawn(move || -> Result<()> {
for record in reader.iter()? {
let bytes = record?;
let fti = FeatureToIndex::decode(bytes.as_slice()).with_context(|| {
format!("failed to decode a FeatureToIndex record from {name}")
})?;
tx.send(fti)?;
progress_bar.inc(1);
}
Ok(())
})
})
.collect();
```

**URL to the alert on GitHub code scanning (optional)**

https://github.com/alltheplaces/osm-diffs/security/code-scanning/30

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the linked code-scanning alert and the Rust snippet, then trace the CodeQL Rust unused-variable query's handling of format! interpolation. Done means the query no longer reports `name` as unused while still detecting genuinely unused variables.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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