# How to Validate Local Changes Before Pushing to rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch > Validate local changes for rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch before pushing. Run the curriculum audit, README counter, and unit tests for structural and functional verification. - Repository: [Rohit Ghumare/ai-engineering-from-scratch](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-06-13 --- **Run the three-step validation suite—curriculum audit, README counter verification, and unit tests—to ensure every lesson passes structural and functional validation before pushing to the repository.** Contributing to the **rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch** curriculum requires strict validation of local changes to maintain repository integrity. Before you push any modifications, you must validate local changes against the automated workflow that checks documentation, metadata consistency, and code functionality. The validation pipeline runs entirely on your workstation and must exit with code 0 before you commit. ## The Three-Step Validation Workflow The repository provides automated scripts in `scripts/` that enforce curriculum invariants. Each step must return exit code 0 before you commit or push. ### Step 1: Audit the Curriculum Structure The [`audit_lessons.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/audit_lessons.py) script performs static analysis across all `phases/*/*` directories to catch naming, documentation, and schema violations. In [`scripts/audit_lessons.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/scripts/audit_lessons.py), the script validates: - Lesson directory naming against the `LESION_DIR_RE` pattern - Presence of [`docs/en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/docs/en.md) containing a top-level H1 heading via `check_docs_en_md` - Non-empty `code/` directories via `check_code_main` - [`quiz.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/quiz.json) schema conformity via `check_quiz` - Resolvable internal markdown links via `check_internal_links` ```bash python scripts/audit_lessons.py ``` A clean run outputs `audit_lessons.py — 503 lesson(s) checked, 0 issue(s)` and exits with code 0. If issues exist, the script exits with code 1 and reports specific violations. ### Step 2: Verify README Counters The [`check_readme_counts.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/check_readme_counts.py) script ensures hard-coded badge numbers in [`README.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/README.md) match the canonical [`catalog.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/catalog.json) totals, preventing drift in public lesson counts. ```bash python scripts/check_readme_counts.py ``` If counts mismatch (e.g., README shows 502 lessons but [`catalog.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/catalog.json) lists 503), the script reports specific discrepancies and exits with code 1. To automatically rewrite the README with correct counts, run: ```bash python scripts/check_readme_counts.py --fix ``` ### Step 3: Run Unit Tests Every lesson contains a `tests/` directory validating its `code/` implementation. Navigate to the specific lesson directory and execute the language-specific test runner. For Python lessons: ```bash cd phases/03-deep-learning-core/02-multi-layer-networks python -m unittest discover -v ``` For TypeScript lessons: ```bash npx tsx --test ``` For Rust lessons: ```bash cargo test ``` For Julia lessons: ```bash julia --project -e 'using Test; include("test/runtests.jl")' ``` All tests must pass with exit code 0 before pushing. ## Summary - **Run the curriculum audit** with `python scripts/audit_lessons.py` to check naming conventions, documentation H1 headers, quiz schemas, and internal links in `phases/*/*/`. - **Verify README counts** using `python scripts/check_readme_counts.py` to ensure badge numbers match [`catalog.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/catalog.json) totals; apply `--fix` for automatic correction. - **Execute unit tests** in each lesson's `tests/` directory using the appropriate language runner (Python, TypeScript, Rust, or Julia) as defined in the repository's [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/AGENTS.md). - **Require exit code 0** from all three steps before committing; a non-zero status indicates blocking issues that must be resolved. - **Commit one lesson per commit** when adding new content, ensuring each change passes the full validation suite. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does the audit script check for specifically? The [`audit_lessons.py`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/audit_lessons.py) script validates directory naming against `LESION_DIR_RE` patterns, verifies every lesson contains [`docs/en.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/docs/en.md) with a top-level H1 via `check_docs_en_md`, ensures `code/` directories are non-empty via `check_code_main`, validates [`quiz.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/quiz.json) schema compliance via `check_quiz`, and confirms all internal markdown links resolve correctly via `check_internal_links`. ### How do I automatically fix README badge count mismatches? Run `python scripts/check_readme_counts.py --fix` to automatically rewrite the hard-coded badge URLs in [`README.md`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/README.md) to match the actual totals in [`catalog.json`](https://github.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/blob/main/catalog.json). Without the `--fix` flag, the script only reports discrepancies and exits with code 1. ### Which test command should I use for my specific lesson? The test command depends on the lesson's implementation language found in `phases/*/*/code/`. For Python lessons, use `python -m unittest discover -v`. For TypeScript, use `npx tsx --test`. For Rust, use `cargo test`. For Julia, use `julia --project -e 'using Test; include("test/runtests.jl")'`. ### Can I push changes if only one validation step fails? No. All three steps must exit with code 0 before pushing. The repository's contribution policy requires that every change passes the curriculum audit, README count verification, and unit tests to prevent broken links, malformed quiz files, and failing code from entering the main branch.