Your first rule file

In this tutorial you write a rule file that reports clips played faster than 200 %, load it in the PPROLint panel and see it report a clip of your sequence. You need Premiere Pro with PPROLint installed and a text editor.

Prefer menus to JSON? The same rule is built in the rule editor in Your first rule.

1. Create the fileCopy Anchor Link

A rule file is named after its id: <id>.rule.json. The id is lower-case words joined by hyphens, and it never changes once the rule is in use. Create max-clip-speed.rule.json:

{
  "formatVersion": 1,
  "id": "max-clip-speed",
  "name": "Fast clips",
  "description": "Reports clips played faster than 200 %.",
  "category": "static",
  "scope": "clip",
  "severity": "warning",
  "checks": [
    {
      "condition": { "field": "clip.speed", "operator": "greaterThan", "value": 2 },
      "message": "Clip \"{clip.name}\" on {clip.track} plays at {clip.speed}× speed."
    }
  ]
}

What each property does:

• formatVersion is always 1.
• name and description are what the panel's Rules settings show.
• category sorts the rule among the others. static means the rule inspects a fact of one item, without comparing it with other clips.
• scope: "clip" runs the check once for every clip of the sequence.
• severity is how serious a report is: info, warning or error.
• checks holds the condition and the message. clip.speed is a field: 1 is normal speed, so greaterThan 2 means faster than 200 %. In the message, {clip.name}, {clip.track} and {clip.speed} are replaced by the clip's values.

2. Load it in PremiereCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the PPROLint panel's settings and choose Rules.
2. Click Open rules folder and save max-clip-speed.rule.json in that folder.
3. Click Reload rules. Fast clips appears in the list, marked Custom rule.

To try it, set a clip's speed to 300 % (Clip > Speed/Duration) and run a check. The panel reports:

Clip "Interview" on V1 plays at 3× speed.

If the rule does not appear, the Rules settings list the file with its problems above the rules. Each problem gives the JSON path of the faulty value; see Troubleshooting.

3. Leave disabled clips aloneCopy Anchor Link

A disabled clip does not play, so its speed does not matter. Combine two conditions with all: every one must hold.

"condition": {
  "all": [
    { "field": "clip.disabled", "operator": "equals", "value": false },
    { "field": "clip.speed", "operator": "greaterThan", "value": 2 }
  ]
}

4. Make the limit an optionCopy Anchor Link

A fixed 2 suits one project, not every one. Declare an option with a default, and refer to it as options.maxSpeed in the condition and the message:

{
  "formatVersion": 1,
  "id": "max-clip-speed",
  "name": "Fast clips",
  "description": "Reports clips played faster than the allowed speed.",
  "category": "static",
  "scope": "clip",
  "severity": "warning",
  "options": {
    "maxSpeed": { "type": "number", "default": 2, "description": "Highest allowed speed; 1 is 100 %." }
  },
  "checks": [
    {
      "condition": {
        "all": [
          { "field": "clip.disabled", "operator": "equals", "value": false },
          { "field": "clip.speed", "operator": "greaterThan", "value": { "field": "options.maxSpeed" } }
        ]
      },
      "message": "Clip \"{clip.name}\" on {clip.track} plays at {clip.speed}× speed (maximum {options.maxSpeed}×)."
    }
  ],
  "data": { "speed": "clip.speed", "maxSpeed": "options.maxSpeed" }
}

{ "field": "options.maxSpeed" } in place of a literal value compares the speed with the option. The data entries attach the measured speed and the limit to every report, so the panel can show them.

Save the file and click Reload rules again.

5. Edit it in the panelCopy Anchor Link

Click the cogwheel next to Fast clips in the Rules settings. The rule editor shows every property of your file: change maxSpeed to 1.5, save, and the editor writes the file back. You can switch between the editor and your text editor at any time.

What you learnedCopy Anchor Link

• A rule is one JSON file with a stable id, dropped in the rules folder.
• The scope decides which items the check runs against; fields are the values of those items.
• Conditions compare fields with values and combine with all, any and not.
• Options make thresholds configurable; messages and data explain each report.

Next, read How rules work, or browse the built-in rules for complete examples.