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+Flake8
+======
+
+`Flake8`_ is a popular lint wrapper for python. Under the hood, it runs three other tools and
+combines their results:
+
+* `pep8`_ for checking style
+* `pyflakes`_ for checking syntax
+* `mccabe`_ for checking complexity
+
+
+Run Locally
+-----------
+
+The mozlint integration of flake8 can be run using mach:
+
+.. parsed-literal::
+
+    $ mach lint --linter flake8 <file paths>
+
+Alternatively, omit the ``--linter flake8`` and run all configured linters, which will include
+flake8.
+
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+Only directories explicitly whitelisted will have flake8 run against them. To enable flake8 linting
+in a source directory, it must be added to the ``include`` directive in ```tools/lint/flake8.lint``.
+If you wish to exclude a subdirectory of an included one, you can add it to the ``exclude``
+directive.
+
+The default configuration file lives in ``topsrcdir/.flake8``. The default configuration can be
+overriden for a given subdirectory by creating a new ``.flake8`` file in the subdirectory. Be warned
+that ``.flake8`` files cannot inherit from one another, so all configuration you wish to keep must
+be re-defined.
+
+.. warning::
+
+    Only ``.flake8`` files that live in a directory that is explicitly included in the ``include``
+    directive will be considered. See `bug 1277851`_ for more details.
+
+For an overview of the supported configuration, see `flake8's documentation`_.
+
+.. _Flake8: https://flake8.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
+.. _pep8: http://pep8.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
+.. _pyflakes: https://github.com/pyflakes/pyflakes
+.. _mccabe: https://github.com/pycqa/mccabe
+.. _bug 1277851: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1277851
+.. _flake8's documentation: https://flake8.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config.html