More readable error message for invalid queries block and invalid query-filters block

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## [UNRELEASED]
 
-No user facing changes.
+- Improve error messages when the code scanning configuration file includes an invalid `queries` block or an invalid `query-filters` block. [#1208](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/1208)
 
 ## 2.1.20 - 22 Aug 2022
 

src/analyze.test.ts

@@ -313,6 +313,16 @@ test("validateQueryFilters", (t) => {
     },
     { message: /Only "include" or "exclude" filters are allowed/ }
   );
+
+  t.throws(
+    () => {
+      return validateQueryFilters({ exclude: "foo" } as any);
+    },
+    {
+      message:
+        /Query filters must be an array of "include" or "exclude" entries/,
+    }
+  );
 });
 
 const convertPackToQuerySuiteEntryMacro = test.macro({

src/analyze.ts

@@ -593,6 +593,12 @@ export function validateQueryFilters(queryFilters?: configUtils.QueryFilter[]) {
     return [];
   }
 
+  if (!Array.isArray(queryFilters)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Query filters must be an array of "include" or "exclude" entries. Found ${typeof queryFilters}`
+    );
+  }
+
   const errors: string[] = [];
   for (const qf of queryFilters) {
     const keys = Object.keys(qf);

src/config-utils.test.ts

@@ -1328,7 +1328,7 @@ doInvalidInputTest(
   queries:
   - uses:
       - hello: world`,
-  configUtils.getQueryUsesInvalid
+  configUtils.getQueriesMissingUses
 );
 
 function doInvalidQueryUsesTest(

src/config-utils.ts

@@ -683,6 +683,14 @@ export function getQueriesInvalid(configFile: string): string {
   );
 }
 
+export function getQueriesMissingUses(configFile: string): string {
+  return getConfigFilePropertyError(
+    configFile,
+    QUERIES_PROPERTY,
+    "must be an array, with each entry having a 'uses' property"
+  );
+}
+
 export function getQueryUsesInvalid(
   configFile: string | undefined,
   queryUses?: string
@@ -1181,11 +1189,8 @@ async function loadConfig(
       throw new Error(getQueriesInvalid(configFile));
     }
     for (const query of queriesArr) {
-      if (
-        !(QUERIES_USES_PROPERTY in query) ||
-        typeof query[QUERIES_USES_PROPERTY] !== "string"
-      ) {
-        throw new Error(getQueryUsesInvalid(configFile));
+      if (typeof query[QUERIES_USES_PROPERTY] !== "string") {
+        throw new Error(getQueriesMissingUses(configFile));
       }
       await parseQueryUses(
         languages,