S3L0003: Let it breathe¶

A method of several statements puts a blank line before its final return.

What it reports¶

A method, local function or accessor whose block has 4 statements or more and ends with a return that has no blank line before it. The finding is on the return keyword.

Why¶

The answer is a phase of its own. A blank line separates it from the work before it, so the eye finds what a method returns without reading what it did.

Measured across the fleet on 2026-10-12: 98–99 % of methods of four statements or more already carry the blank line, against 95 % of methods of two or three — which is why the rule asks it of four and leaves shorter blocks alone.

How to fix¶

var user = await users.FindAsync(id);
var orders = await store.OrdersOfAsync(user);
var total = orders.Sum(order => order.Amount);
logger.LogTotal(user.Id, total);

return total;

The code fix¶

Inserts the blank line, in the document's own line endings. Fix All applies it to a document, project or solution.

Suppressing it¶

Fix the code rather than silence the rule: the rule is part of the standard every Snail repository keeps. Where one place truly must differ, suppress that place and say why:

[SuppressMessage("Snail", "S3L0003:Let it breathe", Justification = "<why this place differs>")]

A NoWarn in a project or props file would hide the rule from every new line too; the conformance check reports one as migration debt (S3LC0017).