diff --git a/garak/_config.py b/garak/_config.py
index 9ee157795..e4bfb8e29 100644
--- a/garak/_config.py
+++ b/garak/_config.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 
 @dataclass
 class GarakSubConfig:
-    pass
+    """Base dataclass for garak configuration sub-objects."""
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -132,11 +132,10 @@ def _key_exists(d: dict, key: str) -> bool:
     if not isinstance(d, dict) and not isinstance(d, list):
         return False
     if isinstance(d, list):
-        return any([_key_exists(item, key) for item in d])
+        return any(_key_exists(item, key) for item in d)
     if isinstance(d, dict) and key in d.keys():
         return True
-    else:
-        return any([_key_exists(val, key) for val in d.values()])
+    return any(_key_exists(val, key) for val in d.values())
 
 
 def _set_settings(config_obj, settings_obj: dict):
@@ -187,7 +186,8 @@ def _load_config_files(settings_filenames) -> dict:
                         print(f"⚠️  {msg}")
                     else:
                         logging.info(
-                            f"API key found in {settings_filename}. Checking readability..."
+                            "API key found in %s. Checking readability...",
+                            settings_filename,
                         )
                         res = os.stat(settings_filename)
                         if res.st_mode & stat.S_IROTH or res.st_mode & stat.S_IRGRP:
@@ -228,7 +228,8 @@ def _load_config_files(settings_filenames) -> dict:
 
 
 def _store_config(settings_files) -> None:
-    global system, run, plugins, reporting, version
+    """Load config files and apply settings to the global config objects."""
+    global system, run, plugins, reporting, version  # pylint: disable=global-statement
     settings = _load_config_files(settings_files)
     system = _set_settings(system, settings["system"])
     run = _set_settings(run, settings["run"])
@@ -246,19 +247,24 @@ def _store_config(settings_files) -> None:
 REQUESTS_AGENT = ""
 
 
-def _garak_user_agent(dummy=None):
+def _garak_user_agent(_dummy=None):
+    """Return the current garak requests user-agent string.
+
+    Accepts an ignored positional arg to match the ``requests`` UA callback signature.
+    """
     return str(REQUESTS_AGENT)
 
 
 def set_all_http_lib_agents(agent_string):
+    """Set the same user-agent string for all HTTP libraries (requests, httpx, aiohttp)."""
     set_http_lib_agents(
         {"requests": agent_string, "httpx": agent_string, "aiohttp": agent_string}
     )
 
 
 def set_http_lib_agents(agent_strings: dict):
-
-    global REQUESTS_AGENT
+    """Set per-library user-agent strings from a dict keyed by library name."""
+    global REQUESTS_AGENT  # pylint: disable=global-statement
 
     if "requests" in agent_strings:
         from requests import utils
@@ -276,6 +282,7 @@ def set_http_lib_agents(agent_strings: dict):
 
 
 def get_http_lib_agents():
+    """Return the current user-agent strings for requests, httpx, and aiohttp."""
     from requests import utils
     import httpx
     import aiohttp
@@ -289,7 +296,8 @@ def get_http_lib_agents():
 
 
 def load_base_config() -> None:
-    global loaded
+    """Load garak.core.yaml — the minimal base configuration."""
+    global loaded  # pylint: disable=global-statement
     settings_files = [str(transient.package_dir / "resources" / "garak.core.yaml")]
     logging.debug("Loading configs from: %s", ",".join(settings_files))
     _store_config(settings_files=settings_files)
@@ -299,9 +307,10 @@ def load_base_config() -> None:
 def load_config(
     site_config_filename="garak.site.yaml", run_config_filename=None
 ) -> None:
+    """Load site and run config files on top of the base config."""
     # would be good to bubble up things from run_config, e.g. generator, probe(s), detector(s)
     # and then not have cli be upset when these are not given as cli params
-    global loaded
+    global loaded  # pylint: disable=global-statement
 
     settings_files = [str(transient.package_dir / "resources" / "garak.core.yaml")]
 
@@ -318,7 +327,7 @@ def load_config(
             message = "Multiple site config files found (garak.site.json, garak.site.yaml, garak.site.yml). Please use only one site config format."
             logging.error(message)
             raise ValueError(message)
-        elif has_json:
+        if has_json:
             settings_files.append(site_config_json)
         elif has_yaml:
             settings_files.append(site_config_yaml)
@@ -378,7 +387,9 @@ def load_config(
                 if has_json and (has_yaml or has_yml):
                     yaml_ext = ".yaml" if has_yaml else ".yml"
                     logging.warning(
-                        f"Both {run_config_filename}.json and {yaml_ext} found. Using .json"
+                        "Both %s.json and %s found. Using .json",
+                        run_config_filename,
+                        yaml_ext,
                     )
                 if has_json:
                     settings_files.append(json_path)
@@ -410,6 +421,7 @@ def load_config(
 def parse_plugin_spec(
     spec: str, category: str, probe_tag_filter: str = ""
 ) -> tuple[List[str], List[str]]:
+    """Expand a plugin spec string (e.g. 'all', 'dan', 'probes.dan.AntiDAN') into lists of known and unknown plugin names."""
     from garak._plugins import enumerate_plugins
 
     if spec is None or spec.lower() in ("", "auto", "none"):
@@ -453,7 +465,7 @@ def parse_plugin_spec(
             plugin_class_name = plugin_name.split(".")[-1]
             m = importlib.import_module(f"garak.{plugin_module_name}")
             c = getattr(m, plugin_class_name)
-            if not any([tag.startswith(probe_tag_filter) for tag in c.tags]):
+            if not any(tag.startswith(probe_tag_filter) for tag in c.tags):
                 plugins_to_skip.append(
                     plugin_name
                 )  # using list.remove doesn't update for-loop position
diff --git a/garak/command.py b/garak/command.py
index cf0d3e83b..aafe9a8d1 100644
--- a/garak/command.py
+++ b/garak/command.py
@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@
 
 
 def hint(msg, logging=None):
+    """Print a probabilistic hint message and optionally log it.
+
+    Uses a global HINT_CHANCE probability so hints don't appear on every run.
+    The logging parameter is passed explicitly to avoid import-order issues with
+    the thin garak logging setup.
+    """
     # sub-optimal, but because our logging setup is thin & uses the global
     # default, placing a top-level import can break logging - so we can't
     # assume `logging` is imported at this point.
@@ -22,6 +28,7 @@ def hint(msg, logging=None):
 
 
 def deprecation_notice(deprecated_item: str, version: str, logging=None):
+    """Print and optionally log a deprecation notice for the given item."""
     msg = f"DEPRECATION: {deprecated_item} is deprecated since version {version}"
     visible_msg = f"✋ {msg}"
     if logging is not None:
@@ -30,6 +37,7 @@ def deprecation_notice(deprecated_item: str, version: str, logging=None):
 
 
 def start_logging():
+    """Initialise logging and return the configured log filename."""
     from garak import _config
 
     log_filename = _config.transient.log_filename
@@ -40,6 +48,7 @@ def start_logging():
 
 
 def start_run():
+    """Set up the run UUID, reporting directory, and open the report file."""
     import logging
     import os
     import uuid
@@ -49,7 +58,7 @@ def start_run():
 
     logging.info("run started at %s", _config.transient.starttime_iso)
     # print("ASSIGN UUID", args)
-    if _config.system.lite and "probes" not in _config.transient.cli_args and _config.transient.cli_args.list_probes is None and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_detectors and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_generators and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_buffs and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_config and not _config.transient.cli_args.plugin_info and not _config.run.interactive:  # type: ignore
+    if _config.system.lite and "probes" not in _config.transient.cli_args and _config.transient.cli_args.list_probes is None and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_detectors and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_generators and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_buffs and not _config.transient.cli_args.list_config and not _config.transient.cli_args.plugin_info and not _config.run.interactive:  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=no-member  # cli_args attrs set dynamically by argparse
         hint(
             "The current/default config is optimised for speed rather than thoroughness. Try e.g. --config full for a stronger test, or specify some probes.",
             logging=logging,
@@ -122,6 +131,7 @@ def start_run():
 
 
 def end_run():
+    """Close the report file, write a completion entry, and build the HTML digest."""
     import datetime
     import logging
 
@@ -146,9 +156,11 @@ def end_run():
 
     digest_filename = _config.transient.report_filename.replace(".jsonl", ".html")
     print(f"📜 report html summary being written to {digest_filename}")
+    # pylint: disable=broad-exception-caught  # report building must not crash the CLI run
     try:
         write_report_digest(_config.transient.report_filename, digest_filename)
     except Exception as e:
+        # pylint: enable=broad-exception-caught
         msg = "Didn't successfully build the report - JSON log preserved. " + repr(e)
         logging.exception(e)
         logging.info(msg)
@@ -163,6 +175,7 @@ def _tier_name(tier_value):
     """Convert a tier int value to its enum name string."""
     try:
         from garak.probes._tier import Tier
+
         return Tier(int(tier_value)).name
     except (ValueError, TypeError):
         return ""
@@ -171,7 +184,7 @@ def _tier_name(tier_value):
 def _truncate(text, max_len=80):
     """Truncate text to max_len, appending ellipsis if needed."""
     if len(text) > max_len:
-        return text[:max_len - 1] + "…"
+        return text[: max_len - 1] + "…"
     return text
 
 
@@ -180,7 +193,12 @@ def _truncate(text, max_len=80):
 # "name" and "active" are always included and handled separately.
 _PLUGIN_TABLE_COLUMNS = {
     "probes": [
-        ("tier", lambda info: _tier_name(info.get("tier")) if info.get("tier") is not None else ""),
+        (
+            "tier",
+            lambda info: (
+                _tier_name(info.get("tier")) if info.get("tier") is not None else ""
+            ),
+        ),
         ("description", lambda info: _truncate(info.get("description", ""))),
     ],
     # Future plugin types can define their own extra columns here, e.g.:
@@ -190,7 +208,7 @@ def _truncate(text, max_len=80):
 }
 
 
-def print_plugins(prefix: str, color, selected_plugins=None, verbose: int=0):
+def print_plugins(prefix: str, color, selected_plugins=None, verbose: int = 0):
     """
     Print plugins for a category (probes/detectors/generators/buffs).
 
@@ -201,7 +219,7 @@ def print_plugins(prefix: str, color, selected_plugins=None, verbose: int=0):
         verbose: Verbosity level. 0 = plain list, >=1 = markdown table with metadata.
     """
     from colorama import Style
-    from garak._plugins import enumerate_plugins, plugin_info as get_plugin_info, PLUGIN_TYPES
+    from garak._plugins import enumerate_plugins, PLUGIN_TYPES
 
     if prefix not in PLUGIN_TYPES:
         raise ValueError(f"Requested prefix '{prefix}' is not a valid plugin type")
@@ -217,7 +235,10 @@ def print_plugins(prefix: str, color, selected_plugins=None, verbose: int=0):
             print(f"No {prefix} match the provided filter")
             return
 
-    short = [(p.replace(f"{prefix}.", ""), a, p) for p, a, *_ in [(pn, ac, pn) for pn, ac in rows]]
+    short = [
+        (p.replace(f"{prefix}.", ""), a, p)
+        for p, a, *_ in [(pn, ac, pn) for pn, ac in rows]
+    ]
     if selected_plugins is None:
         module_names = {(m.split(".")[0], True, None) for m, a, _ in short}
         short += module_names
@@ -270,7 +291,12 @@ def _print_plugins_table(sorted_items, prefix):
     print(f"{prefix}:")
     print(
         markdown_table(table_data)
-        .set_params(row_sep="markdown", padding_width=1, padding_weight="centerleft", quote=False)
+        .set_params(
+            row_sep="markdown",
+            padding_width=1,
+            padding_weight="centerleft",
+            quote=False,
+        )
         .get_markdown()
     )
 
@@ -288,18 +314,21 @@ def print_probes(selected_probes=None, verbose=0):
 
 
 def print_detectors(selected_detectors=None):
+    """Print available detectors, optionally filtered to selected_detectors."""
     from colorama import Fore
 
     print_plugins("detectors", Fore.LIGHTBLUE_EX, selected_detectors)
 
 
 def print_generators():
+    """Print all available generators."""
     from colorama import Fore
 
     print_plugins("generators", Fore.LIGHTMAGENTA_EX)
 
 
 def print_buffs():
+    """Print all available buffs."""
     from colorama import Fore
 
     print_plugins("buffs", Fore.LIGHTGREEN_EX)
@@ -307,6 +336,7 @@ def print_buffs():
 
 # describe plugin
 def plugin_info(plugin_name):
+    """Print all known metadata for the named plugin."""
     from garak._plugins import plugin_info
 
     info = plugin_info(plugin_name)
@@ -333,6 +363,7 @@ def plugin_info(plugin_name):
 
 # do a run
 def probewise_run(generator, probe_names, evaluator, buffs):
+    """Run probes one-by-one through the probewise harness."""
     import garak.harnesses.probewise
 
     probewise_h = garak.harnesses.probewise.ProbewiseHarness()
@@ -340,6 +371,7 @@ def probewise_run(generator, probe_names, evaluator, buffs):
 
 
 def pxd_run(generator, probe_names, detector_names, evaluator, buffs):
+    """Run probes through the probe-x-detector (PxD) harness."""
     import garak.harnesses.pxd
 
     pxd_h = garak.harnesses.pxd.PxD()
@@ -359,6 +391,7 @@ def _enumerate_obj_values(o):
 
 
 def list_config():
+    """Print all current garak config values to stdout."""
     from garak import _config
 
     print("_config:")
@@ -370,6 +403,7 @@ def list_config():
 
 
 def write_report_digest(report_filename, html_report_filename):
+    """Build and write the HTML digest for the given JSONL report file."""
     from garak.analyze import report_digest
 
     digest = report_digest.build_digest(report_filename)
diff --git a/garak/configurable.py b/garak/configurable.py
index f79c3edb9..b1f3ec473 100644
--- a/garak/configurable.py
+++ b/garak/configurable.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Portions Copyright (c) 2023 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+"""Base class providing config loading, dependency injection, and env-var API key handling."""
+
 import importlib
 import logging
 import inspect
@@ -22,6 +24,13 @@ def _import_failed(absent_modules: List[str], calling_module: str):
 
 
 class Configurable:
+    """Mixin providing config-file loading, optional-dep injection, and API key resolution.
+
+    Subclasses may define ``ENV_VAR`` (str) to enable automatic API key lookup from
+    the environment. This is a dynamic class-level attribute and is intentionally not
+    declared on the base class — pylint no-member suppressions are applied where needed.
+    """
+
     # list of strings naming modules required but not explicitly in garak by default
     extra_dependency_names = []
 
@@ -109,7 +118,9 @@ def _load_config(self, config_root=_config):
                 self._apply_config(plugins_config[namespaced_klass])
         self._apply_run_defaults()
         self._apply_missing_instance_defaults()
+        # pylint: disable=no-member  # ENV_VAR is a dynamic class attr defined by subclasses
         if hasattr(self, "ENV_VAR") and self.ENV_VAR:
+            # pylint: enable=no-member
             if not hasattr(self, "key_env_var"):
                 self.key_env_var = self.ENV_VAR
         self._validate_env_var()
@@ -123,14 +134,16 @@ def _apply_config(self, config):
                 # skip entries for more qualified items or any plugin type
                 # should this be coupled to `_plugins`?
                 continue
+            # pylint: disable=unsupported-membership-test  # _supported_params is None or tuple; isinstance guard above ensures safety
             if (
                 isinstance(self._supported_params, tuple)
                 and k not in self._supported_params
             ):
+                # pylint: enable=unsupported-membership-test
                 # if the class has a set of supported params skip unknown params
                 # should this pass signature arguments as supported?
                 logging.warning(
-                    f"Unknown configuration key for {classname}: '{k}' - skipping"
+                    "Unknown configuration key for %s: '%s' - skipping", classname, k
                 )
                 continue
             if hasattr(self, k):
@@ -168,7 +181,9 @@ def _apply_missing_instance_defaults(self):
 
     def _validate_env_var(self):
         if hasattr(self, "key_env_var") and self.key_env_var:
+            # pylint: disable=access-member-before-definition  # intentional: api_key is lazy-set below if absent
             if not hasattr(self, "api_key") or self.api_key is None:
+                # pylint: enable=access-member-before-definition
                 self.api_key = os.getenv(self.key_env_var, default=None)
                 if self.api_key is None:
                     if hasattr(
diff --git a/garak/exception.py b/garak/exception.py
index d333d5793..222f1249a 100644
--- a/garak/exception.py
+++ b/garak/exception.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Portions Copyright (c) 2024 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+"""Custom exception types raised by garak components."""
+
 
 class GarakException(Exception):
     """Base class for all  garak exceptions"""
diff --git a/garak/interactive.py b/garak/interactive.py
index 22d5f71a2..f86ff8db1 100644
--- a/garak/interactive.py
+++ b/garak/interactive.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Portions Copyright (c) 2023 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+"""Interactive terminal mode for garak, built on cmd2."""
+
 import argparse
 from logging import getLogger
 import random
@@ -52,9 +54,10 @@ def _get_list_parser():
 
 
 def print_plugins(prefix, color):
+    """Print all plugins of the given category to stdout."""
     plugin_names = enumerate_plugins(category=prefix)
     plugin_names = [(p.replace(f"{prefix}.", ""), a) for p, a in plugin_names]
-    module_names = set([(m.split(".")[0], True) for m, a in plugin_names])
+    module_names = {(m.split(".")[0], True) for m, a in plugin_names}
     plugin_names += module_names
     for plugin_name, active in sorted(plugin_names):
         print(f"{Style.BRIGHT}{color}{prefix}: {Style.RESET_ALL}", end="")
@@ -68,12 +71,15 @@ def print_plugins(prefix, color):
 
 @cmd2.with_default_category("Garak Commands")
 class GarakCommands(cmd2.CommandSet):
+    """cmd2 CommandSet exposing list, probe, and other interactive garak commands."""
+
     def __init__(self):
         """Initialize the Garak Commands object."""
         super().__init__()
 
     @cmd2.with_argparser(list_parser)
     def do_list(self, args):
+        """List available probes, detectors, or generators."""
         if not args.type:
             print("Choose probes, detectors, or generators.")
 
@@ -97,14 +103,15 @@ def do_list(self, args):
 
     @cmd2.with_argparser(probe_parser)
     def do_probe(self, args):
+        """Run a probe against the configured target."""
         if not self._cmd.target_type or not self._cmd.target_model:
             print(
                 "Use the `set` command to set the target_type and target_model first."
             )
-            return
+            return None
         # If probe is already set, overwrite it.
         if args.probe and self._cmd.probe:
-            logger.warning(f"Probe already set. Resetting probe to {args.probe}")
+            logger.warning("Probe already set. Resetting probe to %s", args.probe)
             print(f"Executing {args.probe}")
             self._cmd.probe = args.probe
         elif not args.probe and not self._cmd.probe:
@@ -139,6 +146,7 @@ def do_probe(self, args):
         harness.run(generator, [self._cmd.probe], evaluator)
         logger.info("Run complete, ending")
         print("Run complete!")
+        return None
 
 
 class GarakTerminal(cmd2.Cmd):
@@ -192,12 +200,11 @@ def __init__(self):
         self.remove_settable("editor")
         self.remove_settable("feedback_to_output")
 
-    def default(self, command: str) -> None:
-        """Execute when a command isn't recognized"""
-        print(f"Command does not exist.\n")
-        return None
+    def default(self, _command: str) -> None:
+        """Execute when a command isn't recognized."""
+        print("Command does not exist.\n")
 
-    def postcmd(self, stop, line):
+    def postcmd(self, stop, _line):
         """Set the prompt to reflect interaction changes."""
         target_type = self.target_type
         target_model = self.target_model
@@ -220,14 +227,19 @@ def _load_garak(self):
         self.register_command_set(self._cmd)
 
     @cmd2.with_argument_list
-    def do_quit(self, args):
+    def do_quit(
+        self, _args
+    ):  # pylint: disable=unused-argument  # cmd2 interface requires the parameter
+        """Quit the interactive garak terminal."""
         print(self.quit_message)
         sys.exit(0)
 
     def settings_ns_provider(self) -> argparse.Namespace:
         """Populate an argparse Namespace with current settings"""
         ns = argparse.Namespace()
-        ns.app_settings = self.settings
+        ns.app_settings = (
+            self.settings
+        )  # pylint: disable=no-member  # cmd2.Cmd sets `settings` dynamically
         return ns
 
 
diff --git a/garak/payloads.py b/garak/payloads.py
index 24d217e0a..65f9db3c8 100644
--- a/garak/payloads.py
+++ b/garak/payloads.py
@@ -6,11 +6,12 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
-import jsonschema
 import logging
 import pathlib
 from typing import Generator, List, Union
 
+import jsonschema
+
 
 import garak._config
 import garak.exception
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ def _refresh_payloads(self) -> None:
         payload objects, and refresh self.payload_list"""
         self.__class__.payload_list = self._scan_payload_dir(PAYLOAD_DIR)
 
-    def search(
+    def search(  # pylint: disable=not-an-iterable,unsubscriptable-object  # payload_list is None at class level but always a dict at runtime after _refresh_payloads
         self, types: Union[List[str], None] = None, include_children=True
     ) -> Generator[str, None, None]:
         """Return list of payload names, optionally filtered by types"""
@@ -176,20 +177,17 @@ def search(
             if types is None:
                 yield payload
             else:
+                payload_types = self.__class__.payload_list[payload]["types"]
                 if include_children is False:
                     matches = [
                         payload_type == type_prefix
-                        for payload_type in self.__class__.payload_list[payload][
-                            "types"
-                        ]
+                        for payload_type in payload_types
                         for type_prefix in types
                     ]
                 else:
                     matches = [
                         payload_type.startswith(type_prefix)
-                        for payload_type in self.__class__.payload_list[payload][
-                            "types"
-                        ]
+                        for payload_type in payload_types
                         for type_prefix in types
                     ]
                 if any(matches):
@@ -206,7 +204,9 @@ def _load_payload(
     def load(self, name) -> PayloadGroup:
         """Return a PayloadGroup"""
         try:
+            # pylint: disable=unsubscriptable-object  # payload_list is None at class level but always a dict at runtime
             path = self.__class__.payload_list[name]["path"]
+            # pylint: enable=unsubscriptable-object
             p = self._load_payload(name, path)  # or raise KeyError
 
         except KeyError as ke:
@@ -232,8 +232,10 @@ def __init__(self) -> None:
 def search(
     types: Union[List[str], None] = None, include_children=True
 ) -> Generator[str, None, None]:
+    """Module-level convenience: search payloads via a transient Director."""
     return Director().search(types, include_children)
 
 
 def load(name: str) -> PayloadGroup:
+    """Module-level convenience: load a named payload via a transient Director."""
     return Director().load(name)
diff --git a/garak/report.py b/garak/report.py
index 8e7dfa039..7ee239dce 100644
--- a/garak/report.py
+++ b/garak/report.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 import importlib
 import json
+from datetime import date
+
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
-
-from datetime import date
 import avidtools.datamodels.report as ar
 import avidtools.datamodels.components as ac
 import avidtools.datamodels.enums as ae
@@ -67,13 +67,13 @@ def get_evaluations(self):
             raise ValueError("No evaluations to report 🤷")
 
         # preprocess
-        for i in range(len(evals)):
-            module_name, plugin_class_name = evals[i]["probe"].split(".")
+        for eval_record in evals:
+            module_name, plugin_class_name = eval_record["probe"].split(".")
             mod = importlib.import_module(f"garak.probes.{module_name}")
 
-            evals[i]["probe"] = f"{module_name}.{plugin_class_name}"
+            eval_record["probe"] = f"{module_name}.{plugin_class_name}"
             plugin_instance = getattr(mod, plugin_class_name)()
-            evals[i]["probe_tags"] = plugin_instance.tags
+            eval_record["probe_tags"] = plugin_instance.tags
 
         self.evaluations = pd.DataFrame.from_dict(evals)
         self.evaluations["score"] = np.where(
@@ -149,7 +149,9 @@ def export(self):  # TODO: add html format
                 )
             ]
             all_tags = probe_data.iloc[0]["probe_tags"]
-            if all_tags == all_tags:  # check for NaN
+            # pylint: disable=comparison-with-itself  # NaN sentinel: pandas NaN != NaN is False
+            if all_tags == all_tags:
+                # pylint: enable=comparison-with-itself
                 tags_split = [
                     tag.split(":") for tag in all_tags if tag.startswith("avid")
                 ]  # supports only avid taxonomy for now
diff --git a/pylintrc b/pylintrc
index 771492bb8..57156dcad 100644
--- a/pylintrc
+++ b/pylintrc
@@ -93,9 +93,8 @@ py-version=3.10
 # Discover python modules and packages in the file system subtree.
 recursive=no
 
-# When enabled, pylint would attempt to guess common misconfiguration and emit
-# user-friendly hints instead of false-positive error messages.
-suggestion-mode=yes
+# suggestion-mode was removed in pylint 3.x; option omitted to avoid
+# "unrecognized-option" errors on modern pylint versions.
 
 # Allow loading of arbitrary C extensions. Extensions are imported into the
 # active Python interpreter and may run arbitrary code.
@@ -472,6 +471,7 @@ disable=invalid-name,
         too-many-return-statements,
         too-many-branches,
         too-many-arguments,
+        too-many-positional-arguments,
         too-many-locals,
         too-many-statements,
         too-many-boolean-expressions,
@@ -928,7 +928,8 @@ ignored-checks-for-mixins=no-member,
 # List of class names for which member attributes should not be checked (useful
 # for classes with dynamically set attributes). This supports the use of
 # qualified names.
-ignored-classes=optparse.Values,thread._local,_thread._local,argparse.Namespace
+ignored-classes=optparse.Values,thread._local,_thread._local,argparse.Namespace,
+                Director
 
 # Show a hint with possible names when a member name was not found. The aspect
 # of finding the hint is based on edit distance.