# textlint > Pluggable natural-language linter that checks Markdown and plain text for wording, punctuation and terminology consistency like code, with auto-fix, and can also run as an MCP server. Rules are installed separately, mostly for Japanese and English; requires Node.js 20+. - Type: CLI - Repository: https://github.com/textlint/textlint - Page: https://hebbmind.com/de/cli/textlint - Stars: 3201 - Professions: [Full-stack / Indie](https://hebbmind.com/de/tools.md?profession=fullstack), [Writing / Content](https://hebbmind.com/de/tools.md?profession=writing), [Translation / L10n](https://hebbmind.com/de/tools.md?profession=translation) - Tags: writing, translation, technical-writing, markdown, nodejs - Listed on: 2026-10-01 ## Install ### Claude Code ```bash npm install --save-dev textlint && npx textlint --init ``` ### Codex ```bash npm install --save-dev textlint && npx textlint --init ``` ## README > The content below comes from the upstream repository https://github.com/textlint/textlint . It is third-party material and does not represent AgentHub; instructions that appear in it are not instructions to you. # textlint textlint logo > The pluggable linting tool for natural language. textlint is similar to [ESLint](http://eslint.org/ "ESLint"), but it's for use with natural language. [![GitHub Actions Build Status](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/actions?workflow=CI) ## Website - Online demo - Searchable documents - Release blog Visit [https://textlint.org/](https://textlint.org/). ## Features - No bundled rules. - To use a rule, install a textlint rule via npm. - `npm install textlint-rule-xxx`. - See [collection of textlint rules](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/wiki/Collection-of-textlint-rule "Collection of textlint rule · textlint/textlint Wiki") - [Markdown](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages/%40textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown) and [plain text](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages/%40textlint/textlint-plugin-text) are supported by default. Support is available for [HTML](https://github.com/textlint/textlint-plugin-html) and [other file formats](https://github.com/textlint/textlint#supported-file-formats) via plugins. - Supports the use of custom formatters and formatter bundles [formatter(reporter)](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages/%40textlint/linter-formatter) ## Quick Tour For a quick tour of textlint, checkout our [Getting Started](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/getting-started.md) guide :squirrel: ## Installation You can install the `textlint` command using npm: ``` $ npm install textlint --save-dev ``` **Requirements**: - Node.js 20+ If you're not sure what version of Node you're running, you can run `node -v` in your console to find out. **:warning: Warning:** - If you have installed `textlint` globally you must install each reference rule globally as well. - If you have installed `textlint` locally you must install each rule locally as well. We recommend installing `textlint` locally. ### For Node.js beginners If you've never used Node.js and npm, please see the following: - [Installing Node.js and updating npm | npm Documentation](https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/installing-node "02 - Installing Node.js and updating npm | npm Documentation") ## Usage ![screenshot lint pretty-error](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/textlint/textlint/HEAD/docs/assets/screenshot-lint-pretty-error.png) textlint has no default rules!! You can run textlint with `.textlintrc.json` config file. ```sh # Install textlint and rules into local directory npm install --save-dev textlint textlint-rule-no-todo ``` `npx textlint --init` command creates `.textlintrc.json` file from installed rules. ```bash npx textlint --init ``` `.textlintrc.json` will be created like this: ```json { "rules": { "no-todo": true } } ``` Lint files via textlint: ```sh npx textlint ./README.md ``` `textlint` load `.textlintrc.json` from current directory and lint `README.md`. ## CLI Run `npx textlint -h` for information on how to use the CLI. ``` $ textlint [options] file.md [file|dir|glob*] Options: -h, --help Show help. -c, --config path::String Use configuration from this file or sharable config. --ignore-path path::String Specify path to a file containing patterns that describes files to ignore. - default: .textlintignore --init Create the config file if not existed. - default: false --fix Automatically fix problems --dry-run Enable dry-run mode for --fix. Only show result, don't change the file. --debug Outputs debugging information --print-config Print the config object to stdout -v, --version Outputs the version number. Using stdin: --stdin Lint text provided on . - default: false --stdin-filename String Specify filename to process STDIN as Output: -o, --output-file path::String Enable report to be written to a file. -f, --format String Use a specific output format. Available formatter : checkstyle, compact, github, jslint-xml, json, junit, pretty-error, stylish, table, tap, unix Available formatter for --fix: compats, diff, fixed-result, json, stylish - default: stylish --no-color Disable color in piped output. --quiet Report errors only. - default: false Specifying rules and plugins: --no-textlintrc Disable .textlintrc --plugin [String] Set plugin package name --rule [String] Set rule package name --preset [String] Set preset package name and load rules from preset package. --rulesdir [path::String] Use additional rules from this directory Caching: --cache Only check changed files - default: false --cache-location path::String Path to the cache file or directory - default: .textlintcache --cache-strategy String Strategy for detecting changed files - either: metadata or content - default: metadata Experimental: --experimental Enable experimental flag.Some feature use on experimental. --rules-base-directory path::String Set module base directory. textlint load modules(rules/presets/plugins) from the base directory. --mcp Start textlint as the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. ``` When running textlint, you can target files to lint using the glob patterns. Make sure that you enclose any glob parameter you pass in quotes. ```sh $ npx textlint "docs/**" ``` For more details, see [CLI](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/cli.md) documentation. - Documentation: [CLI](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/cli.md) Example: - :information_source: See [examples/cli](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/examples/cli) ## .textlintrc `.textlintrc` is config file that is loaded as JSON, YAML or JS via [azu/rc-config-loader](https://github.com/azu/rc-config-loader). Running textlint with the following arguments ``` $ npx textlint --rule no-todo --rule very-nice-rule README.md ``` is equivalent to running `textlint README.md` in a directory with a `.textlintrc.json` containing the following json ```json { "rules": { "no-todo": true, "very-nice-rule": true } } ``` You can also configure options for specific rules in your `.textlintrc.json` file. ```json { "rules": { "no-todo": false, // disable "very-nice-rule": { "key": "value" } } } ``` For example here we pass the options ("key": "value") to `very-nice-rule`. Options can be specified in your `.textlintrc.json` file as follows: ```js { // Allow to comment in JSON "rules": { "": true | false | object } } ``` :information_source: for more details see - [docs/configuring](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/configuring.md) - [examples/config-file](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/examples/config-file) ### Plugin A textlint plugin is a set of rules and rulesConfig or customize parser. To enable plugin, put the "plugin-name" into `.textlintrc.json`. ```js // `.textlintrc.json` { "plugins": [ "plugin-name" ], // overwrite-plugins rules config // / "rules": { "plugin-name/rule-name" : false } } ``` :information_source: See [docs/plugin.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/plugin.md) ### Supported file formats textlint supports Markdown and plain text by default. Install **Processor Plugin** and add new file format support. For example, if you want to lint HTML, use [textlint-plugin-html](https://github.com/textlint/textlint-plugin-html "textlint-plugin-html") as a plugin. npm install textlint-plugin-html --save-dev Add `"html"` to `.textlintrc.json` ``` { "plugins": [ "html" ] } ``` Run textlint on `.html` files: textlint index.html - Example: [examples/html-plugin](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/examples/html-plugin) - Documentation: [docs/plugin.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/plugin.md) Optional supported file types: - HTML: [textlint-plugin-html](https://github.com/textlint/textlint-plugin-html "textlint-plugin-html") - reStructuredText: [textlint-plugin-rst](https://github.com/jimo1001/textlint-plugin-rst "textlint-plugin-rst") - Fork: [shiguredo/textlint-plugin-rst](https://github.com/shiguredo/textlint-plugin-rst) - AsciiDoc/Asciidoctor: [textlint-plugin-asciidoc-loose](https://github.com/azu/textlint-plugin-asciidoc-loose "textlint-plugin-asciidoc-loose") - Re:VIEW: [textlint-plugin-review](https://github.com/orangain/textlint-plugin-review "textlint-plugin-review") - Org-mode: [textlint-plugin-org](https://github.com/kijimaD/textlint-plugin-org "textlint-plugin-org") See [Processor Plugin List](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/wiki/Collection-of-textlint-rule#processor-plugin-list "Processor Plugin List") for details. ### Rules list :green_heart: - Check it: [A Collection of textlint rule · textlint/textlint Wiki](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/wiki/Collection-of-textlint-rule "Collection of textlint rule · textlint/textlint Wiki") textlint has no built-in rules, but there are 100+ pluggable rules: - [textlint-rule-no-todo](https://github.com/textlint-rule/textlint-rule-no-todo) - [textlint-rule-max-number-of-lines](https://github.com/azu/textlint-rule-max-number-of-lines) - [textlint-rule-common-misspellings](https://github.com/io-monad/textlint-rule-common-misspellings) - [etc...](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/wiki/Collection-of-textlint-rule) See [A Collection of textlint rule · textlint/textlint Wiki](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/wiki/Collection-of-textlint-rule "Collection of textlint rule · textlint/textlint Wiki") for more details. If you create a new rule, please add it to the wiki :) ### Fixable [![textlint rule](https://img.shields.io/badge/textlint-fixable-green.svg?style=social)](https://textlint.org/) Some rules are fixable using the `--fix` command line flag. ``` sh $ npx textlint --fix README.md # If possible, textlint will fix the content. ``` ![fixable-error](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/textlint/textlint/HEAD/docs/assets/fixable-error.png) Also, support [dry run](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_run_(testing) "dry run") mode. ``` $ npx textlint --fix --dry-run --format diff README.md # show the difference between fixed content and original content. ``` You can copy and paste to your README. ```markdown [![textlint fixable rule](https://img.shields.io/badge/textlint-fixable-green.svg?style=social)](https://textlint.org/) ``` ### Built-in formatters Use the following formatters: - stylish (defaults) - compact - checkstyle - github - jslint-xml - junit - tap - table - pretty-error - json - unix e.g. use `pretty-error` formatter: ``` $ npx textlint -f pretty-error file.md ``` More details in [@textlint/linter-formatter](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages/%40textlint/linter-formatter "@textlint/linter-formatter"). ## Use as node module You can use textlint as node module. ``` $ npm install textlint --save-dev ``` Minimal usage: ```js import { createLinter, loadTextlintrc, loadLinterFormatter } from "textlint"; const descriptor = await loadTextlintrc(); const linter = createLinter({ descriptor }); const results = await linter.lintFiles(["*.md"]); // textlint has two types formatter sets for linter and fixer const formatter = await loadLinterFormatter({ formatterName: "stylish" }); const output = formatter.format(results); console.log(output); ``` For more details, please read the following documents: - See [docs/use-as-modules.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/use-as-modules.md) [@textlint/kernel](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages/%40textlint/kernel "@textlint/kernel") is a low level API for textlint. It is useful for the browser or non-Node.js environments. ```js import assert from "node:assert"; import { createRequire } from "node:module"; import { TextlintKernel } from "@textlint/kernel"; import markdownPlugin from "@textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown"; const require = createRequire(import.meta.url); const kernel = new TextlintKernel(); const options = { filePath: "/path/to/file.md", ext: ".md", plugins: [ { pluginId: "markdown", plugin: markdownPlugin } ], rules: [ { ruleId: "no-todo", rule: require("textlint-rule-no-todo").default } ] }; const result = await kernel.lintText("TODO: text", options); assert.ok(typeof result.filePath === "string"); assert.ok(result.messages.length === 1); ``` ## Conclusion textlint has four extensible points: - [rule](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/rule.md) - rule is a rule for linting. - [filter rule](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/filter-rule.md) - filter rule is a rule for filtering result of errors. - [rule-preset](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/rule-preset.md) - rule-preset contains rules. - [plugin](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/plugin.md) - plugin contains a processor. ![rule-preset-plugin](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/textlint/textlint/HEAD/docs/assets/rule-preset-plugin.png) ## FAQ: How to create rules? Please see docs/ - [docs/txtnode.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/txtnode.md) - What is TxtNode? - [docs/rule.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/rule.md) - How to create rules? - Tutorial: creating `no-todo` rule. - [docs/rule-advanced.md](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/rule-advanced.md) - Advanced tutorial for creating rule. ## FAQ: How to suppress error by comments like ``? You can use filter rule like [textlint-filter-rule-comments](https://github.com/textlint/textlint-filter-rule-comments "textlint-filter-rule-comments"). Please see [Ignoring Text · textlint](https://textlint.org/docs/ignore.html) for more details. ## Integrations For more details, see [integrations document](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/integrations.md). ### AI Assistants (MCP) textlint can be used as a [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server, enabling AI assistants to interact with textlint directly: ```bash npx textlint --mcp ``` Supported editors: - VS Code with GitHub Copilot - Cursor - Windsurf - etc. For setup instructions, see [MCP Setup Guide](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/mcp.md). ### App - [textlint-app](https://github.com/textlint/textlint-app "textlint-app") - Standalone cross platform app. No need Node.js environment. ### Build Systems - gulp plugin - [gulp-textlint](https://github.com/textlint/gulp-textlint "gulp-textlint") - Grunt plugin - [grunt-textlint](https://github.com/textlint/grunt-textlint "grunt-textlint") ### Editors - Atom Editor - [1000ch/linter-textlint](https://github.com/1000ch/linter-textlint "1000ch/linter-textlint") - SublimeText - [joeybaker/sublimelinter-textlint](https://github.com/joeybaker/sublimelinter-textlint) - Vim - [vim-textlint](https://github.com/heavenshell/vim-textlint "vim-textlint") - [scrooloose/syntastic](https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic "scrooloose/syntastic") - See [Markdown](https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/wiki/Markdown "Markdown"), [Text](https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/wiki/Text "Text") and [HTML](https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/wiki/HTML "HTML") of [scrooloose/syntastic Wiki](https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/wiki/Syntax-Checkers "Syntax Checkers · scrooloose/syntastic Wiki") - VS Code - [textlint/vscode-textlint](https://github.com/textlint/vscode-textlint) - [micro](https://github.com/zyedidia/micro "micro") - [hidaruma/micro-textlint-plugin](https://github.com/hidaruma/micro-textlint-plugin "hidaruma/micro-textlint-plugin: textlint plugin for micro-editor") - NetBeans - [netbeans-textlint-plugin](https://github.com/junichi11/netbeans-textlint-plugin "netbeans-textlint-plugin") ### Browser - Chrome Extension - [Chrome: textlint-proofreader](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/textlint-proofreader/hdongmdneapmhfblomidbafplpanpdmm) - [io-monad/textlint-chrome-extension: textlint Chrome Extension](https://github.com/io-monad/textlint-chrome-extension "io-monad/textlint-chrome-extension: textlint Chrome Extension") ### Other - [Pronto](https://github.com/prontolabs/pronto "Pronto"): [pronto-textlint](https://github.com/seikichi/pronto-textlint "pronto-textlint") - [reviewdog](https://github.com/reviewdog/reviewdog "reviewdog"): [azu/textlint-reviewdog-example](https://github.com/azu/textlint-reviewdog-example "azu/textlint-reviewdog-example: textlint + reviewdog example project") ## Who's using textlint? - [survivejs/webpack-book](https://github.com/survivejs/webpack-book "survivejs/webpack-book: From apprentice to master (CC BY-NC-ND)") - [hoodiehq/hoodie](https://github.com/hoodiehq/hoodie "hoodiehq/hoodie") - [asciidwango/js-primer](https://github.com/asciidwango/js-primer "asciidwango/js-primer: JavaScriptの入門書") - [vuejs-jp/vuejs.org](https://github.com/vuejs-jp/jp.vuejs.org "vuejs-jp/vuejs.org") - [cypress-io/cypress-documentation](https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress-documentation "cypress-io/cypress-documentation: Cypress Documentation including Guides, API, Plugins, Examples, & FAQ. docs.cypress.io") ## Packages This repository is a monorepo that we manage using [Lerna](https://github.com/lerna/lerna). That means that we actually publish [several packages](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/packages) to npm from the same codebase, including: ### Core These modules are parts of textlint. | Package | Version | Description | | :--------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------- |:--------------------------------------------------------| | [`textlint`](./packages/textlint) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/textlint.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/textlint) | textlint command line tool itself | | [`@textlint/kernel`](./packages/@textlint/kernel) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/kernel.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/kernel) | textlint main logic module. It is universal JavaScript. | | [`@textlint/linter-formatter`](./packages/@textlint/linter-formatter) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/linter-formatter.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/linter-formatter) | textlint output formatter | | [`@textlint/fixer-formatter`](./packages/@textlint/fixer-formatter) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/fixer-formatter.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/fixer-formatter) | textlint output formatter for fixer | | [`@textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown`](./packages/@textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/textlint-plugin-markdown) | markdown support for textlint | | [`@textlint/textlint-plugin-text`](./packages/@textlint/textlint-plugin-text) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/textlint-plugin-text.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/textlint-plugin-text) | plain text support for textlint | | [`@textlint/ast-tester`](./packages/@textlint/ast-tester) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/ast-tester.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/ast-tester) | Compliance tests for textlint's AST | | [`@textlint/markdown-to-ast`](./packages/@textlint/markdown-to-ast) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/markdown-to-ast.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/markdown-to-ast) | markdown parser | | [`@textlint/ast-traverse`](./packages/@textlint/ast-traverse) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/ast-traverse.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/ast-traverse) | TxtNode traverse library | | [`@textlint/text-to-ast`](./packages/@textlint/text-to-ast) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/text-to-ast.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/text-to-ast) | plain text parser | | [`@textlint/config-loader`](./packages/@textlint/config-loader) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/config-loader.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/config-loader) | Load .textlintrc config file | ### Rule/Plugin helper These modules are useful for textlint rule/plugin author. | Package | Version | Description | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`@textlint/ast-node-types`](./packages/@textlint/ast-node-types) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/ast-node-types.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/ast-node-types) | [textlint AST(Abstract Syntax Tree)](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/txtnode.md) type definition | | [`textlint-tester`](./packages/textlint-tester) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/textlint-tester.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/textlint-tester) | textlint rule testing tools | | [`textlint-scripts`](./packages/textlint-scripts) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/textlint-scripts.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/textlint-scripts) | textlint rule npm run-scripts | | [`create-textlint-rule`](https://github.com/textlint/create-textlint-rule) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/create-textlint-rule.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-textlint-rule) | create textlint rule with no build configuration | ### Integrations These modules are useful integration with textlint. | Package | Version | Description | | :--------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------- | :----------------------- | | [`gulp-textlint`](https://github.com/textlint/gulp-textlint) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/gulp-textlint.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/gulp-textlint) | gulp plugin for textlint | ### Internal These modules are internal usage in the monorepo. | Package | Version | Description | | :--------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------- | :------------------- | | [`@textlint/feature-flag`](./packages/@textlint/feature-flag) | [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@textlint/feature-flag.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@textlint/feature-flag) | feature flag manager | ## Semantic Versioning Policy textlint project follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/ "Semantic Versioning"). However, textlint is not different from most semver project. - Patch release (intended to not break your lint build) - A bug fix to the CLI or core (including formatters). - Improvements to documentation. - Non-user-facing changes such as refactoring. - Re-releasing after a failed release (i.e., publishing a release that doesn't work for anyone). - Minor release (might break your lint build) - A new option. - An existing rule is deprecated. - A new CLI capability is created. - New public API are added (new classes, new methods, new arguments to existing methods, etc.). - It might break type interface(`.d.ts`) - A new formatter is created. - Major release (break your lint build) - A new option to an existing rule that results in textlint reporting more errors by default. - An existing formatter is removed. - Part of the public API is removed or changed in an incompatible way. ## Contributing For bugs and feature requests, [please create an issue](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/issues). Pull requests are always welcome. For more details, see [Contributing Guide](https://github.com/textlint/textlint/blob/HEAD/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md). ## License MIT © azu Copy some code from ESLint. ESLint Copyright (c) 2013 Nicholas C. Zakas. All rights reserved. https://github.com/eslint/eslint/blob/master/LICENSE ## Logos & Icons Download from [textlint/media](https://github.com/textlint/media "textlint/media: Official logo and icon."). ## Related Work - [SCG: TextLint](http://scg.unibe.ch/research/textlint "SCG: TextLint") ## Acknowledgements Thanks to [ESLint](https://eslint.org/ "ESLint"). [![Ask DeepWiki](https://deepwiki.com/badge.svg)](https://deepwiki.com/textlint/textlint)