remark-preset-lint-styleguide

This package helps you maintain good quality Markdown.

• Source text is readable, easy to write and easy to edit.
• Output is consistent across different Markdown implementations (portable).

This remark preset includes the remark-lint plug-in and all "official rules".

The rules are configured based on various style guides, such as Markdown Style Guide by Ciro Santilli, Google documentation guide and CommonMark specification.

Table of contents

• Installation and Usage

  • Local installation
  • Programmatic usage

• Presets

  • Default preset
  • writability preset
  • readability preset

• Configuration

  • Override rules
  • Configuration comments
  • External rules

• Help

• Issues

• License

Installation and Usage

Local installation

If you want to lint the Markdown files from a project, the recommended way is to install this package as a development dependency via npm. Requires remark-cli.

npm install --save-dev remark-cli remark-preset-lint-styleguide

Then, add the remarkConfig field in your package.json file.

"remarkConfig": {
  "plugins": [
    "remark-preset-lint-styleguide"
  ]
}

Alternatively, you can create a .remarkrc file in the root of your project and put the configuration there.

{
  "plugins": [
    "remark-preset-lint-styleguide"
  ]
}

Next, you need to setup a npm script to lint Markdown files. See the remark-cli package for more information on all available options.

"scripts": {
  "lint-md": "remark ."
}

Run the script from the command-line.

npm run lint-md

You can tell remark to ignore certain files or folders by creating a .remarkignore file in the root of your project. The format is the same as for .gitignore files.

Alternatively, you can use any file that follows the standard ignore file format. You can even use your .gitignore file.

"scripts": {
  "lint-md": "remark --ignore-path .gitignore ."
}

Programmatic usage

If you want to lint Markdown inside a Node.js module, you need to install this package as a project dependency via npm. Requires remark.

npm install --save remark remark-preset-lint-styleguide vfile-reporter

If you want to use it inside your project's custom build script, you should install this package as a development dependency via npm. Requires remark.

npm install --save-dev remark remark-preset-lint-styleguide vfile-reporter

Quick example:

const fs = require('fs');
const remark = require('remark');
const styleguide = require('remark-preset-lint-styleguide');
const report = require('vfile-reporter');
 
const myFile = fs.readFileSync('my-awesome-article.md', 'utf8');
 
let output = remark().use(styleguide).processSync(myFile);
 
console.log(report(output));

The remark package interface is provided by the unified package. See the documentation of both projects in order to get a better understanding of the API.

Presets

This package exposes multiple presets, each with it's own set of rules based on a style guide.

If you want to use a preset besides the default one, you have to append to the package name a slash (/) followed by the preset name. Example: remark-preset-lint-styleguide/writability.

Use the writability preset inside the remarkConfig field.

"remarkConfig": {
  "plugins": [
    "remark-preset-lint-styleguide/writability"
  ]
}

Use the writability preset with the remark API.

const fs = require('fs');
const remark = require('remark');
const styleguideWritability = require('remark-preset-lint-styleguide/writability');
const report = require('vfile-reporter');
 
const myFile = fs.readFileSync('my-awesome-article.md', 'utf8');
 
let output = remark().use(styleguideWritability).processSync(myFile);
 
console.log(report(output));

Default preset

It is mostly based on the writability profile from the Markdown Style Guide by Ciro Santilli, which uses the following options:

• wrap:no
• list-marker:hyphen
• code:fenced

It also has an opinionated horizontal rule style of ten hyphens: ----------.

Reasons behind certain choices

No hard wrapping

Instead, enable the editor's soft wrap or word wrap option for Markdown files.

See "Difference between hard wrap and soft wrap?" on Stack Overflow.

• It's easier to write and edit without constantly having to maintain a specific line length.
• It's easier to copy and paste text because you can select the whole paragraph without extra line breaks.
• A modified paragraph always shows up as a single diff line.
• Text, unlike code, still looks good when it's soft wrapped, so readability is not affected.
• Non-tech users are accustomed to this behavior from other popular word processors.

Horizontal rule

• improved visibility
• still easy to remember and write

writability preset

It implements the writability profile from the Markdown Style Guide by Ciro Santilli, which uses the following options:

• wrap:no
• list-marker:hyphen
• code:fenced

readability preset

It implements the readability profile from the Markdown Style Guide by Ciro Santilli, which uses the following options:

• wrap:space
• list-marker:asterisk
• code:indented

Configuration

Because all "official rules" are already included, they can be easily used without having to first install their respective package.

Each rule can be configured with a severity level:

• off: turn the rule off
• warn: show a warning for problems (exit code is 0, lint passes). Used by optional rules that might have a valid edge case.
• error: trigger an error for problems (exit code is 1, lint fails). Used by rules that enforce correct syntax, best practices or portability.

Override rules

Start your configuration with one of the presets and then modify certain rules to better suit your needs.

"remarkConfig": {
  "plugins": [
    "remark-preset-lint-styleguide",
    ["remark-lint-no-html", false]
  ]
}

Configuration comments

You can use configuration comments to turn all or certain rules on or off inside a file. Note that you cannot change their setting, only whether messages for that rule are shown or hidden. See the remark-message-control package for more information.

To disable all remark-lint rules for an entire file, put the comment at the top of the file.

<!-- lint disable -->
 
# Heading
 
Paragraph.
 
* list item 1
* list item 2
* list item 3

Disable certain rules for an entire file.

<!-- lint disable no-html unordered-list-marker-style -->
 
# Heading
 
<img src="cover.png">
 
Paragraph.
 
* list item 1
* list item 2
* list item 3

Disable certain rules only for a section of text.

# Heading
 
<!-- lint disable no-html unordered-list-marker-style -->
 
<img src="cover.png">
 
* list item 1
* list item 2
* list item 3
 
<!-- lint enable no-html unordered-list-marker-style -->
 
Paragraph.
 
- list item 1
- list item 2
- list item 3

Disable certain rules only for the next node.

# Heading
 
<!-- lint ignore no-html -->
 
<img src="cover.png">
 
Paragraph.
 
- list item 1
- list item 2
- list item 3

Note: You'll need the blank lines between comments and other nodes!

External rules

In order to use the "external rules" you will first have to install their respective package and then add them to your configuration. Example: remark-lint-no-url-trailing-slash.

First, install the rule as a development dependency.

npm install --save-dev remark-lint-no-url-trailing-slash

Then, add the rule to your existing configuration and provide a severity level for it.

"remarkConfig": {
  "plugins": [
    "remark-preset-lint-styleguide",
    ["remark-lint-no-url-trailing-slash", ["warn"]]
  ]
}

Help

If you have questions that this document or the remark and remark-lint documentations do not answer, please use the official Gitter chat room for remark.

Issues

Use this project's issue tracker for any of these situations:

• report a preset that does not correctly implement the style guide it is based on
• request a new preset
• other aspects directly related to the current package

For problems related to the remark and remark-lint packages, please use their respective issue trackers.

License

MIT © Radu Serbanescu