eslint vs jshint vs standard vs jscs
JavaScript Code Quality Tools Comparison
1 Year
eslintjshintstandardjscsSimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Code Quality Tools?

JavaScript code quality tools are essential for maintaining high standards of code quality and consistency in web development. These tools help developers identify and fix potential issues in their code, enforce coding standards, and improve overall code maintainability. By integrating these tools into the development workflow, teams can ensure that their code adheres to best practices, reducing bugs and enhancing collaboration among developers. Each tool has its unique features and philosophies, catering to different preferences and project requirements.

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eslint45,989,32125,6063.47 MB893 days agoMIT
jshint588,2129,0053.31 MB456-MIT
standard400,49629,265164 kB1265 months agoMIT
jscs48,1934,954-09 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: eslint vs jshint vs standard vs jscs

Configuration Flexibility

  • eslint:

    ESLint offers extensive configuration options, allowing developers to customize rules, create their own rules, and integrate plugins for various frameworks and libraries. This flexibility makes it suitable for diverse coding styles and project requirements.

  • jshint:

    JSHint offers a moderate level of configuration, allowing developers to enable or disable specific checks. However, it is less flexible than ESLint in terms of custom rules and plugins.

  • standard:

    Standard promotes a specific style guide with no configuration required, which simplifies the setup process but limits flexibility for teams that may want to adopt different coding styles.

  • jscs:

    JSCS provides a limited set of configuration options focused on coding style. It allows developers to define a style guide but lacks the extensive rule customization found in ESLint, making it less flexible for complex projects.

Integration and Ecosystem

  • eslint:

    ESLint has a rich ecosystem with numerous plugins and integrations for various frameworks (like React, Vue, etc.), build tools (like Webpack), and IDEs, making it a versatile choice for modern development environments.

  • jshint:

    JSHint integrates well with many IDEs and text editors, but it lacks the extensive plugin ecosystem that ESLint offers, which may limit its adaptability in modern workflows.

  • standard:

    Standard has a straightforward integration process, particularly with Node.js projects, but it does not support plugins or custom rules, which may restrict its use in more complex applications.

  • jscs:

    JSCS has limited integration options as it has been deprecated in favor of ESLint. Its ecosystem is not as robust, which may hinder its usefulness in contemporary projects.

Community and Support

  • eslint:

    ESLint has a large and active community, ensuring regular updates, a wealth of documentation, and a variety of resources for troubleshooting and best practices, making it a reliable choice for developers.

  • jshint:

    JSHint has a decent community, but it is not as active as ESLint's, leading to slower updates and less frequent enhancements compared to more modern tools.

  • standard:

    Standard has a growing community, but its focus on a specific style guide may limit the breadth of support and resources compared to more flexible tools like ESLint.

  • jscs:

    JSCS has a smaller community due to its deprecation and merger into ESLint, which means less support and fewer resources for developers who may still be using it.

Learning Curve

  • eslint:

    ESLint has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive configuration options and features. However, once understood, it provides powerful tools for maintaining code quality.

  • jshint:

    JSHint is relatively easy to learn and use, making it suitable for beginners who want to quickly identify issues in their JavaScript code without extensive setup.

  • standard:

    Standard has a very low learning curve as it requires no configuration, making it ideal for teams that want to enforce consistency without the overhead of setting up rules.

  • jscs:

    JSCS has a simpler learning curve focused on style enforcement, but its limited features may not provide enough depth for complex projects.

Performance

  • eslint:

    ESLint is designed to be performant, but its extensive rule set and plugin architecture can lead to slower linting times in large codebases. Developers can optimize performance by selectively enabling rules and using caching.

  • jshint:

    JSHint is lightweight and performs well, but it may not catch as many issues as ESLint, potentially leading to missed bugs in larger codebases.

  • standard:

    Standard's performance is generally good due to its simplicity, but it may not catch as many nuanced issues as ESLint, especially in complex applications.

  • jscs:

    JSCS is generally fast but may not be as optimized for large projects compared to ESLint, especially since it has been merged into ESLint and is no longer actively maintained.

How to Choose: eslint vs jshint vs standard vs jscs
  • eslint:

    Choose ESLint if you need a highly configurable linter that supports custom rules and plugins, allowing for a tailored linting experience that can adapt to your team's coding standards.

  • jshint:

    Opt for JSHint if you are looking for a straightforward and easy-to-use linter that can quickly identify potential issues in your JavaScript code without extensive configuration.

  • standard:

    Use Standard if you want a zero-configuration linter that enforces a specific style guide, promoting consistency and simplicity in your codebase without needing to set up individual rules.

  • jscs:

    Select JSCS if you prefer a tool focused specifically on coding style and want to enforce style guides without the complexity of additional features. However, note that JSCS has been merged into ESLint, making it less relevant for new projects.

README for eslint

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ESLint

Website | Configure ESLint | Rules | Contribute to ESLint | Report Bugs | Code of Conduct | Twitter | Discord | Mastodon | Bluesky

ESLint is a tool for identifying and reporting on patterns found in ECMAScript/JavaScript code. In many ways, it is similar to JSLint and JSHint with a few exceptions:

  • ESLint uses Espree for JavaScript parsing.
  • ESLint uses an AST to evaluate patterns in code.
  • ESLint is completely pluggable, every single rule is a plugin and you can add more at runtime.

Table of Contents

  1. Installation and Usage
  2. Configuration
  3. Version Support
  4. Code of Conduct
  5. Filing Issues
  6. Frequently Asked Questions
  7. Releases
  8. Security Policy
  9. Semantic Versioning Policy
  10. License
  11. Team
  12. Sponsors
  13. Technology Sponsors

Installation and Usage

Prerequisites: Node.js (^18.18.0, ^20.9.0, or >=21.1.0) built with SSL support. (If you are using an official Node.js distribution, SSL is always built in.)

You can install and configure ESLint using this command:

npm init @eslint/config@latest

After that, you can run ESLint on any file or directory like this:

npx eslint yourfile.js

pnpm Installation

To use ESLint with pnpm, we recommend setting up a .npmrc file with at least the following settings:

auto-install-peers=true
node-linker=hoisted

This ensures that pnpm installs dependencies in a way that is more compatible with npm and is less likely to produce errors.

Configuration

You can configure rules in your eslint.config.js files as in this example:

export default [
    {
        files: ["**/*.js", "**/*.cjs", "**/*.mjs"],
        rules: {
            "prefer-const": "warn",
            "no-constant-binary-expression": "error"
        }
    }
];

The names "prefer-const" and "no-constant-binary-expression" are the names of rules in ESLint. The first value is the error level of the rule and can be one of these values:

  • "off" or 0 - turn the rule off
  • "warn" or 1 - turn the rule on as a warning (doesn't affect exit code)
  • "error" or 2 - turn the rule on as an error (exit code will be 1)

The three error levels allow you fine-grained control over how ESLint applies rules (for more configuration options and details, see the configuration docs).

Version Support

The ESLint team provides ongoing support for the current version and six months of limited support for the previous version. Limited support includes critical bug fixes, security issues, and compatibility issues only.

ESLint offers commercial support for both current and previous versions through our partners, Tidelift and HeroDevs.

See Version Support for more details.

Code of Conduct

ESLint adheres to the OpenJS Foundation Code of Conduct.

Filing Issues

Before filing an issue, please be sure to read the guidelines for what you're reporting:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ESLint support JSX?

Yes, ESLint natively supports parsing JSX syntax (this must be enabled in configuration). Please note that supporting JSX syntax is not the same as supporting React. React applies specific semantics to JSX syntax that ESLint doesn't recognize. We recommend using eslint-plugin-react if you are using React and want React semantics.

Does Prettier replace ESLint?

No, ESLint and Prettier have different jobs: ESLint is a linter (looking for problematic patterns) and Prettier is a code formatter. Using both tools is common, refer to Prettier's documentation to learn how to configure them to work well with each other.

What ECMAScript versions does ESLint support?

ESLint has full support for ECMAScript 3, 5, and every year from 2015 up until the most recent stage 4 specification (the default). You can set your desired ECMAScript syntax and other settings (like global variables) through configuration.

What about experimental features?

ESLint's parser only officially supports the latest final ECMAScript standard. We will make changes to core rules in order to avoid crashes on stage 3 ECMAScript syntax proposals (as long as they are implemented using the correct experimental ESTree syntax). We may make changes to core rules to better work with language extensions (such as JSX, Flow, and TypeScript) on a case-by-case basis.

In other cases (including if rules need to warn on more or fewer cases due to new syntax, rather than just not crashing), we recommend you use other parsers and/or rule plugins. If you are using Babel, you can use @babel/eslint-parser and @babel/eslint-plugin to use any option available in Babel.

Once a language feature has been adopted into the ECMAScript standard (stage 4 according to the TC39 process), we will accept issues and pull requests related to the new feature, subject to our contributing guidelines. Until then, please use the appropriate parser and plugin(s) for your experimental feature.

Which Node.js versions does ESLint support?

ESLint updates the supported Node.js versions with each major release of ESLint. At that time, ESLint's supported Node.js versions are updated to be:

  1. The most recent maintenance release of Node.js
  2. The lowest minor version of the Node.js LTS release that includes the features the ESLint team wants to use.
  3. The Node.js Current release

ESLint is also expected to work with Node.js versions released after the Node.js Current release.

Refer to the Quick Start Guide for the officially supported Node.js versions for a given ESLint release.

Where to ask for help?

Open a discussion or stop by our Discord server.

Why doesn't ESLint lock dependency versions?

Lock files like package-lock.json are helpful for deployed applications. They ensure that dependencies are consistent between environments and across deployments.

Packages like eslint that get published to the npm registry do not include lock files. npm install eslint as a user will respect version constraints in ESLint's package.json. ESLint and its dependencies will be included in the user's lock file if one exists, but ESLint's own lock file would not be used.

We intentionally don't lock dependency versions so that we have the latest compatible dependency versions in development and CI that our users get when installing ESLint in a project.

The Twilio blog has a deeper dive to learn more.

Releases

We have scheduled releases every two weeks on Friday or Saturday. You can follow a release issue for updates about the scheduling of any particular release.

Security Policy

ESLint takes security seriously. We work hard to ensure that ESLint is safe for everyone and that security issues are addressed quickly and responsibly. Read the full security policy.

Semantic Versioning Policy

ESLint follows semantic versioning. However, due to the nature of ESLint as a code quality tool, it's not always clear when a minor or major version bump occurs. To help clarify this for everyone, we've defined the following semantic versioning policy for ESLint:

  • Patch release (intended to not break your lint build)
    • A bug fix in a rule that results in ESLint reporting fewer linting errors.
    • A bug fix to the CLI or core (including formatters).
    • Improvements to documentation.
    • Non-user-facing changes such as refactoring code, adding, deleting, or modifying tests, and increasing test coverage.
    • 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 bug fix in a rule that results in ESLint reporting more linting errors.
    • A new rule is created.
    • A new option to an existing rule that does not result in ESLint reporting more linting errors by default.
    • A new addition to an existing rule to support a newly-added language feature (within the last 12 months) that will result in ESLint reporting more linting errors by default.
    • An existing rule is deprecated.
    • A new CLI capability is created.
    • New capabilities to the public API are added (new classes, new methods, new arguments to existing methods, etc.).
    • A new formatter is created.
    • eslint:recommended is updated and will result in strictly fewer linting errors (e.g., rule removals).
  • Major release (likely to break your lint build)
    • eslint:recommended is updated and may result in new linting errors (e.g., rule additions, most rule option updates).
    • A new option to an existing rule that results in ESLint reporting more linting errors by default.
    • An existing formatter is removed.
    • Part of the public API is removed or changed in an incompatible way. The public API includes:
      • Rule schemas
      • Configuration schema
      • Command-line options
      • Node.js API
      • Rule, formatter, parser, plugin APIs

According to our policy, any minor update may report more linting errors than the previous release (ex: from a bug fix). As such, we recommend using the tilde (~) in package.json e.g. "eslint": "~3.1.0" to guarantee the results of your builds.

License

MIT License

Copyright OpenJS Foundation and other contributors, <www.openjsf.org>

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Team

These folks keep the project moving and are resources for help.

Technical Steering Committee (TSC)

The people who manage releases, review feature requests, and meet regularly to ensure ESLint is properly maintained.

Nicholas C. Zakas's Avatar
Nicholas C. Zakas
Francesco Trotta's Avatar
Francesco Trotta
Milos Djermanovic's Avatar
Milos Djermanovic

Reviewers

The people who review and implement new features.

唯然's Avatar
唯然
Nitin Kumar's Avatar
Nitin Kumar

Committers

The people who review and fix bugs and help triage issues.

Josh Goldberg ✨'s Avatar
Josh Goldberg ✨
Tanuj Kanti's Avatar
Tanuj Kanti

Website Team

Team members who focus specifically on eslint.org

Amaresh  S M's Avatar
Amaresh S M
Strek's Avatar
Strek
Percy Ma's Avatar
Percy Ma

Sponsors

The following companies, organizations, and individuals support ESLint's ongoing maintenance and development. Become a Sponsor to get your logo on our READMEs and website.

Platinum Sponsors

Automattic Airbnb

Gold Sponsors

Qlty Software trunk.io

Silver Sponsors

Vite JetBrains Liftoff American Express StackBlitz

Bronze Sponsors

Cybozu Anagram Solver Icons8 Discord GitBook Neko Nx Mercedes-Benz Group HeroCoders LambdaTest

Technology Sponsors

Technology sponsors allow us to use their products and services for free as part of a contribution to the open source ecosystem and our work.

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