eslint, prettier, semistandard, standard, and xo are all tools used to enforce code quality, consistency, and formatting in JavaScript projects. eslint is a highly configurable linter that identifies problematic patterns or code that doesn’t adhere to defined rules. prettier is an opinionated code formatter that automatically formats code to ensure consistent style without manual intervention. standard, semistandard, and xo are zero-config or minimal-config toolchains that bundle linting (and sometimes formatting) with predefined rule sets—standard enforces a strict style with no semicolons, semistandard is a variant that allows semicolons, and xo offers a modern, opinionated set of rules with built-in Prettier integration and support for the latest JavaScript features.
Choosing the right tool to enforce code quality and style in JavaScript isn’t just about preferences — it affects onboarding speed, code review efficiency, and long-term maintainability. While all five tools (eslint, prettier, semistandard, standard, xo) aim to reduce noise in codebases, they differ significantly in scope, configurability, and philosophy. Let’s break down how they work in practice.
eslint is a linter: it analyzes code for potential errors, anti-patterns, and style violations based on configurable rules.
// .eslintrc.js
module.exports = {
rules: {
'no-console': 'warn',
'quotes': ['error', 'single']
}
};
// Running: npx eslint src/
// Catches logic issues AND style, but only if rules are defined
prettier is a formatter: it rewrites code to match a consistent visual style, ignoring logic concerns.
// .prettierrc
{
"semi": true,
"singleQuote": true
}
// Running: npx prettier --write src/
// Turns this:
const x={a:1,b:2};
// Into this:
const x = { a: 1, b: 2 };
standard, semistandard, and xo are opinionated bundles: they combine linting (and sometimes formatting) with fixed rule sets and minimal or no configuration.
// standard: no config needed
// Fails on semicolons, requires 2-space indent
const name = 'Alice' // ✅
const name = 'Alice'; // ❌
// semistandard: same as standard but allows semicolons
const name = 'Alice'; // ✅
// xo: includes Prettier + modern ESLint rules
// Enforces async/await over callbacks, const over var, etc.
standard, semistandard, and xo promote zero-config workflows, but with different escape hatches.
standard allows no configuration — not even .eslintrc. Overrides require comments like /* eslint-disable */.semistandard behaves identically but permits semicolons; also no config file support.xo supports limited configuration via xo property in package.json:{
"xo": {
"semicolon": false,
"rules": {
"no-console": "off"
}
}
}
In contrast, eslint thrives on customization:
// Full control over parsers, plugins, environments
module.exports = {
extends: ['eslint:recommended', 'plugin:react/recommended'],
parserOptions: { ecmaVersion: 2022 },
env: { browser: true, node: true }
};
prettier sits in the middle: it has a small set of options (e.g., printWidth, tabWidth), but once set, it enforces them universally.
Yes — and often should. prettier handles formatting; eslint handles logic and subtle style rules. But they can conflict (e.g., both trying to fix quotes). The solution is eslint-config-prettier, which disables ESLint rules that overlap with Prettier.
// .eslintrc.js with Prettier
module.exports = {
extends: [
'eslint:recommended',
'prettier' // turns off conflicting rules
],
plugins: ['prettier'],
rules: {
'prettier/prettier': 'error'
}
};
xo already includes this integration out of the box. standard and semistandard do not support Prettier natively — mixing them requires disabling their formatting rules manually, which defeats their zero-config promise.
As of 2024:
eslint and prettier are actively maintained and support the latest ECMAScript proposals via plugins (e.g., @babel/eslint-parser).xo is actively maintained, defaults to modern JS (ES2022+), and auto-enables environments like Node.js 18+.standard is maintained but updates slowly; it supports modern JS but may lag behind cutting-edge syntax.semistandard has not seen significant updates since 2020 and relies on older versions of standard. While not officially deprecated, it should be avoided in new projects due to stale dependencies and lack of ESNext support.⚠️ Important:
semistandardis effectively unmaintained. Usestandardwith semicolon overrides via ESLint, or switch toxoif you need semicolons and modern tooling.
You need TypeScript support, React hooks rules, custom security checks, and team-specific naming conventions.
eslint + prettier// Example ESLint config for enterprise
module.exports = {
extends: [
'@typescript-eslint/recommended',
'plugin:react-hooks/recommended',
'prettier'
],
rules: {
'security/detect-object-injection': 'error',
'@typescript-eslint/explicit-function-return-type': 'warn'
}
};
You want fast setup, modern JS, and consistent formatting without config debates.
xo// package.json
{
"scripts": {
"test": "xo && node test.js"
},
"xo": {
"envs": ["node"],
"ignores": ["dist/"]
}
}
Your codebase uses semicolons and you want minimal disruption while catching bugs.
eslint with eslint-config-standard + semicolon overridesemistandard is outdated; better to use a maintained base and customize.// .eslintrc.js
module.exports = {
extends: 'standard',
rules: {
'semi': ['error', 'always']
}
};
You just want clean code without thinking about tooling.
standard (if you accept no semicolons) or xo (if you prefer more modern defaults)semistandard due to maintenance concerns.| Package | Type | Configurable? | Includes Formatter? | Modern JS Ready | Maintenance Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
eslint | Linter | ✅ Full | ❌ | ✅ (with plugins) | Actively maintained |
prettier | Formatter | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ | ✅ | Actively maintained |
standard | Linter bundle | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ Partial | Maintained |
semistandard | Linter bundle | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ (outdated) | Unmaintained |
xo | Linter+Formatter | ⚠️ Minimal | ✅ (via Prettier) | ✅ | Actively maintained |
eslint + prettier.xo.standard.semistandard — it’s outdated and offers no advantage over configuring standard or using xo.Remember: formatting and linting solve different problems. For production-grade applications, combining a powerful linter (eslint or xo) with an automatic formatter (prettier) gives you the best of both worlds — consistent style and robust code quality checks.
Choose standard for rapid project setup with strong opinions: no semicolons, 2-space indentation, and automatic error detection for common pitfalls. It’s great for solo developers or small teams that align with its philosophy and want to avoid configuration debates. But if your team prefers semicolons or needs to tweak rules, you’ll quickly outgrow it.
Choose eslint when you need fine-grained control over code quality rules, custom rule definitions, or integration with complex build systems. It’s ideal for large teams or mature codebases that require tailored linting policies, plugin ecosystems (e.g., React, TypeScript), or gradual adoption of stricter standards. However, it requires explicit configuration and maintenance overhead.
Choose prettier when your primary goal is automatic, consistent code formatting with minimal debate over style. It works best when paired with a linter like ESLint for logic-focused checks, as Prettier only handles formatting (spacing, line breaks, quotes). Avoid using it alone if you need to catch bugs or enforce non-stylistic best practices.
Choose semistandard if you want a zero-configuration linter that enforces a clean code style but permits semicolons—making it a good middle ground for teams migrating from traditional JavaScript conventions. However, it’s less actively maintained than alternatives and offers little customization, so it’s best suited for small projects or prototyping where setup time matters more than long-term flexibility.
Choose xo when you want a modern, opinionated linter that combines ESLint rules with built-in Prettier formatting, supports ESNext syntax by default, and encourages up-to-date JavaScript practices. It’s well-suited for Node.js and frontend projects that value convention over configuration but still benefit from occasional overrides via minimal config files.
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This module saves you (and others!) time in three ways:
.eslintrc files to manage. It just works.standard --fix and say goodbye to
messy or inconsistent code.Give it a try by running npx standard --fix right now!
pre-commit hook?The easiest way to use JavaScript Standard Style is to install it globally as a Node command line program. Run the following command in Terminal:
$ npm install standard --global
Or, you can install standard locally, for use in a single project:
$ npm install standard --save-dev
Note: To run the preceding commands, Node.js and npm must be installed.
After you've installed standard, you should be able to use the standard program. The
simplest use case would be checking the style of all JavaScript files in the
current working directory:
$ standard
Error: Use JavaScript Standard Style
lib/torrent.js:950:11: Expected '===' and instead saw '=='.
If you've installed standard locally, run with npx instead:
$ npx standard
You can optionally pass in a directory (or directories) using the glob pattern. Be
sure to quote paths containing glob patterns so that they are expanded by
standard instead of your shell:
$ standard "src/util/**/*.js" "test/**/*.js"
Note: by default standard will look for all files matching the patterns:
**/*.js, **/*.jsx.
Add it to package.json
{
"name": "my-cool-package",
"devDependencies": {
"standard": "*"
},
"scripts": {
"test": "standard && node my-tests.js"
}
}
Style is checked automatically when you run npm test
$ npm test
Error: Use JavaScript Standard Style
lib/torrent.js:950:11: Expected '===' and instead saw '=='.
Never give style feedback on a pull request again!
The beauty of JavaScript Standard Style is that it's simple. No one wants to maintain multiple hundred-line style configuration files for every module/project they work on. Enough of this madness!
This module saves you (and others!) time in three ways:
standard --fix and say goodbye to
messy or inconsistent code.Adopting standard style means ranking the importance of code clarity and
community conventions higher than personal style. This might not make sense for
100% of projects and development cultures, however open source can be a hostile
place for newbies. Setting up clear, automated contributor expectations makes a
project healthier.
For more info, see the conference talk "Write Perfect Code with Standard and
ESLint". In this talk, you'll learn
about linting, when to use standard versus eslint, and how prettier compares
to standard.
| <img width=190 src=https://cdn.rawgit.com/standard/standard/master/docs/logos/nodesource.png> | <img width=190 src=https://cdn.rawgit.com/standard/standard/master/docs/logos/searchapi.png> | Your Logo Here |
|---|
In addition to companies, many community members use standard on packages that
are too numerous
to list here.
standard is also the top-starred linter in GitHub's
Clean Code Linter showcase.
First, install standard. Then, install the appropriate plugin for your editor:
Using Package Control, install SublimeLinter and SublimeLinter-contrib-standard.
For automatic formatting on save, install StandardFormat.
Install linter-js-standard.
Alternatively, you can install linter-js-standard-engine. Instead of
bundling a version of standard it will automatically use the version installed
in your current project. It will also work out of the box with other linters based
on standard-engine.
For automatic formatting, install standard-formatter. For snippets, install standardjs-snippets.
Install vscode-standard. (Includes support for automatic formatting.)
For JS snippets, install: vscode-standardjs-snippets. For React snippets, install vscode-react-standard.
Install ale. And add these lines to your .vimrc file.
let g:ale_linters = {
\ 'javascript': ['standard'],
\}
let g:ale_fixers = {'javascript': ['standard']}
This sets standard as your only linter and fixer for javascript files and so prevents conflicts with eslint. For linting and automatic fixing on save, add these lines to .vimrc:
let g:ale_lint_on_save = 1
let g:ale_fix_on_save = 1
Alternative plugins to consider include neomake and syntastic, both of which have built-in support for standard (though configuration may be necessary).
Install Flycheck and check out the manual to learn how to enable it in your projects.
Search the extension registry for "Standard Code Style" and click "Install".
WebStorm recently announced native support
for standard directly in the IDE.
If you still prefer to configure standard manually, follow this guide. This applies to all JetBrains products, including PhpStorm, IntelliJ, RubyMine, etc.
Yes! If you use standard in your project, you can include one of these badges in
your readme to let people know that your code is using the standard style.
[](https://github.com/standard/standard)
[](https://standardjs.com)
No. The whole point of standard is to save you time by avoiding
bikeshedding about code style. There are lots of debates online about
tabs vs. spaces, etc. that will never be resolved. These debates just distract from
getting stuff done. At the end of the day you have to 'just pick something', and
that's the whole philosophy of standard -- its a bunch of sensible 'just pick
something' opinions. Hopefully, users see the value in that over defending their
own opinions.
There are a couple of similar packages for anyone who does not want to completely accept standard:
If you really want to configure hundreds of ESLint rules individually, you can
always use eslint directly with
eslint-config-standard to
layer your changes on top.
standard-eject can help
you migrate from standard to eslint and eslint-config-standard.
Pro tip: Just use standard and move on. There are actual real problems that you
could spend your time solving! :P
Of course it's not! The style laid out here is not affiliated with any official web
standards groups, which is why this repo is called standard/standard and not
ECMA/standard.
The word "standard" has more meanings than just "web standard" :-) For example:
Yes! You can use standard --fix to fix most issues automatically.
standard --fix is built into standard for maximum convenience. Most problems
are fixable, but some errors (like forgetting to handle errors) must be fixed
manually.
To save you time, standard outputs the message "Run standard --fix to automatically fix some problems" when it detects problems that can be fixed
automatically.
Certain paths (node_modules/, coverage/, vendor/, *.min.js,
and files/folders that begin with . like .git/) are automatically ignored.
Paths in a project's root .gitignore file are also automatically ignored.
Sometimes you need to ignore additional folders or specific minified files. To do
that, add a standard.ignore property to package.json:
"standard": {
"ignore": [
"**/out/",
"/lib/select2/",
"/lib/ckeditor/",
"tmp.js"
]
}
In rare cases, you'll need to break a rule and hide the error generated by
standard.
JavaScript Standard Style uses ESLint under-the-hood and you can hide errors as you normally would if you used ESLint directly.
Disable all rules on a specific line:
file = 'I know what I am doing' // eslint-disable-line
Or, disable only the "no-use-before-define" rule:
file = 'I know what I am doing' // eslint-disable-line no-use-before-define
Or, disable the "no-use-before-define" rule for multiple lines:
/* eslint-disable no-use-before-define */
console.log('offending code goes here...')
console.log('offending code goes here...')
console.log('offending code goes here...')
/* eslint-enable no-use-before-define */
Some packages (e.g. mocha) put their functions (e.g. describe, it) on the
global object (poor form!). Since these functions are not defined or require'd
anywhere in your code, standard will warn that you're using a variable that is
not defined (usually, this rule is really useful for catching typos!). But we want
to disable it for these global variables.
To let standard (as well as humans reading your code) know that certain variables
are global in your code, add this to the top of your file:
/* global myVar1, myVar2 */
If you have hundreds of files, it may be desirable to avoid adding comments to every file. In this case, run:
$ standard --global myVar1 --global myVar2
Or, add this to package.json:
{
"standard": {
"globals": [ "myVar1", "myVar2" ]
}
}
Note: global and globals are equivalent.
standard supports the latest ECMAScript features, ES8 (ES2017), including
language feature proposals that are in "Stage 4" of the proposal process.
To support experimental language features, standard supports specifying a
custom JavaScript parser. Before using a custom parser, consider whether the added
complexity is worth it.
To use a custom parser, first install it from npm:
npm install @babel/eslint-parser --save-dev
Then run:
$ standard --parser @babel/eslint-parser
Or, add this to package.json:
{
"standard": {
"parser": "@babel/eslint-parser"
}
}
standard supports the latest ECMAScript features. However, Flow and TypeScript add new
syntax to the language, so they are not supported out-of-the-box.
For TypeScript, an official variant ts-standard is supported and maintained that provides a very
similar experience to standard.
For other JavaScript language variants, standard supports specifying a custom JavaScript
parser as well as an ESLint plugin to handle the changed syntax. Before using a JavaScript
language variant, consider whether the added complexity is worth it.
ts-standard is the officially supported variant for
TypeScript. ts-standard supports all the same rules and options as standard and includes
additional TypeScript specific rules. ts-standard will even lint regular javascript files
by setting the configuration in tsconfig.json.
npm install ts-standard --save-dev
Then run (where tsconfig.json is located in the working directory):
$ ts-standard
Or, add this to package.json:
{
"ts-standard": {
"project": "./tsconfig.json"
}
}
Note: To include additional files in linting such as test files, create a tsconfig.eslint.json file to use instead.
If you really want to configure hundreds of ESLint rules individually, you can always use eslint
directly with eslint-config-standard-with-typescript
to layer your changes on top.
To use Flow, you need to run standard with @babel/eslint-parser as the parser and
eslint-plugin-flowtype as a plugin.
npm install @babel/eslint-parser eslint-plugin-flowtype --save-dev
Then run:
$ standard --parser @babel/eslint-parser --plugin flowtype
Or, add this to package.json:
{
"standard": {
"parser": "@babel/eslint-parser",
"plugins": [ "flowtype" ]
}
}
Note: plugin and plugins are equivalent.
To support mocha in test files, add this to the top of the test files:
/* eslint-env mocha */
Or, run:
$ standard --env mocha
Where mocha can be one of jest, jasmine, qunit, phantomjs, and so on. To see a
full list, check ESLint's
specifying environments
documentation. For a list of what globals are available for these environments,
check the
globals npm
module.
Note: env and envs are equivalent.
Add this to the top of web worker files:
/* eslint-env worker */
This lets standard (as well as humans reading the code) know that self is a
global in web worker code.
For Service workers, add this instead:
/* eslint-env serviceworker */
standard treats all rule violations as errors, which means that standard
will exit with a non-zero (error) exit code.
However, we may occasionally release a new major version of standard
which changes a rule that affects the majority of standard users (for example,
transitioning from var to let/const). We do this only when we think the
advantage is worth the cost and only when the rule is
auto-fixable.
In these situations, we have a "transition period" where the rule change is only
a "warning". Warnings don't cause standard to return a non-zero (error)
exit code. However, a warning message will still print to the console. During
the transition period, using standard --fix will update your code so that it's
ready for the next major version.
The slow and careful approach is what we strive for with standard. We're
generally extremely conservative in enforcing the usage of new language
features. We want using standard to be light and fun and so we're careful
about making changes that may get in your way. As always, you can
disable a rule at any time, if necessary.
To check code inside Markdown files, use standard-markdown.
Alternatively, there are ESLint plugins that can check code inside Markdown, HTML, and many other types of language files:
To check code inside Markdown files, use an ESLint plugin:
$ npm install eslint-plugin-markdown
Then, to check JS that appears inside code blocks, run:
$ standard --plugin markdown '**/*.md'
To check code inside HTML files, use an ESLint plugin:
$ npm install eslint-plugin-html
Then, to check JS that appears inside <script> tags, run:
$ standard --plugin html '**/*.html'
pre-commit hook?Yes! Hooks are great for ensuring that unstyled code never even makes it into your repo. Never give style feedback on a pull request again!
You even have a choice...
#!/bin/bash
# Ensure all JavaScript files staged for commit pass standard code style
function xargs-r() {
# Portable version of "xargs -r". The -r flag is a GNU extension that
# prevents xargs from running if there are no input files.
if IFS= read -r -d $'\n' path; then
echo "$path" | cat - | xargs "$@"
fi
}
git diff --name-only --cached --relative | grep '\.jsx\?$' | sed 's/[^[:alnum:]]/\\&/g' | xargs-r -E '' -t standard
if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then
echo 'JavaScript Standard Style errors were detected. Aborting commit.'
exit 1
fi
pre-commit hookThe pre-commit library allows hooks to be declared within a .pre-commit-config.yaml configuration file in the repo, and therefore more easily maintained across a team.
Users of pre-commit can simply add standard to their .pre-commit-config.yaml file, which will automatically fix .js, .jsx, .mjs and .cjs files:
- repo: https://github.com/standard/standard
rev: master
hooks:
- id: standard
Alternatively, for more advanced styling configurations, use standard within the eslint hook:
- repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/mirrors-eslint
rev: master
hooks:
- id: eslint
files: \.[jt]sx?$ # *.js, *.jsx, *.ts and *.tsx
types: [file]
additional_dependencies:
- eslint@latest
- eslint-config-standard@latest
# and whatever other plugins...
The built-in output is simple and straightforward, but if you like shiny things, install snazzy:
$ npm install snazzy
And run:
$ standard | snazzy
There's also standard-tap, standard-json, standard-reporter, and standard-summary.
Yes!
async standard.lintText(text, [opts])Lint the provided source text. An opts object may be provided:
{
// unique to lintText
filename: '', // path of file containing the text being linted
// common to lintText and lintFiles
cwd: '', // current working directory (default: process.cwd())
fix: false, // automatically fix problems
extensions: [], // file extensions to lint (has sane defaults)
globals: [], // custom global variables to declare
plugins: [], // custom eslint plugins
envs: [], // custom eslint environment
parser: '', // custom js parser (e.g. babel-eslint)
usePackageJson: true, // use options from nearest package.json?
useGitIgnore: true // use file ignore patterns from .gitignore?
}
All options are optional, though some ESLint plugins require the filename option.
Additional options may be loaded from a package.json if it's found for the current working directory. See below for further details.
Returns a Promise resolving to the results or rejected with an Error.
The results object will contain the following properties:
const results = {
results: [
{
filePath: '',
messages: [
{ ruleId: '', message: '', line: 0, column: 0 }
],
errorCount: 0,
warningCount: 0,
output: '' // fixed source code (only present with {fix: true} option)
}
],
errorCount: 0,
warningCount: 0
}
async standard.lintFiles(files, [opts])Lint the provided files globs. An opts object may be provided:
{
// unique to lintFiles
ignore: [], // file globs to ignore (has sane defaults)
// common to lintText and lintFiles
cwd: '', // current working directory (default: process.cwd())
fix: false, // automatically fix problems
extensions: [], // file extensions to lint (has sane defaults)
globals: [], // custom global variables to declare
plugins: [], // custom eslint plugins
envs: [], // custom eslint environment
parser: '', // custom js parser (e.g. babel-eslint)
usePackageJson: true, // use options from nearest package.json?
useGitIgnore: true // use file ignore patterns from .gitignore?
}
Additional options may be loaded from a package.json if it's found for the current working directory. See below for further details.
Both ignore and files patterns are resolved relative to the current working directory.
Returns a Promise resolving to the results or rejected with an Error (same as above).
Contributions are welcome! Check out the issues or the PRs, and make your own if you want something that you don't see there.
Want to chat? Join contributors on Discord.
Here are some important packages in the standard ecosystem:
There are also many editor plugins, a list of
npm packages that use standard,
and an awesome list of
packages in the standard ecosystem.
The standard team and community take all security bugs in standard seriously. Please see our security policies and procedures document to learn how to report issues.
MIT. Copyright (c) Feross Aboukhadijeh.