---

name: markdownlint-integration description: Integrate markdownlint into development workflows including CLI usage, programmatic API, CI/CD pipelines, and editor integration. allowed-tools: [Bash, Read]

Markdownlint Integration

Master integrating markdownlint into development workflows including CLI usage, programmatic API (sync/async/promise), CI/CD pipelines, pre-commit hooks, and editor integration.

Overview

Markdownlint can be integrated into various parts of your development workflow to ensure consistent markdown quality. This includes command-line tools, programmatic usage in Node.js, continuous integration pipelines, Git hooks, and editor plugins.

Command-Line Interface

markdownlint-cli Installation

npm install -g markdownlint-cli
# or as dev dependency
npm install --save-dev markdownlint-cli

Basic CLI Usage

# Lint all markdown files in current directory
markdownlint '**/*.md'

# Lint specific files
markdownlint README.md CONTRIBUTING.md

# Lint with configuration file
markdownlint -c .markdownlint.json '**/*.md'

# Ignore specific files
markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules

# Fix violations automatically
markdownlint -f '**/*.md'

# Output to file
markdownlint '**/*.md' -o linting-results.txt

Advanced CLI Options

# Use custom config
markdownlint --config config/markdown-lint.json docs/

# Ignore patterns from file
markdownlint --ignore-path .gitignore '**/*.md'

# Use multiple ignore patterns
markdownlint --ignore node_modules --ignore dist '**/*.md'

# Enable specific rules only
markdownlint --rules MD001,MD003,MD013 '**/*.md'

# Disable specific rules
markdownlint --disable MD013 '**/*.md'

# Show output in JSON format
markdownlint --json '**/*.md'

# Quiet mode (exit code only)
markdownlint -q '**/*.md'

# Verbose output
markdownlint --verbose '**/*.md'

CLI Configuration File

.markdownlint-cli.json:

{
 "config": {
 "default": true,
 "MD013": {
 "line_length": 100
 }
 },
 "files": ["**/*.md"],
 "ignores": [
 "node_modules/**",
 "dist/**",
 "build/**"
 ]
}

Use with:

markdownlint --config .markdownlint-cli.json

Programmatic API

Callback-Based API

const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');

const options = {
 files: ['good.md', 'bad.md'],
 config: {
 default: true,
 'line-length': {
 line_length: 100
 }
 }
};

markdownlint(options, (err, result) => {
 if (!err) {
 console.log(result.toString());
 } else {
 console.error(err);
 }
});

Promise-Based API

import { lint as lintPromise } from 'markdownlint/promise';

const options = {
 files: ['README.md', 'docs/**/*.md'],
 config: {
 default: true,
 'no-inline-html': {
 allowed_elements: ['br', 'img']
 }
 }
};

try {
 const results = await lintPromise(options);
 console.dir(results, { colors: true, depth: null });
} catch (err) {
 console.error(err);
}

Synchronous API

import { lint as lintSync } from 'markdownlint/sync';

const options = {
 files: ['README.md'],
 strings: {
 'inline-content': '# Test\n\nContent here.'
 },
 config: {
 default: true
 }
};

const results = lintSync(options);
console.log(results.toString());

Linting Strings

const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');

const options = {
 strings: {
 'content-1': '# Heading\n\nParagraph text.',
 'content-2': '## Another heading\n\nMore content.'
 },
 config: {
 default: true,
 'first-line-heading': {
 level: 1
 }
 }
};

markdownlint(options, (err, result) => {
 if (!err) {
 const resultString = result.toString();
 console.log(resultString);
 }
});

Working with Results

import { lint } from 'markdownlint/promise';

const results = await lint({
 files: ['docs/**/*.md'],
 config: { default: true }
});

// Results is an object keyed by filename
Object.keys(results).forEach(file => {
 const fileResults = results[file];

 fileResults.forEach(result => {
 console.log(`${file}:${result.lineNumber} ${result.ruleNames.join('/')} ${result.ruleDescription}`);

 if (result.errorDetail) {
 console.log(` Detail: ${result.errorDetail}`);
 }

 if (result.errorContext) {
 console.log(` Context: ${result.errorContext}`);
 }
 });
});

Reading Configuration

const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');
const { readConfigSync } = require('markdownlint/sync');

// Read configuration from file
const config = readConfigSync('.markdownlint.json');

const options = {
 files: ['**/*.md'],
 config: config
};

const results = markdownlint.sync(options);
console.log(results.toString());

Using Custom Rules

const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');
const customRule = require('./custom-rules/heading-capitalization');

const options = {
 files: ['README.md'],
 config: {
 default: true,
 'heading-capitalization': true
 },
 customRules: [customRule]
};

markdownlint(options, (err, result) => {
 if (!err) {
 console.log(result.toString());
 }
});

Applying Fixes Programmatically

applyFix Function

const { applyFix } = require('markdownlint');

const line = ' Text with extra spaces ';
const fixInfo = {
 editColumn: 1,
 deleteCount: 2,
 insertText: ''
};

const fixed = applyFix(line, fixInfo);
console.log(fixed); // 'Text with extra spaces '

applyFixes Function

const { applyFixes } = require('markdownlint');

const input = '# Heading\n\n\nParagraph';
const errors = [
 {
 lineNumber: 3,
 ruleNames: ['MD012'],
 ruleDescription: 'Multiple blank lines',
 fixInfo: {
 lineNumber: 3,
 deleteCount: -1
 }
 }
];

const fixed = applyFixes(input, errors);
console.log(fixed); // '# Heading\n\nParagraph'

Auto-Fix Workflow

const fs = require('fs');
const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');
const { applyFixes } = require('markdownlint');

const file = 'README.md';
const content = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8');

const options = {
 strings: {
 [file]: content
 },
 config: {
 default: true
 }
};

markdownlint(options, (err, result) => {
 if (!err) {
 const errors = result[file] || [];

 if (errors.length > 0) {
 const fixed = applyFixes(content, errors);
 fs.writeFileSync(file, fixed, 'utf8');
 console.log(`Fixed ${errors.length} issues in ${file}`);
 }
 }
});

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

.github/workflows/markdownlint.yml:

name: Markdownlint

on:
 push:
 branches: [main, develop]
 pull_request:
 branches: [main]

jobs:
 lint:
 runs-on: ubuntu-latest

 steps:
 - name: Checkout code
 uses: actions/checkout@v3

 - name: Setup Node.js
 uses: actions/setup-node@v3
 with:
 node-version: '18'

 - name: Install dependencies
 run: npm ci

 - name: Run markdownlint
 run: npx markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules

 - name: Annotate PR with results
 if: failure()
 run: |
 npx markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules -o markdownlint-results.txt
 cat markdownlint-results.txt

GitHub Actions with markdownlint-cli2

name: Markdownlint

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
 lint:
 runs-on: ubuntu-latest

 steps:
 - uses: actions/checkout@v3

 - name: Run markdownlint-cli2
 uses: DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2-action@v9
 with:
 paths: '**/*.md'

GitLab CI

.gitlab-ci.yml:

markdownlint:
 image: node:18-alpine
 stage: test
 before_script:
 - npm install -g markdownlint-cli
 script:
 - markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules
 only:
 - merge_requests
 - main
 artifacts:
 when: on_failure
 paths:
 - markdownlint-results.txt

CircleCI

.circleci/config.yml:

version: 2.1

jobs:
 markdownlint:
 docker:
 - image: cimg/node:18.0
 steps:
 - checkout
 - run:
 name: Install markdownlint
 command: npm install -g markdownlint-cli
 - run:
 name: Run linter
 command: markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules

workflows:
 version: 2
 build_and_test:
 jobs:
 - markdownlint

Jenkins Pipeline

Jenkinsfile:

pipeline {
 agent any

 stages {
 stage('Lint Markdown') {
 steps {
 sh 'npm install -g markdownlint-cli'
 sh 'markdownlint "**/*.md" --ignore node_modules'
 }
 }
 }

 post {
 always {
 cleanWs()
 }
 failure {
 echo 'Markdownlint found issues!'
 }
 }
}

Azure Pipelines

azure-pipelines.yml:

trigger:
 - main

pool:
 vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
 - task: NodeTool@0
 inputs:
 versionSpec: '18.x'
 displayName: 'Install Node.js'

 - script: |
 npm install -g markdownlint-cli
 displayName: 'Install markdownlint'

 - script: |
 markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules
 displayName: 'Run markdownlint'

Pre-commit Hooks

Using Husky

Install Husky:

npm install --save-dev husky
npx husky install

Create pre-commit hook:

npx husky add .husky/pre-commit "npm run lint:md"

Add script to package.json:

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint:md": "markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules",
 "lint:md:fix": "markdownlint -f '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules"
 }
}

Using lint-staged

Install lint-staged:

npm install --save-dev lint-staged

Configure in package.json:

{
 "lint-staged": {
 "*.md": [
 "markdownlint --fix",
 "git add"
 ]
 }
}

Update pre-commit hook:

npx husky add .husky/pre-commit "npx lint-staged"

Using pre-commit Framework

.pre-commit-config.yaml:

repos:
 - repo: https://github.com/igorshubovych/markdownlint-cli
 rev: v0.37.0
 hooks:
 - id: markdownlint
 args: ['--fix']

 - repo: https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2
 rev: v0.10.0
 hooks:
 - id: markdownlint-cli2
 args: ['--fix']

Install and use:

pip install pre-commit
pre-commit install
pre-commit run --all-files

Editor Integration

Visual Studio Code

Install the markdownlint extension:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "markdownlint"
4. Install "markdownlint" by David Anson

Configure in .vscode/settings.json:

{
 "markdownlint.config": {
 "default": true,
 "MD013": {
 "line_length": 100
 }
 },
 "markdownlint.ignore": [
 "node_modules/**",
 "dist/**"
 ],
 "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
 "source.fixAll.markdownlint": true
 }
}

Vim/Neovim

Using ALE (Asynchronous Lint Engine):

" In .vimrc or init.vim
let g:ale_linters = {
\ 'markdown': ['markdownlint'],
\}

let g:ale_fixers = {
\ 'markdown': ['markdownlint'],
\}

let g:ale_markdown_markdownlint_options = '-c .markdownlint.json'

" Enable fixing on save
let g:ale_fix_on_save = 1

Sublime Text

Install via Package Control:

1. Install Package Control
2. Install "SublimeLinter"
3. Install "SublimeLinter-contrib-markdownlint"

Configure in preferences:

{
 "linters": {
 "markdownlint": {
 "args": ["-c", ".markdownlint.json"]
 }
 }
}

Atom

Install packages:

apm install linter-markdownlint

Configure in Atom settings or .atom/config.cson:

"linter-markdownlint":
 configPath: ".markdownlint.json"

npm Scripts Integration

package.json Scripts

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint": "npm run lint:md",
 "lint:md": "markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules",
 "lint:md:fix": "markdownlint -f '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules",
 "lint:md:ci": "markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules -o markdownlint-report.txt",
 "test": "npm run lint && npm run test:unit",
 "precommit": "lint-staged"
 }
}

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Using cross-env for environment variables:

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint:md": "cross-env NODE_ENV=development markdownlint '**/*.md'"
 },
 "devDependencies": {
 "cross-env": "^7.0.3"
 }
}

Docker Integration

Dockerfile

FROM node:18-alpine

WORKDIR /app

# Install markdownlint globally
RUN npm install -g markdownlint-cli

# Copy markdown files
COPY . .

# Run linter
CMD ["markdownlint", "**/*.md", "--ignore", "node_modules"]

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
 markdownlint:
 image: node:18-alpine
 working_dir: /app
 volumes:
 - .:/app
 command: >
 sh -c "npm install -g markdownlint-cli &&
 markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules"

Run with:

docker-compose run markdownlint

Monorepo Integration

Workspace Configuration

Root .markdownlint.json:

{
 "default": true,
 "line-length": {
 "line_length": 100
 }
}

Root package.json:

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint:md": "markdownlint '**/*.md' --ignore node_modules",
 "lint:md:packages": "lerna run lint:md",
 "lint:md:all": "npm run lint:md && npm run lint:md:packages"
 }
}

Package-level packages/api/package.json:

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint:md": "markdownlint '**/*.md'"
 }
}

Using Lerna

{
 "scripts": {
 "lint:md": "lerna run lint:md --stream"
 }
}

Using Turborepo

turbo.json:

{
 "pipeline": {
 "lint:md": {
 "outputs": []
 }
 }
}

Reporting and Metrics

Generate HTML Report

Using a custom script:

const fs = require('fs');
const markdownlint = require('markdownlint');

const options = {
 files: ['**/*.md'],
 config: { default: true }
};

markdownlint(options, (err, results) => {
 if (!err) {
 const html = generateHtmlReport(results);
 fs.writeFileSync('markdownlint-report.html', html);
 }
});

function generateHtmlReport(results) {
 let html = '<html><head><title>Markdownlint Report</title></head><body>';
 html += '<h1>Markdownlint Results</h1>';

 Object.keys(results).forEach(file => {
 html += `<h2>${file}</h2>`;
 html += '<ul>';

 results[file].forEach(result => {
 html += `<li>Line ${result.lineNumber}: ${result.ruleDescription}</li>`;
 });

 html += '</ul>';
 });

 html += '</body></html>';
 return html;
}

JSON Output for Tooling

markdownlint '**/*.md' --json > results.json

Process with jq:

markdownlint '**/*.md' --json | jq '.[] | select(length > 0)'

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up markdownlint in new projects
• Integrating linting into CI/CD pipelines
• Configuring pre-commit hooks
• Automating documentation quality checks
• Setting up editor integration
• Building custom linting workflows
• Creating automated fix scripts
• Implementing documentation standards

Best Practices

1. CI/CD Integration - Always run linting in continuous integration
2. Pre-commit Hooks - Catch issues before they reach version control
3. Editor Integration - Get real-time feedback while writing
4. Consistent Configuration - Use same config across all environments
5. Auto-fix When Possible - Use -f flag to automatically fix violations
6. Fail Fast - Configure CI to fail on linting errors
7. Ignore Generated Files - Exclude build artifacts and dependencies
8. Version Lock - Pin markdownlint version in package.json
9. Document Standards - Keep documentation on linting rules
10. Progressive Enhancement - Start with relaxed rules, tighten over time
11. Team Communication - Discuss rule changes before applying
12. Regular Updates - Keep markdownlint updated for bug fixes
13. Performance Optimization - Use appropriate glob patterns
14. Error Reporting - Configure meaningful error output
15. Backup Before Auto-fix - Always commit before running fixes

Common Pitfalls

1. Missing Ignore Patterns - Linting node_modules or build directories
2. Wrong Glob Patterns - Incorrect file matching in CLI
3. Config Not Found - Configuration file in wrong location
4. Async/Sync Mismatch - Using sync API with async rules
5. CI Timeout - Linting too many files without optimization
6. No Exit Code Check - Not failing CI on linting errors
7. Overwriting Files - Using auto-fix without version control
8. Missing Dependencies - Not installing markdownlint in CI
9. Platform Differences - Path separators differ between OS
10. Large Binary Files - Accidentally linting non-markdown files
11. Outdated Cache - Cached node_modules with old markdownlint
12. Silent Failures - Not capturing error output in CI
13. Config Conflicts - Multiple config files conflicting
14. Missing Editor Config - Local linting differs from CI
15. No Pre-commit Hook - Issues not caught before commit

Resources

• markdownlint GitHub Repository
• markdownlint-cli
• markdownlint-cli2
• markdownlint VS Code Extension
• GitHub Actions Integration
• API Documentation