vale

Lint files in current directory

$ vale [path/to/files]

$ vale [docs/**/*.md]

$ vale --config [.vale.ini] [file.md]

$ vale --minAlertLevel error [file.md]

$ vale --output JSON [file.md]

$ echo "[text]" | vale --ext .md

$ vale ls-dirs

$ vale sync

vale [options] [files ...]

Vale is a syntax-aware prose linter that brings code-like linting to documentation and prose. It checks writing against customizable style rules for consistency, grammar, and corporate style guides.
Vale supports Markdown, AsciiDoc, reStructuredText, HTML, and other markup formats. It can use community style packages (Microsoft, Google, write-good) or custom rules defined in YAML.
Configuration is managed through .vale.ini files that specify which styles to use, file patterns to check, and vocabulary exceptions.

--config file

Use specified configuration file (.vale.ini).

Limit linting to files with specific extension.

Include files matching glob pattern.

Minimum alert level: suggestion, warning, error.

Output format: text, JSON, line, SARIF.

Always exit with status 0 regardless of errors.

Don't wrap output lines.

Report paths relative to current directory.

Sort output by file path and line number.

Lint without syntax-aware parsing.

Show configured directories (StylesPath, etc.).

Show active configuration.

Download and install configured styles.

Display version information.

Display help message.

Vale requires style packages to be installed via vale sync before they can be used. Custom vocabulary (acceptable terms, spelling exceptions) must be configured in the vale configuration. Complex regex-based rules may have performance impact on large documents.

Vale was created by Joseph Kato at Errata AI and first released in 2017. It was designed to provide maintainable, extensible prose linting similar to how code linters work. Written in Go for performance and cross-platform support, Vale has been adopted by many technical documentation teams including GitLab, Grafana, and Linode.

proselint(1), write-good(1), textlint(1), aspell(1)