ESLint vs ShellCheck

ESLint9.4Visit ShellCheck9.0Visit

Higher score ESLint #1 in Linters 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit ESLint

vs

ShellCheck #3 in Linters 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit ShellCheck

• ESLint fits best

  JavaScript projects needing an extensible standard

• ShellCheck fits best

  Shell-script quality and portability checks

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Side by side

Feature	ESLint 9.4/10 Visit ↗	ShellCheck 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	9.0
Ranking	#1 in Linters	#3 in Linters
Best for	JavaScript projects needing an extensible standard	Shell-script quality and portability checks
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	12 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features ESLint 4/4 · ShellCheck 2/4
Autofix	✓	✓
Custom rules	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Security rules	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
CI support	✓	✓
Specs
Languages supported	1	4 (best)
IDE support	Ide	Editor
Our review
Pros	Free, open-source static analysis with automatic fixing Custom rules, plugins, parsers, and configurations Integrates with editors, build tools, CI, and Node.js	Checks sh, bash, dash, ksh and BusyBox shell dialects Fits editors, CI pipelines and build or test workflows Provides machine-readable output and unified-diff fix suggestions
Cons	Primary language scope is JavaScript and JSX Additional languages depend on plugins Autofix applies only to supported issues	Does not support custom rules Focused specifically on shell scripts rather than multiple languages Configuration relies on inline directives and shellcheckrc
Our verdict	ESLint is an open-source static-analysis tool for identifying and fixing problems in JavaScript code. It analyzes code without executing it, reports rule violations, and can automatically fix many supported issues through the --fix… Read the review →	ShellCheck is an open-source static analysis and linting tool for shell scripts. It is suited to developers and teams maintaining sh, bash, dash, ksh or BusyBox shell code who want feedback on syntax, semantic, robustness, portability and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• ESLint — where it wins

  • Free, open-source static analysis with automatic fixing
  • Custom rules, plugins, parsers, and configurations
  • Integrates with editors, build tools, CI, and Node.js

  Where it doesn't

  • Primary language scope is JavaScript and JSX
  • Additional languages depend on plugins
  • Autofix applies only to supported issues

• ShellCheck — where it wins

  • Checks sh, bash, dash, ksh and BusyBox shell dialects
  • Fits editors, CI pipelines and build or test workflows
  • Provides machine-readable output and unified-diff fix suggestions

  Where it doesn't

  • Does not support custom rules
  • Focused specifically on shell scripts rather than multiple languages
  • Configuration relies on inline directives and shellcheckrc

• ESLint9.4/10 · Free plan

  A free, extensible JavaScript linter with autofix, plugins, and broad developer-tool integrations.

  Visit ESLintFull verdict →
• ShellCheck9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source linter for shell syntax, portability, robustness and security checks.

  Visit ShellCheckFull verdict →