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Head-to-head · Linters

Ruff vs ShellCheck

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Ruff #2 in Linters 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Ruff
ShellCheck #3 in Linters 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit ShellCheck

Ruff leads on 0 checks, ShellCheck on 1, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreRuff · 9.2/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresRuff · 3 of 4

Ruff scores higher on our rubric for linters: 9.2 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #3.

ShellCheck leads on languages supported: 4 versus 1. On ide support, Ruff gives you Ide where ShellCheck offers Editor.

Ruff is the better fit for python teams wanting linting and formatting together. ShellCheck is the better fit for shell-script quality and portability checks.

  • Ruff fits best

    Python teams wanting linting and formatting together

  • ShellCheck fits best

    Shell-script quality and portability checks

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Side by side

Feature Ruff 9.2/10 Visit ↗ ShellCheck 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.2 9.0
Ranking #2 in Linters #3 in Linters
Best for Python teams wanting linting and formatting together 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
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 10 integrations 9 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Ruff 3/4 · ShellCheck 2/4
Autofix ✓ ✓
Custom rules — Not checked yet
Security rules ✓ (best) Not checked yet
CI support ✓ ✓
Specs
Languages supported 1 4 (best)
IDE support Ide Editor
Our review
Pros
  • More than 900 built-in lint rules
  • Automatic fixes and built-in Python formatting
  • Editor, notebook, CI, pre-commit, and Docker integrations
  • 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
  • Focused on Python rather than multiple languages
  • Custom lint rules are not supported
  • Third-party plugins are not supported
  • Does not support custom rules
  • Focused specifically on shell scripts rather than multiple languages
  • Configuration relies on inline directives and shellcheckrc
Our verdict

Ruff is an open-source Python linter and code formatter for developers and teams. It checks Python files with the ruff check command, automatically fixes supported violations, and formats Python code. Its focus suits Python projects that…

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 →
  1. RuffLinters 9.2Free plan
  2. ShellCheckLinters 9.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Ruff — where it wins

    • More than 900 built-in lint rules
    • Automatic fixes and built-in Python formatting
    • Editor, notebook, CI, pre-commit, and Docker integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Focused on Python rather than multiple languages
    • Custom lint rules are not supported
    • Third-party plugins are not supported

  • 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

More comparisons

All linters comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update