Readability review
A focused Markdown checker for teams enforcing readability thresholds in document pipelines.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Readability is an open-source command-line tool and GitHub Action for analyzing Markdown documentation. It is designed for developers and documentation teams that want measurable readability checks in local workflows or automated document pipelines. The tool calculates Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, Coleman-Liau, SMOG, and ARI scores, alongside word and sentence counts, averages, and complexity indicators. Its MkDocs support adds admonition detection and minimum-count enforcement.
There are no paid tiers to compare: Readability is distributed as open-source software under the MIT license. Its workflow fit is the stronger part of the offering. Teams can run it locally, in Docker, through GitHub Actions, or as a pre-commit hook for Markdown files. Output is available in table, Markdown, JSON, summary, report, and diagnostic formats, while GitHub Actions can publish results in a job summary. That combination suits repositories where readability rules need to be visible in code review or enforced before changes are merged.
Readability is intentionally a checker rather than a writing assistant. It can enforce configured thresholds and fail CI checks, but it does not provide verified rewriting or plain-language suggestions. It also centers on document analysis, with Markdown and MkDocs workflows receiving the clearest support, rather than offering broad content transformation or accessibility guidance. Choose it when reproducible scoring and pipeline enforcement are the priority; choose an alternative when authors need rewriting help, accessibility recommendations, or a wider range of input formats.
Readability pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Supports multiple readability and grade-level scoring formulas
- Enforces configurable thresholds and can fail CI checks
- Works with GitHub Actions, Docker, pre-commit, and MkDocs
- Where it doesn't
- Does not provide plain-language rewriting
- Focuses on Markdown documentation rather than broad input formats
- Does not include accessibility guidance
Readability fact sheet, pricing and score →
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