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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallAn HTML linter checks your markup against selected rules and reports problems; a formatter rewrites how the source is presented, such as its indentation and line wrapping. You may use both: let the formatter standardize layout, then configure the linter to check standards, structure, accessibility-related rules, and project conventions without enforcing conflicting style choices.
What an HTML linter does
An HTML linter analyzes HTML without serving as a browser or automatically proving that a page is correct. It compares source against a rule set and reports findings—often called diagnostics—such as invalid structure, duplicate IDs, missing attributes, or violations of a project convention. HTMLHint describes itself as a static analysis tool for HTML, while html-validate describes itself as an offline HTML5 validator. HTMLHint can check files or directories from the command line and can also be called programmatically; html-validate documents an npm and command-line workflow.
The scope depends on what rules and presets you enable. Rule sets can check syntax and content models as well as style, accessibility-related concerns, security, or SEO. HTMLHint’s rules include checks for document structure, element and attribute style, IDs, and accessibility-related requirements. A lint result therefore describes the checks you chose, not every possible quality or compliance issue.
What a formatter does
A source-code formatter changes presentation so that code follows consistent layout conventions. Depending on the formatter and its configuration, that can include indentation, whitespace, and line wrapping. Its central output is rewritten source; a linter’s central output is a report of rule findings.
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Do not confuse formatting HTML source with formatting lint results. HTMLHint’s option to choose a formatter can produce diagnostic output in formats such as JSON, HTML, or Markdown. That changes how findings are presented, not how the HTML source is laid out. See HTMLHint’s options documentation.
Linter vs. formatter: the practical difference
| Question | HTML linter | Formatter |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Evaluate markup against selected rules and report findings. | Rewrite source presentation according to formatting conventions. |
| Typical result | Diagnostics, such as a structure or rule violation. | Consistently laid-out source, such as standardized indentation and wrapping. |
| What you configure | Rules, presets, suppressions, and possibly custom checks. | Formatting preferences for supported source. |
| Can it edit the source? | Sometimes. Some lint rules or tools support fixes, so check behavior before applying them. | Yes. Rewriting source presentation is its purpose. |
| How to combine them | Keep checks that add value and align or disable style rules that conflict with the formatter. | Run consistently, then lint the formatted source. |
This is a functional distinction, not a hard boundary. Linters may include style rules, and some lint findings may be fixable. The html-validate rule reference marks rules that can be fixed and includes a style category with conventions such as attribute quoting and element case.
How to choose lint rules for your HTML
For standards checks
Choose a standards-oriented rule set if your goal is to catch markup that conflicts with a defined HTML standard. In html-validate, the standard preset targets the WHATWG HTML Living Standard. A clean run means only that the enabled checks found no reportable issue; it does not establish that every standard, browser behavior, or project requirement has been covered. Presets and their scope are documented in html-validate’s configuration presets.
For accessibility-related checks
Enable relevant accessibility rules when they fit your project, but treat them as checks that can help identify issues—not as proof that a page is fully accessible or compliant. html-validate’s recommended preset includes WCAG-related rules and best practices alongside standards validation; the documentation describes the limits of its accessibility preset. A linter cannot assess every aspect of accessibility from markup alone.
For full documents versus fragments
Match the checks to the kind of HTML being linted. A complete page has document-level expectations that a component template or partial fragment may not satisfy on its own. html-validate’s document preset adds checks intended for complete documents, while its presets distinguish that use from other validation needs. Applying full-document rules to a fragment can produce findings that are irrelevant to the fragment’s role.
For project-specific conventions
Use rules that enforce conventions your team actually wants to maintain, and document exceptions where the tool supports suppressions. HTMLHint supports project configuration and custom rules; its rule catalog covers checks including document structure, IDs, and style. Avoid enabling every available rule by default: a useful configuration is one whose findings the team understands and acts on.
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How to use a linter and formatter together
- Add a linter to the project. For an npm-based project, html-validate documents installation with
npm install --save-dev html-validateand command-line use on a file. HTMLHint documentsnpm install htmlhint --save-devand command-line checks for files and directories. Follow the current usage instructions for the tool you choose: html-validate and HTMLHint. - Commit a project configuration. Define the rules or preset in the project so contributors and automation can use the same checks. HTMLHint documents project-level configuration and custom rules; html-validate documents configurable presets.
- Run the formatter first, then lint. This lets the linter inspect the saved, consistently formatted source. If lint then reports a style issue that the formatter immediately changes back, resolve the rule conflict rather than repeatedly alternating tools.
- Align the tools’ style rules. If you use Prettier with html-validate, add html-validate’s
prettierpreset to disable contradictory style rules, such asvoid-style. This preserves substantive lint checks while leaving presentation decisions to the formatter; see the getting-started documentation and preset reference. - Make the same checks available in the editor and automation. HTMLHint provides a VS Code integration for editor diagnostics. Its extension documentation explains workspace rule configuration and how to associate other language services with HTMLHint for template-like files: vscode-htmlhint documentation.
Do you need both?
Use a formatter when you want consistent source layout without relying on every contributor to make the same whitespace choices. Add a linter when you also want automated checks for markup rules, standards-related issues, or project conventions. For a very small project, you can begin with one tool and a small, committed configuration; the tools solve different problems, so using both is useful when your project needs both presentation consistency and rule-based feedback.
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