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standard

A JavaScript style guide with a linter and auto-fixer that needs no config files.

GitHub Download v17.1.2
Stars
29.4k
Forks
2.3k
Licence
MIT
Language
JavaScript
Last update
1.3 years ago
Type
Dev tool

No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.

What it is

Standard is a JavaScript style guide enforced by a linter, which is a tool that checks code for formatting problems and common programmer mistakes. Running standard --fix will automatically correct many style issues. It is designed so you do not need to write or maintain a configuration file.

  • Check all JavaScript files in a project with the standard command
  • Automatically fix style issues with standard --fix
  • Run style checks as part of npm test by adding standard to package.json scripts
  • Run it on a subset of files by passing glob patterns such as "src/util/**/*.js"

Great for

  • JavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
  • Node.js developers who want a quick, zero-config check in their package.json test script
  • Open source projects that want clear, automated style expectations for contributors
  • Developers who want to avoid managing .eslintrc files

Not ideal for

  • Teams that want to customize many style rules, since the README stresses there is no configuration (reason: the style is fixed by design)
  • Projects that prefer Prettier-style formatting specifically, since the README only compares to Prettier in a linked talk and does not describe it as a replacement (reason: different approach)
  • Developers who need the linter to check non-JavaScript languages (reason: it targets JavaScript files by default: **/*.js and **/*.jsx)
Step-by-step guide: how to use standardInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs
standard alternativesPrettier vs standardESLint vs standardlint-staged vs standardRuboCop vs standard

How to get it

  1. 1

    Install with a package manager

    You'll need: Node.js · npm

    Install globally as a command line program

    npm install standard --global

    Install locally for a single project

    npm install standard --save-dev
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Install standard using one of the install commands
    • Run npx standard in your project folder to check your JavaScript files
    • Run standard --fix to automatically correct style issues
    • Add standard to your package.json test script to check style on every test run
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Add a test script in package.json that runs standard before your tests, as shown in the README
    • Use glob patterns in quotes to limit checks to specific folders
    • Use standard --fix to clean up formatting before code review
    • Check the FAQ in the README for how to ignore files and disable specific rules

Downloads

Source code (.zip)master branch · straight from GitHubRelease v17.1.2Release notes and sourceOfficial website & docsstandardjs.com

Strengths

  • No configuration files to create or maintain
  • Automatic fixing via standard --fix saves review time
  • Widely used and actively maintained, with about 29,000 GitHub stars and a recent push in July 2025

Trade-offs

  • Style rules are fixed, so you cannot easily adjust them to personal or team preferences
  • Requires Node.js and npm to be installed first
  • The README is truncated here, so details on supported syntax and newer language features are unclear

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
standard (this)29.4kDev toolbeginner1.3 years agoJavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
eslint27.6kDev toolintermediate4 days agoJavaScript developers who want automatic checks on their code
prettier52.4kDev toolbeginner4 days agoTeams that want one shared code style without writing their own rules
ruff50.4kCLIbeginner4 days agoPython developers who want one tool for linting and formatting
javascript148kLearning resourcebeginner7 months agoTeams that want one shared JavaScript style without debating every rule
lint-staged14.8kDev toolintermediate5 days agoJavaScript or Node.js projects that already use tools like ESLint or Prettier

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.