Linter

Biome’s linter statically analyzes your code to find and fix common errors and to help you write better, modern code. It supports multiple languages and provides a total of 226 rules.

CLI

Section titled CLI

The following command runs the linter on all files in the src directory:

• npm
• yarn
• pnpm
• bun
• deno

	
npx @biomejs/biome lint ./src

	
yarn biome lint ./src

	
pnpm biome lint ./src

	
bunx @biomejs/biome lint ./src

	
deno run -A npm:@biomejs/biome lint ./src

The command accepts a list of files and directories.

Caution

If you pass a glob as a parameter, your shell will expand it. The result of the expansion depends on your shell. For example, some shells don’t support the recursive glob ** or the alternation {} in the following command:

biome lint ./src/**/*.test.{js,ts}

Shell expansion has a performance cost and a limit on the number of files you can pass to the command.

For more information about all the available options, check the CLI reference.

Rules

Section titled Rules

The linter is organized into rules. A rule emits a diagnostic when it encounters a code that doesn’t meet its requirements. For example, the noDebugger rule reports using the debugger instruction in JavaScript code.

A rule emits diagnostics with a warn or error severity. Diagnostics with an error severity cause the command to exit with a non-zero code, While diagnostics with a warn severity don’t cause the command to fail. You can turn warnings into errors --error-on-warnings CLI option:

biome lint --error-on-warnings ./src

By default, the Biome linter only runs recommended rules. Recommended rules emit diagnostics with the error severity.

Rules are organized into groups. For example, the noDebugger rule is part of the suspicious group. A Rule from this group detects code that is likely to be incorrect or useless. The description of each group can be found on the rules page.

Unlike other linters, we don’t provide any rules that check for code formatting. This kind of checking is covered by our code formatter.

Many rules provide a code fix that can be automatically applied. Biome distinguishes between safe and unsafe code fixes.

Safe fixes

Section titled Safe fixes

Safe fixes are guaranteed to not change the semantic of your code. They can be applied without explicit review.

To apply safe fixes, use --apply:

• npm
• yarn
• pnpm
• bun
• deno

	
npx @biomejs/biome lint --apply ./src

	
yarn biome lint --apply ./src

	
pnpm biome lint --apply ./src

	
bunx @biomejs/biome lint --apply ./src

	
deno run -A npm:@biomejs/biome lint --apply ./src

Unsafe fixes

Section titled Unsafe fixes

Unsafe fixes may change the semantic of your program. Therefore, it’s advised to manually review the changes.

To apply unsafe fixes, use --apply-unsafe:

• npm
• yarn
• pnpm
• bun
• deno

	
npx @biomejs/biome lint --apply-unsafe ./src

	
yarn biome lint --apply-unsafe ./src

	
pnpm biome lint --apply-unsafe ./src

	
bunx @biomejs/biome lint --apply-unsafe ./src

	
deno run -A npm:@biomejs/biome lint --apply-unsafe ./src

Note that this command also applies safe fixes.

Rule pillars

Section titled Rule pillars

We believe that rules should be informative and explain to the user why a rule is triggered and tell the user what they should to do fix the error. A rule should follow these pillars:

1. Explain to the user the error. Generally, this is the message of the diagnostic.
2. Explain to the user why the error is triggered. Generally, this is implemented with an additional node.
3. Tell the user what they should do. Generally, this is implemented using a code action. If a code action is not applicable a note should tell the user what they should do to fix the error.

If you think a rule doesn’t follow these pillars, please open an issue.

Configuration

Section titled Configuration

A rule is enabled whether its severity is error or warn. You can turn off a rule with off.

The following configuration disables the recommended noDebugger rule and enables the noShoutyConstants and useNamingConvention rules. The warn severity is useful in cases where there’s a refactor going on and there’s a need to make the CI pass.

biome.json

{
  "linter": {
    "rules": {
      "suspicious": {
        "noDebugger": "off"
      },
      "style": {
        "noShoutyConstants": "warn",
        "useNamingConvention": "error"
      }
    }
  }
}

Rule options

Section titled Rule options

A few rules have options. You can set them by shaping the value of the rule differently.

• level will indicate the severity of the diagnostic;
• options will change based on the rule.

biome.json

{
  "linter": {
    "rules": {
      "style": {
        "useNamimgConvention": {
          "level": "error",
          "options": {
            "strictCase": false
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Ignoring code

Section titled Ignoring code

There are times when a developer wants to ignore a lint rule for a specific line of the code. You can achieve this by adding a suppression comment above the line that emits the lint diagnostic.

Suppression comments have the following format:

// biome-ignore lint: <explanation>
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noDebugger: <explanation>

Where

• biome-ignore is the start of a suppression comment;
• lint suppresses the linter;
• /suspicious/noDebugger: optional, group and name of the rule you want to suppress;
• <explanation> explanation why the rule is disabled

Here’s an example:

// biome-ignore lint: reason
debugger;
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noDebugger: reason
debugger;

Ignoring files

Section titled Ignoring files

Biome doesn’t provide ignore comments that ignore an entire file. However, you can ignore a file using the Biome configuration file.

You can ignore files for all tools, including the linter, using the files.ignore configuration. By default, Biome ignores the protected files.

If you want to exclude files from being linted, you can use linter.ignore:

biome.jsonc

{
  "files": {
    // All tools, including the linter, ignore following files
    "ignore": ["dist/**"]
  },
  "linter": {
    // Only the linter ignores the following files
    "ignore": ["test/**"]
  }
}

Note that you can also ignore the files ignored by your VCS.

Migrating from other linters

Section titled Migrating from other linters

Many of Biome lint rules are inspired from other linters. If you want to migrate from other linters such as ESLint or typescript-eslint, check the rules sources page If you are migrating from ESLint, we have a dedicated migration guide.