rumdl - A high-performance Markdown linter, written in Rust

A modern Markdown linter and formatter, built for speed with Rust
| Docs | Rules | Configuration | Markdown Flavors | vs markdownlint |
Quick Start
# Install using Cargo
# Lint Markdown files in the current directory
# Format files (exits 0 on success, even if unfixable violations remain)
# Auto-fix and report unfixable violations (exits 0 if all fixed, 1 if violations remain)
# Create a default configuration file
Overview
rumdl is a high-performance Markdown linter and formatter that helps ensure consistency and best practices in your Markdown files. Inspired by ruff 's approach to Python linting, rumdl brings similar speed and developer experience improvements to the Markdown ecosystem.
It offers:
- ⚡️ Built for speed with Rust - significantly faster than alternatives
- 🔍 57 lint rules covering common Markdown issues
- 🛠️ Automatic formatting with
--fixfor files and stdin/stdout - 📦 Zero dependencies - single binary with no runtime requirements
- 🔧 Highly configurable with TOML-based config files
- 🎯 Multiple Markdown flavors - GFM, MkDocs, MDX, Quarto support with auto-detection
- 🌐 Multiple installation options - Rust, Python, standalone binaries
- 🐍 Installable via pip for Python users
- 📏 Modern CLI with detailed error reporting
- 🔄 CI/CD friendly with non-zero exit code on errors
Performance
rumdl is designed for speed. Benchmarked on the Rust Book repository (478 markdown files, October 2025):
With intelligent caching, subsequent runs are even faster - rumdl only re-lints files that have changed, making it ideal for watch mode and editor integration.
Table of Contents
- Installation
- Usage
- Pre-commit Integration
- CI/CD Integration
- Rules
- Flavors
- Command-line Interface
- LSP
- Configuration
- Configuration Discovery
- Editor Support (JSON Schema)
- Global Configuration
- Markdownlint Migration
- Inline Configuration
- Configuration File Example
- Style Guide Presets
- Initializing Configuration
- Configuration in pyproject.toml
- Configuration Output
- Defaults Only (
rumdl config --defaults) - Non-Defaults Only (
rumdl config --no-defaults)
- Output Style
- Development
- License
Installation
Choose the installation method that works best for you:
Using Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
Using Cargo (Rust)
Using pip (Python)
Using uv
For faster installation and better dependency management with uv:
# Install directly
# Or run without installing
Using mise
For dependency management with mise:
# List available versions
# Install the latest version
# Use a specific version for the project
Using Nix (macOS/Linux)
Alternatively, you can use flakes to run it without installation.
Using Termux User Repository (TUR) (Android)
After enabling the TUR repo using
Using Archlinux User Repository
rumdl is available on the AUR:
You can install it using your AUR helper of choice.
# OR
Download binary
# Linux/macOS
|
# Windows PowerShell
VS Code Extension
For the best development experience, install the rumdl VS Code extension directly from the command line:
# Install the VS Code extension
# Check if the extension is installed
# Force reinstall the extension
The extension provides:
- 🔍 Real-time linting as you type
- 💡 Quick fixes for common issues
- 🎨 Code formatting on save
- 📋 Hover tooltips with rule documentation
- ⚡ Lightning-fast performance with zero lag
The CLI will automatically detect VS Code, Cursor, or Windsurf and install the appropriate extension. See the VS Code extension documentation for more details.
Usage
Getting started with rumdl is simple:
# Lint a single file
# Lint all Markdown files in current directory and subdirectories
# Format a specific file
# Create a default configuration file
Common usage examples:
# Lint with custom configuration
# Disable specific rules
# Enable only specific rules
# Exclude specific files/directories
# Include only specific files/directories
# Watch mode for continuous linting
# Combine include and exclude patterns
# Don't respect gitignore files (note: --respect-gitignore defaults to true)
# Force exclude patterns even for explicitly specified files (useful for pre-commit)
Stdin/Stdout Formatting
rumdl supports formatting via stdin/stdout, making it ideal for editor integrations and CI pipelines:
# Format content from stdin and output to stdout
|
# Alternative: cat README.md | rumdl fmt --stdin > README_formatted.md
# Use in a pipeline
|
# Output: # Title
# Format clipboard content (macOS example)
| |
# Provide filename context for better error messages (useful for editor integrations)
|
Editor Integration
For editor integration, use stdin/stdout mode with the --quiet flag to suppress diagnostic messages:
# Format selection in editor (example for vim)
# Format entire buffer
Pre-commit Integration
You can use rumdl as a pre-commit hook to check and format your Markdown files.
The recommended way is to use the official pre-commit hook repository:
Add the following to your .pre-commit-config.yaml:
repos:
- repo: https://github.com/rvben/rumdl-pre-commit
rev: v0.0.223
hooks:
- id: rumdl # Lint only (fails on issues)
- id: rumdl-fmt # Auto-format and fail if issues remain
Two hooks are available:
rumdl— Lints files and fails if any issues are foundrumdl-fmt— Auto-formats files and fails if unfixable violations remain (recommended for CI)
When you run pre-commit install or pre-commit run, pre-commit will automatically install rumdl in an isolated Python environment using pip. You do not need to install rumdl manually.
Excluding Files in Pre-commit
By default, when pre-commit passes files explicitly to rumdl, the exclude patterns in your .rumdl.toml configuration file are ignored. This is intentional behavior - if you explicitly specify a
file, it gets checked.
However, for pre-commit workflows where you want to exclude certain files even when they're passed explicitly, you have two options:
-
Use
force_excludein your configuration file:# .rumdl.toml [] = ["generated/*.md", "vendor/**"] = true # Enforce excludes even for explicitly provided files -
Use the
--force-excludeflag in your pre-commit config:repos: - repo: https://github.com/rvben/rumdl-pre-commit rev: v0.0.223 hooks: - id: rumdl args: # Respect exclude patterns from config
CI/CD Integration
GitHub Actions
We have a companion Action you can use to integrate rumdl directly in your workflow:
jobs:
rumdl-check:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v6
- uses: rvben/rumdl@v0
The v0 tag always points to the latest stable release, following GitHub Actions conventions.
Inputs
| Input | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
version |
Version of rumdl to install | latest |
path |
Path to lint | workspace root |
config |
Path to config file | auto-detected |
report-type |
Output format: logs or annotations |
logs |
Examples
Lint specific directory with pinned version:
- uses: rvben/rumdl@v0
with:
version: "0.0.189"
path: docs/
Use custom config and show annotations in PR:
- uses: rvben/rumdl@v0
with:
config: .rumdl.toml
report-type: annotations
The annotations report type displays issues directly in the PR's "Files changed" tab with error/warning severity levels and precise locations.
Rules
rumdl implements 54 lint rules for Markdown files. Here are some key rule categories:
| Category | Description | Example Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | Proper heading structure and formatting | MD001, MD002, MD003 |
| Lists | Consistent list formatting and structure | MD004, MD005, MD007 |
| Whitespace | Proper spacing and line length | MD009, MD010, MD012 |
| Code | Code block formatting and language tags | MD040, MD046, MD048 |
| Links | Proper link and reference formatting | MD034, MD039, MD042 |
| Images | Image alt text and references | MD045, MD052 |
| Style | Consistent style across document | MD031, MD032, MD035 |
For a complete list of rules and their descriptions, see our documentation or run:
Flavors
rumdl supports multiple Markdown flavors to accommodate different documentation systems. Each flavor adjusts rule behavior for syntax specific to that system, reducing false positives.
Supported Flavors
| Flavor | Use Case | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| standard | Default Markdown | CommonMark + GFM extensions (tables, task lists) |
| gfm | GitHub Flavored Markdown | Extended autolinks, security-sensitive HTML |
| mkdocs | MkDocs / Material for MkDocs | Admonitions, content tabs, mkdocstrings |
| mdx | MDX (JSX in Markdown) | JSX components, ESM imports, expressions |
| quarto | Quarto / RMarkdown | Citations, shortcodes, executable code blocks |
Configuring Flavors
Set a global flavor in your configuration:
[]
= "mkdocs"
Or configure per-file patterns:
[]
= "mkdocs"
= "mdx"
= "quarto"
When no flavor is configured, rumdl auto-detects based on file extension (.mdx → mdx, .qmd/.Rmd → quarto, .md → standard).
For complete flavor documentation, see the Flavors Guide.
Command-line Interface
Commands
check [PATHS...]
Lint Markdown files and print warnings/errors (main subcommand)
Arguments:
[PATHS...]: Files or directories to lint. If provided, these paths take precedence over include patterns
Options:
-f, --fix: Automatically fix issues where possible--diff: Show diff of what would be fixed instead of fixing files-w, --watch: Run in watch mode by re-running whenever files change-l, --list-rules: List all available rules-d, --disable <rules>: Disable specific rules (comma-separated)-e, --enable <rules>: Enable only specific rules (comma-separated)--exclude <patterns>: Exclude specific files or directories (comma-separated glob patterns)--include <patterns>: Include only specific files or directories (comma-separated glob patterns)--respect-gitignore: Respect .gitignore files when scanning directories (does not apply to explicitly provided paths)--force-exclude: Enforce exclude patterns even for explicitly specified files (useful for pre-commit hooks)-v, --verbose: Show detailed output--profile: Show profiling information--statistics: Show rule violation statistics summary-q, --quiet: Quiet mode-o, --output <format>: Output format:text(default) orjson--stdin: Read from stdin instead of files
fmt [PATHS...]
Format Markdown files and output the result. Always exits with code 0 on successful formatting, making it ideal for editor integration.
Arguments:
[PATHS...]: Files or directories to format. If provided, these paths take precedence over include patterns
Options:
All the same options as check are available (except --fix which is always enabled), including:
--stdin: Format content from stdin and output to stdout-d, --disable <rules>: Disable specific rules during formatting-e, --enable <rules>: Format using only specific rules--exclude/--include: Control which files to format-q, --quiet: Suppress diagnostic output
Examples:
# Format all Markdown files in current directory
# Format specific file
# Format from stdin (using dash syntax)
|
# Alternative: cat README.md | rumdl fmt --stdin > formatted.md
init [OPTIONS]
Create a default configuration file in the current directory
Options:
--pyproject: Generate configuration forpyproject.tomlinstead of.rumdl.toml
import <FILE> [OPTIONS]
Import and convert markdownlint configuration files to rumdl format
Arguments:
<FILE>: Path to markdownlint config file (JSON/YAML)
Options:
-o, --output <path>: Output file path (default:.rumdl.toml)--format <format>: Output format:tomlorjson(default:toml)--dry-run: Show converted config without writing to file
rule [<rule>]
Show information about a rule or list all rules
Arguments:
[rule]: Rule name or ID (optional). If provided, shows details for that rule. If omitted, lists all available rules
config [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
Show configuration or query a specific key
Options:
--defaults: Show only the default configuration values--no-defaults: Show only non-default configuration values (exclude defaults)--output <format>: Output format (e.g.toml,json)
Subcommands:
get <key>: Query a specific config key (e.g.global.excludeorMD013.line_length)file: Show the absolute path of the configuration file that was loaded
server [OPTIONS]
Start the Language Server Protocol server for editor integration
Options:
--port <PORT>: TCP port to listen on (for debugging)--stdio: Use stdio for communication (default)-v, --verbose: Enable verbose logging
vscode [OPTIONS]
Install the rumdl VS Code extension
Options:
--force: Force reinstall even if already installed--status: Show installation status without installing
version
Show version information
Global Options
These options are available for all commands:
--color <mode>: Control colored output:auto(default),always,never--config <file>: Path to configuration file--no-config: Ignore all configuration files and use built-in defaults
Exit Codes
0: Success (no violations found, or all violations were fixed)1: Violations found (or remain after--fix)2: Tool error
Note: rumdl fmt exits 0 on successful formatting (even if unfixable violations remain), making it compatible with editor integrations. rumdl check --fix exits 0 if all violations are fixed, or
1 if violations remain after fixing (useful for pre-commit hooks and CI/CD).
Usage Examples
# Lint all Markdown files in the current directory
# Format files (exits 0 on success, even if unfixable violations remain)
# Auto-fix and report unfixable violations (exits 0 if all fixed, 1 if violations remain)
# Preview what would be fixed without modifying files
# Create a default configuration file
# Create or update a pyproject.toml file with rumdl configuration
# Import a markdownlint config file
# Convert markdownlint config to JSON format
# Preview conversion without writing file
# Show information about a specific rule
# List all available rules
# Query a specific config key
# Show the path of the loaded configuration file
# Show configuration as JSON instead of the default format
# Show only non-default configuration values
# Lint content from stdin
|
# Get JSON output for integration with other tools
# Show statistics summary of rule violations
# Disable colors in output
# Use built-in defaults, ignoring all config files
# Show version information
LSP
rumdle is also available as LSP server for editor integration.
For editor-specific information on setting up the LSP, refer to our LSP documentation
Configuration
rumdl can be configured in several ways:
- Using a
.rumdl.tomlorrumdl.tomlfile in your project directory or parent directories - Using a
<project>/.config/rumdl.tomlfile (following the config-dir convention) - Using the
[tool.rumdl]section in your project'spyproject.tomlfile (for Python projects) - Using command-line arguments
- Using a global user config at
~/.config/rumdl/rumdl.toml(see Global Configuration below) - Automatic markdownlint compatibility: rumdl automatically discovers and loads existing markdownlint config files (
.markdownlint.json,.markdownlint.yaml, etc.)
Configuration Discovery
rumdl automatically searches for configuration files by traversing up the directory tree from the current working directory, similar to tools like git , ruff , and eslint . This means you can
run rumdl from any subdirectory of your project and it will find the configuration file at the project root.
The search follows these rules:
- Searches upward for
.rumdl.toml,rumdl.toml,<dir>/.config/rumdl.toml, orpyproject.toml(with[tool.rumdl]section) - Precedence order:
.rumdl.toml>rumdl.toml><dir>/.config/rumdl.toml>pyproject.toml - Stops at the first configuration file found
- Stops searching when it encounters a
.gitdirectory (project boundary) - Maximum traversal depth of 100 directories
- Falls back to markdownlint config files (
.markdownlint.yaml, etc.) using the same upward traversal - Falls back to user configuration if no project configuration is found (see Global Configuration below)
To disable all configuration discovery and use only built-in defaults, use the --isolated flag:
# Use discovered configuration (default behavior)
# Ignore all configuration files
Editor Support (JSON Schema)
rumdl provides a JSON Schema for .rumdl.toml configuration files, enabling autocomplete, validation, and inline documentation in supported editors like VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, and others.
The schema is available at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rvben/rumdl/main/rumdl.schema.json.
VS Code Setup:
- Install the "Even Better TOML" extension
- The schema will be automatically associated with
.rumdl.tomlandrumdl.tomlfiles once submitted to SchemaStore
Manual Schema Association:
Add this to your .rumdl.toml file (in a comment, as TOML doesn't support $schema):
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rvben/rumdl/main/rumdl.schema.json
This enables IntelliSense, validation, and hover documentation for all configuration options.
Global Configuration
When no project configuration is found, rumdl will check for a user-level configuration file in your platform's standard config directory:
Location:
- Linux/macOS:
~/.config/rumdl/(respectsXDG_CONFIG_HOMEif set) - Windows:
%APPDATA%\rumdl\
Files checked (in order):
.rumdl.tomlrumdl.tomlpyproject.toml(must contain[tool.rumdl]section)
This allows you to set personal preferences that apply to all projects without local configuration.
Example: Create ~/.config/rumdl/rumdl.toml:
[]
= 100
= ["MD013", "MD041"]
[]
= 2
Note: User configuration is only used when no project configuration exists. Project configurations always take precedence.
Markdownlint Migration
rumdl provides seamless compatibility with existing markdownlint configurations:
Automatic Discovery: rumdl automatically detects and loads markdownlint config files by traversing up the directory tree (just like .rumdl.toml):
.markdownlint.json/.markdownlint.jsonc.markdownlint.yaml/.markdownlint.ymlmarkdownlint.json/markdownlint.yaml
This means you can place a .markdownlint.yaml at your project root and run rumdl from any subdirectory - it will find and use the config automatically.
** Explicit Import**: Convert markdownlint configs to rumdl format:
# Convert to .rumdl.toml
# Convert to JSON format
# Preview conversion
For comprehensive documentation on global settings (file selection, rule enablement, etc.), see our Global Settings Reference.
Inline Configuration
rumdl supports inline HTML comments to disable or configure rules for specific sections of your Markdown files. This is useful for making exceptions without changing global configuration:
This line can be as long as needed without triggering the line length rule.
Note: markdownlint-disable/markdownlint-enable comments are also supported for compatibility with existing markdownlint configurations.
For complete documentation on inline configuration options, see our Inline Configuration Reference.
Configuration File Example
Here's an example .rumdl.toml configuration file:
# Global settings
= 100
= ["node_modules", "build", "dist"]
= true
= "mkdocs" # Use MkDocs flavor (see Flavors section)
# Disable specific rules
= ["MD013", "MD033"]
# Per-file flavor overrides
[]
= "mdx"
# Disable specific rules for specific files
[]
= ["MD033"] # Allow HTML in README
= ["MD025"] # Allow multiple H1 in table of contents
= ["MD013", "MD041"] # Relax rules for generated docs
# Configure individual rules
[]
= 2
[]
= 100
= false
= false
= true # Enable automatic line wrapping (required for --fix)
[]
= 1
= "title"
[]
= ["rumdl", "Markdown", "GitHub"]
[]
= "backtick"
Style Guide Presets
Ready-to-use configurations for popular style guides are available in the examples/ directory:
- Google Style - Google's Markdown style guide
- Prettier-compatible - Aligns with Prettier's markdown formatting
Copy one to your project as .rumdl.toml to use it.
Initializing Configuration
To create a configuration file, use the init command:
# Create a .rumdl.toml file (for any project)
# Create or update a pyproject.toml file with rumdl configuration (for Python projects)
Configuration in pyproject.toml
For Python projects, you can include rumdl configuration in your pyproject.toml file, keeping all project configuration in one place. Example:
[]
# Global options at root level
= 100
= ["MD033"]
= ["docs/*.md", "README.md"]
= [".git", "node_modules"]
= false
# Rule-specific configuration
[]
= false
= false
[]
= ["rumdl", "Markdown", "GitHub"]
Both kebab-case (line-length, ignore-gitignore) and snake_case (line_length, ignore_gitignore) formats are supported for compatibility with different Python tooling conventions.
Configuration Output
Effective Configuration (rumdl config)
The rumdl config command prints the full effective configuration (defaults + all overrides), showing every key and its value, annotated with the source of each value. The output is colorized and
the [from ...] annotation is globally aligned for easy scanning.
Example output
[global]
enable = [] [from default]
disable = ["MD033"] [from .rumdl.toml]
include = ["README.md"] [from .rumdl.toml]
respect_gitignore = true [from .rumdl.toml]
[MD013]
line_length = 200 [from .rumdl.toml]
code_blocks = true [from .rumdl.toml]
...
- ** Keys** are cyan, values are yellow, and the
[from ...]annotation is colored by source:- Green: CLI
- Blue:
.rumdl.toml - Magenta:
pyproject.toml - Yellow: default
- The
[from ...]column is aligned across all sections.
Defaults Only (rumdl config --defaults)
The rumdl config --defaults command shows only the default configuration values, useful for understanding what the built-in defaults are.
Non-Defaults Only (rumdl config --no-defaults)
The rumdl config --no-defaults command shows only configuration values that differ from defaults, making it easy to see what you've customized. This is particularly useful when you want to see only
your project-specific or user-specific overrides without the noise of default values.
Example:
This helps you quickly identify what customizations you've made to the default configuration.
The --defaults flag prints only the default configuration as TOML, suitable for copy-paste or reference:
[]
= []
= []
= []
= []
= true
= false # Set to true to exclude files even when explicitly specified
[]
= 80
= true
...
Output Style
rumdl produces clean, colorized output similar to modern linting tools:
README.md:12:1: [MD022] Headings should be surrounded by blank lines [*]
README.md:24:5: [MD037] Spaces inside emphasis markers: "* incorrect *" [*]
README.md:31:76: [MD013] Line length exceeds 80 characters
README.md:42:3: [MD010] Hard tabs found, use spaces instead [*]
When running with --fix, rumdl shows which issues were fixed:
README.md:12:1: [MD022] Headings should be surrounded by blank lines [fixed]
README.md:24:5: [MD037] Spaces inside emphasis markers: "* incorrect *" [fixed]
README.md:42:3: [MD010] Hard tabs found, use spaces instead [fixed]
Fixed 3 issues in 1 file
For a more detailed view, use the --verbose option:
✓ No issues found in CONTRIBUTING.md
README.md:12:1: [MD022] Headings should be surrounded by blank lines [*]
README.md:24:5: [MD037] Spaces inside emphasis markers: "* incorrect *" [*]
README.md:42:3: [MD010] Hard tabs found, use spaces instead [*]
Found 3 issues in 1 file (2 files checked)
Run `rumdl fmt` to automatically fix issues
Output Format
Text Output (Default)
rumdl uses a consistent output format for all issues:
{file}:{line}:{column}: [{rule_id}] {message} [{fix_indicator}]
The output is colorized by default:
- Filenames appear in blue and underlined
- Line and column numbers appear in cyan
- Rule IDs appear in yellow
- Error messages appear in white
- Fixable issues are marked with
[*]in green - Fixed issues are marked with
[fixed]in green
JSON Output
For integration with other tools and automation, use --output json:
This produces structured JSON output:
Development
Prerequisites
- Rust 1.91 or higher
- Make (for development commands)
Building
Testing
JSON Schema Generation
If you modify the configuration structures in src/config.rs, regenerate the JSON schema:
# Generate/update the schema
# Or: rumdl schema generate
# Check if schema is up-to-date (useful in CI)
# Or: rumdl schema check
# Print schema to stdout
The schema is automatically generated from the Rust types using schemars and should be kept in sync with the configuration structures.
Sponsors
rumdl is free and open source. If it saves you time, consider sponsoring the project.
License
rumdl is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.