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Node.js API

The Stylelint module includes a lint() function that provides the Node.js API.

const result = await stylelint.lint(options);

Options​

In addition to the standard options, the Node API accepts:

config​

A configuration object.

Stylelint does not bother looking for a configuration file (e.g. stylelint.config.js) if you use this option.

code​

A string to lint.

cwd​

The directory from which Stylelint will look for files. Defaults to the current working directory returned by process.cwd().

files​

A file glob, or array of file globs.

Relative globs are considered relative to globbyOptions.cwd.

Though both files and code are "optional", you must have one and cannot have both.

globbyOptions​

The options that are passed with files.

For example, you can set a specific cwd to use when globbing paths. Relative globs in files are considered relative to this path. By default, globbyOptions.cwd will be set by cwd.

For more detail usage, see Globby Guide.

The returned promise​

stylelint.lint() returns a Promise that resolves with an object containing the following properties:

code​

A string that contains the autofixed code, if the fix option is set to true and the code option is provided. Otherwise, it is undefined.

cwd​

The directory used as the working directory for the linting operation.

errored​

Boolean. If true, at least one rule with an "error"-level severity registered a problem.

output​

warning

This property is deprecated and will be removed in the next major version. Use report or code instead. See the migration guide.

A string that contains either the:

  • formatted problems (using the default formatter or whichever you passed)
  • or the autofixed code, if the fix option is set to true

postcssResults​

An array containing all the accumulated PostCSS LazyResults.

report​

A string that contains the formatted problems (using the default formatter or whichever you passed).

results​

An array containing all the Stylelint result objects (the objects that formatters consume).

maxWarningsExceeded​

An object containing the maximum number of warnings and the amount found, e.g. { maxWarnings: 0, foundWarnings: 12 }.

Syntax errors​

stylelint.lint() does not reject the Promise when your CSS contains syntax errors. It resolves with an object (see the returned promise) that contains information about the syntax error.

Usage examples​

Example A​

As config contains no relative paths for extends or plugins, you do not have to use configBasedir:

try {
  const result = await stylelint.lint({
    config: { rules: "color-no-invalid-hex" },
    files: "all/my/stylesheets/*.css"
  });
  // do things with result.report, result.errored, and result.results
} catch (err) {
  // do things with err e.g.
  console.error(err.stack);
}

Example B​

If myConfig does contain relative paths for extends or plugins, you do have to use configBasedir:

const result = await stylelint.lint({
  config: myConfig,
  configBasedir: url.fileURLToPath(new URL("configs", import.meta.url)),
  files: "all/my/stylesheets/*.css"
});

Example C​

Using a string code instead of a file glob, and the verbose formatter instead of the default JSON:

const result = await stylelint.lint({
  code: "a { color: pink; }",
  config: myConfig,
  formatter: "verbose"
});

// do things with result.report

The report will be available as the value of the report property in the returned object.

Example D​

Using your own custom formatter function:

const result = await stylelint.lint({
  config: myConfig,
  files: "all/my/stylesheets/*.css",
  formatter: (results) => {
    /* .. */
  }
});

Example E​

Using a custom syntax:

const result = await stylelint.lint({
  config: myConfig,
  files: "all/my/stylesheets/*.css",
  customSyntax: {
    parse(css, opts) {
      /* .. */
    },
    stringify(node, builder) {
      /* .. */
    }
  }
});
note

The customSyntax option also accepts a string. Refer to the options documentation for details.

Example F​

Using a string code and the fix option:

const result = await stylelint.lint({
  code: "a { color: pink; }",
  config: { rules: { "hue-degree-notation": "angle" } },
  fix: true
});

// do things with result.code

The autofixed code will be available as the value of the code property in the returned object.

Resolving the effective config for a file​

If you want to find out what exact configuration will be used for a file without actually linting it, you can use the resolveConfig() function. Given a file path, it will return a Promise that resolves with the effective configuration object:

const config = await stylelint.resolveConfig(filePath);

// config => {
//   rules: {
//     'color-no-invalid-hex': true
//   },
//   extends: [
//     'stylelint-config-standard',
//     'stylelint-config-css-modules'
//   ],
//   plugins: [
//     'stylelint-scss'
//   ],
//   …
// }

If a configuration cannot be found for a file, resolveConfig() will return a Promise that resolves to undefined.

You can also pass the following subset of the options that you would normally pass to lint():

  • cwd
  • config
  • configBasedir
  • customSyntax