# eslint\_d

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[![SemVer]](http://semver.org)
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Makes [eslint][] the fastest linter on the planet.

## "But eslint is pretty fast already, right?"

Yes, it's really fast. But the node.js startup time and loading all the
required modules slows down linting times for a single file to ~700
milliseconds. `eslint_d` reduces this overhead by running a server in the
background. It brings the linting time down to ~160 milliseconds. If you want
to lint from within your editor whenever you save a file, `eslint_d` is for
you.

## Install

This will install the `eslint_d` command globally:

```bash
$ npm install -g eslint_d
```

## Usage

To start the server and lint a file, just run:

```bash
$ eslint_d file.js
```

On the initial call, the `eslint_d` server is launched and then the given file
is linted. Subsequent invocations are super fast.

## How does this work?

The first time you use `eslint_d`, a little server is started in the background
and bound to a random port. You can then run `eslint_d` commands the
same way you would use `eslint` and it will delegate to the background server.
It will load a [separate instance][change220] of eslint for each working
directory to make sure settings are kept local. If eslint is found in the
current working directories `node_modules` folder, then this version of eslint
is going to be used. Otherwise, the version of eslint that ships with
`eslint_d` is used as a fallback.

It's possible to force `eslint_d` to only resolve local `eslint` by setting the
`ESLINT_D_LOCAL_ESLINT_ONLY` environment variable to a truthy value (ie. `true` or `1`).

To keep the memory footprint low, `eslint_d` keeps only the last 10 used
instances in the internal [nanolru][] cache.

## What if eslint or a plugin is updated?

The cached version of eslint and the Node `require` cache for the current
working directory are cleared whenever a change to one of these files is
detected: `package.json`, `package-lock.json`, `npm-shrinkwrap.json`,
`yarn.lock` and `pnpm-lock.yaml`. If changes are not automatically detected,
remember to run `eslint_d restart` to bounce the background server.

**Note:** Change detection was switched from mtime to content hash with v12.

## Which versions of eslint are supported?

You can use `eslint_d` with multiple projects depending on different versions
of eslint. If no local eslint is found, `eslint_d` falls back to the eslint
version that ships with `eslint_d`.

## Commands

Control the server like this:

```bash
$ eslint_d <command>
```

Available commands:

- `start`: start the server
- `stop`: stop the server
- `status`: print out whether the server is currently running
- `restart`: restart the server
- `[options] file.js [file.js] [dir]`: invoke `eslint` with the given options.
  The `eslint` engine will be created in the current directory. If the server
  is not yet running, it is started.

Type `eslint_d --help` to see the supported `eslint` options.

When the server starts, `eslint_d` selects a free port automatically
and decides on a random access token. Both the port and token are
written to an `.eslint_d` file so that future usages of `eslint_d` can
connect to the already running server. The `.eslint_d` file is stored
under the `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR` directory if this environment variable is
defined. If the variable is not defined then the file is stored in the
user's home directory.

## Editor integration

### Linting

- __Vim__:
    - With [syntastic][]:
        ```vim
        let g:syntastic_javascript_checkers = ['eslint']
        let g:syntastic_javascript_eslint_exec = 'eslint_d'
        ```

    - With [ale][]:
        ```vim
        let g:ale_javascript_eslint_executable = 'eslint_d'
        let g:ale_javascript_eslint_use_global = 1
        ```

- __WebStorm__: Configure your IDE to point to the `eslint_d` package instead
  of `eslint`. In the ESLint configuration dialog, under 'ESLint package',
  select your `eslint_d` package.
- __Emacs__: Use [flycheck](http://www.flycheck.org/) with the
  `javascript-eslint` checker:

    ```elisp
    (setq flycheck-javascript-eslint-executable "eslint_d")
    ```
- __Sublime__: Check out [SublimeLinter-contrib-eslint\_d][SublimeLinter].
  ⚠️ Please help resolving [issue
  #120](https://github.com/mantoni/eslint_d.js/issues/120).
- __Atom__, __VSCode__: You will not gain any performance from this module as
  these editors already cache eslint instances for you.

If you're using `eslint_d` in any other editor, please let us know!

### Automatic Fixing

`eslint_d` has an additional flag that `eslint` does not have,
`--fix-to-stdout` which prints the fixed file to stdout. This allows editors to
add before save hooks to automatically fix a file prior to saving. It must be
used with `--stdin`.

- __Vim__: Add this to your `.vimrc` to lint the current buffer or visual
  selection on `<leader>f`:

    ```vim
    " Autofix entire buffer with eslint_d:
    nnoremap <leader>f mF:%!eslint_d --stdin --fix-to-stdout<CR>`F
    " Autofix visual selection with eslint_d:
    vnoremap <leader>f :!eslint_d --stdin --fix-to-stdout<CR>gv
    ```

- __Emacs__: See [eslintd-fix](https://github.com/aaronjensen/eslintd-fix)
- __If the above doesn't autofix__: [This can happen with .vue files](https://github.com/mantoni/eslint_d.js/issues/145#issuecomment-787119881)  
  Change `eslint_d --stdin --fix-to-stdout` to `eslint_d --stdin --fix-to-stdout --stdin-filename %` (% = path to file you want to autofix)  
  In Vim, the above mapping should be replaced with:
  ```vim
  nnoremap <leader>f mF:%!eslint_d --stdin --fix-to-stdout --stdin-filename %<CR>`F
  ```


## Moar speed

If you're really into performance and want the lowest possible latency, talk to
the `eslint_d` server with netcat. This will also eliminate the node.js startup
time.

You first need to extract the port and access token from the
`.eslint_d` file. The location of this file may change depending on
your system (see above). For example, if `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR` is
specified, you can do this:

```bash
$ PORT=`cat $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/.eslint_d | cut -d" " -f1`
$ TOKEN=`cat $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/.eslint_d | cut -d" " -f2`
```

Then, you can do the following to run eslint on `file.js`:

```session
$ echo "$TOKEN $PWD file.js" | nc localhost $PORT
```

Or if you want to work with stdin:

```bash
$ echo "$TOKEN $PWD --stdin" | cat - file.js | nc localhost $PORT
```

This runs `eslint` in under `50ms`!

**Tip** For additional speed, did you know that you can lint only files that
have changed? This is a feature of normal `eslint`, but it also works from
`eslint_d`. Run:

```bash
$ eslint_d . --cache
```

## References

If you're interested in building something similar to this: Most of the logic
was extracted to [core_d][], a library that manages the background server.

## Compatibility

- `12.0.0`: eslint 4 - 8, node 12 - 16 (ships with eslint 8)
- `11.0.0`: eslint 4 - 8, node 12 - 16 (ships with eslint 7)
- `10.0.0`: eslint 4 - 7, node 10 - 14 (using new `ESLint` API if available)
- `9.0.0`: eslint 4 - 7, node 10 - 14 (using `CLIEngine` API)
- `8.0.0`: eslint 4 - 6, node 8 - 12
- `7.2.0`: eslint 4 - 5, node 6 - 10
- `7.0.0`: eslint 5.4+, node 6, 8 and 10
- `6.0.0`: eslint 5.0+, node 6+ (eslint dropped node 4)
- `5.0.0`: eslint 4.0+
- `4.0.0`: eslint 3.0+, node 4+ (eslint dropped node 0.10 and 0.12)
- `3.0.0`: eslint 2.2+
- `1.0.0`, `2.0.0`: eslint 1.4+, node 4 (and probably older)

## License

MIT

[SemVer]: https://img.shields.io/:semver-%E2%9C%93-brightgreen.svg
[License]: https://img.shields.io/npm/l/eslint_d.svg
[eslint]: https://eslint.org
[SublimeLinter]: https://github.com/roadhump/SublimeLinter-contrib-eslint_d
[syntastic]: https://github.com/scrooloose/syntastic
[ale]: https://github.com/dense-analysis/ale
[change220]: https://github.com/mantoni/eslint_d.js/blob/master/CHANGES.md#220
[change401]: https://github.com/mantoni/eslint_d.js/blob/master/CHANGES.md#401
[nanolru]: https://github.com/s3ththompson/nanolru
[core_d]: https://github.com/mantoni/core_d.js
