Vale

Vale Lint & Fix

Run Vale on files, then fix issues directly based on the lint output.

Workflow

1. Run Vale with JSON output on the target file(s):

vale --output=JSON <file-or-glob>

2. Parse the JSON output. Each issue has:

   • Line, Span (column range) — location
   • Check — rule name (e.g. Microsoft.Passive, write-good.Weasel)
   • Message — human-readable explanation
   • Severity — error, warning, or suggestion
   • Action.Name — suggested fix type (replace, remove, edit)
   • Action.Params — replacement candidates

3. Read the file and fix each issue:

   • For replace actions with clear suggestions: apply the best-fit replacement
   • For stylistic issues (passive voice, wordiness, weasel words): rewrite the sentence
   • For issues requiring judgment: use context to determine the best fix
   • Skip rules that conflict with the document's domain (e.g. medical terminology flagged as jargon)

4. Re-run Vale after fixes to verify issues are resolved. Repeat if needed.

Scope Rules

• If no file is specified, ask the user which file(s) to lint
• For globs (e.g. docs/*.md), process each file sequentially
• Only fix error and warning by default; include suggestion if user asks for thorough review

What NOT to Fix

• Domain-specific terminology flagged incorrectly (medical, legal, technical terms)
• Intentional stylistic choices (e.g. first person in a blog post)
• Code blocks and frontmatter — Vale should already skip these, but double-check