eslint-plugin-jsdoc

JSDoc linting rules for ESLint.

• eslint-plugin-jsdoc
  • Installation
  • Configuration
    • Flat config
    • eslintrc
  • Options
  • Settings
  • Advanced
  • Processors
  • Rules

Installation

Install ESLint either locally or globally.

npm install --save-dev eslint

If you have installed ESLint globally, you have to install JSDoc plugin globally too. Otherwise, install it locally.

npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-jsdoc

Configuration

Flat config

import jsdoc from 'eslint-plugin-jsdoc';

const config = [
  // configuration included in plugin
  jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended'],
  // other configuration objects...
  {
    files: ['**/*.js'],
    plugins: {
      jsdoc,
    },
    rules: {
      'jsdoc/require-description': 'warn'
    }
  }
];

export default config;

The general starting rulesets you can extend from in flat config are:

• jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended']: Recommended starting rules for enforcing proper tag values, that common tags exist, and that tags are formatted and styled consistently
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended-error']: The same, reporting with failing errors instead of mere warnings
• jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended-typescript']: A similar recommended starting list, adjusted for projects using TypeScript syntax (and not just the "typescript" mode setting)
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended-typescript-error']: The same, reporting with failing errors instead of mere warnings
• jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended-typescript-flavor']: A similar recommended starting list, adjusted for projects using JavaScript syntax (source files that are still .js) but using TypeScript flavor within JSDoc (i.e., the default "typescript" mode in eslint-plugin-jsdoc)
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/recommended-typescript-flavor-error']: The same, reporting with failing errors instead of mere warnings

Granular Flat Configs

There also exist several more granular, standalone TypeScript rulesets you can extend from. These each only enable mostly or only rules from the recommended starting rules:

• Contents: rules that check names and descriptions
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/contents-typescript']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/contents-typescript-error']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to error
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/contents-typescript-flavor']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/contents-typescript-flavor-error']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to error
• Logical: rules that enforce proper tag values
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/logical-typescript']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/logical-typescript-error']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to error
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/logical-typescript-flavor']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/logical-typescript-flavor-error']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to error
• Requirements: rules that enforce tags exist
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/requirements-typescript']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/requirements-typescript-error']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to error
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/requirements-typescript-flavor']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/requirements-typescript-flavor-error']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to error
• Stylistic: rules that enforce clear, consistent tag formatting and styles
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/stylistic-typescript']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/stylistic-typescript-error']: for TypeScript files, with reports set to error
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/stylistic-typescript-flavor']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to warn
  • jsdoc.configs['flat/stylistic-typescript-flavor-error']: for files using JavaScript syntax and JSDoc types, with reports set to error

For example, to enforce only that any JSDoc tags and their contents are valid and styled consistently in TypeScript files, without enforcing that tags must always exist:

import jsdoc from 'eslint-plugin-jsdoc';

export default [
  jsdoc.configs['flat/contents-typescript-error'],
  jsdoc.configs['flat/logical-typescript-error'],
  jsdoc.configs['flat/stylistic-typescript-error'],
];

Why certain rules were excluded from the granular configs

A few rules were left out of the granular configs. Here is why:

Rules which might have been added to required:

• require-throws - Since this can't enforce all cases, some may not wish this rule enforced.
• require-file-overview - Too demanding for all projects
• convert-to-jsdoc-comments - Overly aggressive for some projects

Rules which might have been added to logical:

• no-missing-syntax - Has no default options.
• no-restricted-syntax - Has no default options.

Rules which might have been added to contents:

• match-name - Has no default options.
• require-description - Too demanding for all projects
• require-description-complete-sentence - Too demanding for all projects

Rules which might have been added to stylistic:

• check-indentation - May not be desired by all projects
• sort-tags - Too project-specific

eslintrc

Add plugins section to .eslintrc.* and specify eslint-plugin-jsdoc as a plugin.

{
    "plugins": [
        "jsdoc"
    ]
}

Finally, enable all of the rules that you would like to use.

{
    "rules": {
        "jsdoc/check-access": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-alignment": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-examples": 1,
        "jsdoc/check-indentation": 1,
        "jsdoc/check-line-alignment": 1,
        "jsdoc/check-param-names": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-template-names": 1,
        "jsdoc/check-property-names": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-syntax": 1,
        "jsdoc/check-tag-names": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-types": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/check-values": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/empty-tags": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/implements-on-classes": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/informative-docs": 1,
        "jsdoc/match-description": 1,
        "jsdoc/multiline-blocks": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/no-bad-blocks": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-blank-block-descriptions": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-defaults": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-missing-syntax": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-multi-asterisks": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/no-restricted-syntax": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-types": 1,
        "jsdoc/no-undefined-types": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-asterisk-prefix": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-description": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-description-complete-sentence": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-example": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-file-overview": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-hyphen-before-param-description": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-jsdoc": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-param": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-param-description": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-param-name": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-param-type": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-property": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-property-description": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-property-name": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-property-type": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-returns": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-returns-check": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-returns-description": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-returns-type": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-template": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-throws": 1,
        "jsdoc/require-yields": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/require-yields-check": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/sort-tags": 1,
        "jsdoc/tag-lines": 1, // Recommended
        "jsdoc/valid-types": 1 // Recommended
    }
}

Or you can simply add the following to .eslintrc.*, which enables the rules commented above as "recommended":

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended"]
}

You can then selectively add to or override the recommended rules.

Alternatively, if you wish to have all linting issues reported as failing errors, you may use the "recommended-error" config:

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended-error"]
}

If you plan to use TypeScript syntax (and not just "typescript" mode to indicate the JSDoc flavor is TypeScript), you can use:

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended-typescript"]
}

...or to report with failing errors instead of mere warnings:

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended-typescript-error"]
}

If you are not using TypeScript syntax (your source files are still .js files) but you are using the TypeScript flavor within JSDoc (i.e., the default "typescript" mode in eslint-plugin-jsdoc) and you are perhaps using allowJs and checkJs options of TypeScript's tsconfig.json), you may use:

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended-typescript-flavor"]
}

...or to report with failing errors instead of mere warnings:

{
  "extends": ["plugin:jsdoc/recommended-typescript-flavor-error"]
}

Options

Rules may, as per the ESLint user guide, have their own individual options. In eslint-plugin-jsdoc, a few options, such as, exemptedBy and contexts, may be used across different rules.

eslint-plugin-jsdoc options, if present, are generally in the form of an object supplied as the second argument in an array after the error level (any exceptions to this format are explained within that rule's docs).

// `.eslintrc.js`
{
  rules: {
    'jsdoc/require-example': [
        // The Error level should be `error`, `warn`, or `off` (or 2, 1, or 0)
        'error',
        // The options vary by rule, but are generally added to an options
        //  object as follows:
        {
          checkConstructors: true,
          exemptedBy: ['type']
        }
    ]
  }
}

Settings

See Settings.

Advanced

See Advanced.

Processors

See our @example and other item processors.

Rules

Problems reported by rules which have a wrench :wrench: below can be fixed automatically by running ESLint on the command line with --fix option.

Note that a number of fixable rules have an enableFixer option which can be set to false to disable the fixer (or in the case of check-param-names, check-property-names, and no-blank-blocks, set to true to enable a non-default-recommended fixer).

|recommended|fixable|rule|description| |-|-|-|-| |:heavy_check_mark:|| check-access | Enforces valid @access tags| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:| check-alignment|Enforces alignment of JSDoc block asterisks| |||check-examples|Linting of JavaScript within @example| |||check-indentation|Checks for invalid padding inside JSDoc blocks| ||:wrench:|check-line-alignment|Reports invalid alignment of JSDoc block lines.| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|check-param-names|Checks for dupe @param names, that nested param names have roots, and that parameter names in function declarations match jsdoc param names.| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|check-property-names|Checks for dupe @property names, that nested property names have roots| |||check-syntax|Reports use against current mode (currently only prohibits Closure-specific syntax)| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|check-tag-names|Reports invalid jsdoc (block) tag names| | || check-template-names|Checks that any @template names are actually used in the connected @typedef or type alias. |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|check-types|Reports types deemed invalid (customizable and with defaults, for preventing and/or recommending replacements)| |:heavy_check_mark:||check-values|Checks for expected content within some miscellaneous tags (@version, @since, @license, @author)| | || convert-to-jsdoc-comments | Converts line and block comments preceding or following specified nodes into JSDoc comments| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|empty-tags|Checks tags that are expected to be empty (e.g., @abstract or @async), reporting if they have content| |:heavy_check_mark:||implements-on-classes|Prohibits use of @implements on non-constructor functions (to enforce the tag only being used on classes/constructors)| |||informative-docs|Reports on JSDoc texts that serve only to restate their attached name.| |||lines-before-block|Enforces minimum number of newlines before JSDoc comment blocks| |||match-description|Defines customizable regular expression rules for your tag descriptions| ||:wrench:|match-name|Reports the name portion of a JSDoc tag if matching or not matching a given regular expression| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|multiline-blocks|Controls how and whether jsdoc blocks can be expressed as single or multiple line blocks| ||:wrench:|no-bad-blocks|This rule checks for multi-line-style comments which fail to meet the criteria of a jsdoc block| ||:wrench:|no-blank-block-descriptions|If tags are present, this rule will prevent empty lines in the block description. If no tags are present, this rule will prevent extra empty lines in the block description.| ||:wrench:|no-blank-blocks|Reports and optionally removes blocks with whitespace only| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|no-defaults|This rule reports defaults being used on the relevant portion of @param or @default| |||no-missing-syntax|This rule lets you report if certain always expected comment structures are missing.| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|no-multi-asterisks|Prevents use of multiple asterisks at the beginning of lines| |||no-restricted-syntax|Reports when certain comment structures are present| |On in TS|:wrench:|no-types|Prohibits types on @param or @returns (redundant with TypeScript)| |:heavy_check_mark: (off in TS and TS flavor)||no-undefined-types|Besides some expected built-in types, prohibits any types not specified as globals or within @typedef | ||:wrench:|require-asterisk-prefix|Requires that each JSDoc line starts with an *| |||require-description|Requires that all functions (and potentially other contexts) have a description.| ||:wrench:|require-description-complete-sentence|Requires that block description, explicit @description, and @param/@returns tag descriptions are written in complete sentences| ||:wrench:|require-example|Requires that all functions (and potentially other contexts) have examples.| |||require-file-overview|By default, requires a single @file tag at the beginning of each linted file| ||:wrench:|require-hyphen-before-param-description|Requires a hyphen before @param descriptions (and optionally before @property descriptions)| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|require-jsdoc|Checks for presence of jsdoc comments, on functions and potentially other contexts (optionally limited to exports).| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|require-param|Requires that all function parameters are documented with a @param tag.| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-param-description|Requires that each @param tag has a description value.| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-param-name|Requires that all @param tags have names.| |:heavy_check_mark: (off in TS)||require-param-type|Requires that each @param tag has a type value (within curly brackets).| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|require-property|Requires that all @typedef and @namespace tags have @property tags when their type is a plain object, Object, or PlainObject.| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-property-description|Requires that each @property tag has a description value.| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-property-name|Requires that all @property tags have names.| |:heavy_check_mark: (off in TS)||require-property-type|Requires that each @property tag has a type value (within curly brackets).| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-returns|Requires that return statements are documented.| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-returns-check|Requires a return statement be present in a function body if a @returns tag is specified in the jsdoc comment block (and reports if multiple @returns tags are present).| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-returns-description|Requires that the @returns tag has a description value (not including void/undefined type returns).| |:heavy_check_mark: (off in TS)||require-returns-type|Requires that @returns tag has a type value (in curly brackets).| | || require-template | Requires @template tags be present when type parameters are used.| |||require-throws|Requires that throw statements are documented| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-yields|Requires that yields are documented| |:heavy_check_mark:||require-yields-check|Ensures that if a @yields is present that a yield (or yield with a value) is present in the function body (or that if a @next is present that there is a yield with a return value present)| |||sort-tags|Sorts tags by a specified sequence according to tag name, optionally adding line breaks between tag groups| |:heavy_check_mark:|:wrench:|tag-lines|Enforces lines (or no lines) between tags| ||:wrench:|text-escaping|This rule can auto-escape certain characters that are input within block and tag descriptions| |:heavy_check_mark:||valid-types|Requires all types/namepaths to be valid JSDoc, Closure compiler, or TypeScript types (configurable in settings)|