@import-lint/cli

ImportLint enforces directory-level encapsulation in TypeScript and JavaScript: tag an export @package in its JSDoc, and only files in that directory (or nested below it) — its "package" — can import it; ImportLint flags every import that breaks the rule. It's a small, fast Rust CLI, so it runs without a TypeScript compiler or ESLint, and stays fast on large codebases (it's a drop-in replacement for eslint-plugin-import-access).

See the main repository README for the full pitch, a concrete example, and the guides — this page covers just installing and running this package.

This package installs the import-lint CLI. It's a thin launcher that execs a prebuilt native binary for your platform (installed automatically via optionalDependencies — no compilation, no postinstall download scripts).

Install

npm install -D @import-lint/cli

The package is named @import-lint/cli, but the installed command is still import-lint (see Quickstart below).

Quickstart

# Scaffold a .importlintrc.jsonc.
npx import-lint init

# Lint the current directory (or your config's `include` roots).
npx import-lint

# ESLint-compatible JSON output, for CI tooling.
npx import-lint --format json

With no config file, ImportLint lints . with the package-access rule at error severity and defaults matching eslint-plugin-import-access.

Use in CI

Exit code 1 on any error-severity diagnostic fails the build on violations; --format github produces inline PR annotations on GitHub Actions:

npx import-lint --format github

See Using in CI in the main repository README for a full workflow example — also see there for the full CLI reference, config file format, output formats, watch mode, and the migration guide from eslint-plugin-import-access.

Editor integration

The ImportLint VS Code extension shows violations as you type, on top of this package's binary — no separate install needed. The binary this package installs also includes import-lint lsp, for wiring up any other LSP-capable editor. See Editor integration in the main repository README for setup details.

Supported platforms

darwin-arm64, darwin-x64, linux-x64-gnu, linux-x64-musl, linux-arm64-gnu, win32-x64. On an unsupported platform (or with --omit=optional installs), the CLI fails at run time with an actionable error rather than breaking npm install for your whole project — see cargo install import-lint or GitHub Releases as fallbacks.

License

MIT