launchlint

Is your repository ready to earn its first 1,000 stars?

A zero-config launch checklist with a shareable score, safe fixes, and CI mode.

npx launchlint

No install. No config. No source code leaves your machine.

  launchlint — my-project

  ███████████████████░░░░░  82/100  Grade B

  ● Documentation         88%  22/25 pts
  ● Community             75%  18/24 pts
  ● Security              76%  13/17 pts
  ● Automation            82%  14/17 pts
  ● Repository hygiene    73%   8/11 pts

  Next wins
  × Security policy (+8)
    Document private vulnerability reporting
  × Pull request template (+3)
    Add a PR checklist

Why launchlint?

People decide whether to trust a repository in seconds. launchlint checks the small signals that make a project easier to discover, evaluate, use, and contribute to—before users have to ask.

• Useful in 10 seconds. Run it from any repository with one command.
• Actionable, not noisy. Every failed check says exactly what to improve and how many points it unlocks.
• Safe starter files. --fix only creates missing files and appends secret patterns to .gitignore; it never overwrites content.
• Shareable by design. Export a clean Markdown report for an issue, pull request, or project update.
• CI-friendly. Enforce a minimum score with a meaningful exit code.
• Private and portable. Zero dependencies, zero telemetry, zero network calls, and support for Node.js 18+.

Quick start

Audit the current directory:

npx launchlint

See the full checklist:

npx launchlint --all

Create missing community files:

npx launchlint --fix

Scan another repository:

npx launchlint ../your-project

What it checks

launchlint scores 19 high-signal checks across five categories:

| Category | Signals | |---|---| | Documentation | README, description, install command, usage examples, status badges | | Community | license, contributing guide, code of conduct, issue and PR templates | | Security | security policy, secret-aware .gitignore, automated dependency updates | | Automation | CI workflow, real test command, dependency lockfile | | Repository hygiene | .gitignore, changelog, complete package metadata |

The score is normalized to 100, so the result stays intuitive even as checks evolve. Grades are S (95+), A (85+), B (70+), C (55+), D (40+), and F.

Reports and CI

Generate a report you can paste anywhere:

npx launchlint --markdown LAUNCHLINT.md

Get stable machine-readable output:

npx launchlint --json

Fail CI when repository readiness drops below your standard:

- name: Check repository readiness
  run: npx --yes launchlint@latest --ci --min-score 85

In CI mode, passing runs stay quiet and failing runs print the missing checks.

Options

launchlint [path] [options]

--all              Show passing and failing checks
--fix              Create missing community starter files (never overwrites)
--json             Print machine-readable JSON
--markdown [file]  Print Markdown or write it to a file
--ci               Fail when score is below the threshold
--min-score <n>    Required score in CI mode (default: 80)
-h, --help         Show help
-v, --version      Show version

Fix mode

--fix can create starter versions of:

• README.md, LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• SECURITY.md, CHANGELOG.md
• GitHub bug report and pull request templates
• .gitignore secret patterns

Generated text is intentionally concise. Treat it as a solid first draft, then adapt policies and contact details to your project. Existing files are preserved.

Programmatic API

import { scan, markdownReport } from 'launchlint';

const result = await scan('.');
console.log(result.score, result.grade);
console.log(markdownReport(result));

Contributing

Ideas, bug reports, and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md and the roadmap.

If launchlint helped you ship with confidence, consider starring the repository—it helps other maintainers find it.

License

MIT © Kirill Andreev