Badness

A fast formatter, linter, and language server for LaTeX and BibTeX. Keep your source tidy and get feedback as you write.

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Format your source

Get consistent formatting for LaTeX and BibTeX, from papers and bibliographies to packages and expl3 code.

Find and fix problems

Catch syntax errors and common mistakes, apply fixes, and run the same checks locally and in CI.

Stay in your editor

Get completions, diagnostics, navigation, and code actions through the language server, with formatting on save.

Quick start

Install Badness for your platform, then format and lint a file:

macOS/LinuxWindows

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://badness.dev/install | sh

powershell

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://badness.dev/install.ps1 | iex"

See the installation guide for Homebrew, npm, uv, Cargo, and other installation options.

After installation, you can run Badness from the command line:

badness format paper.tex
badness lint bibliography.bib

Using VS Code? Install the Badness extension, which includes Badness. For other editors and configuration, see the editor setup guide.

Built on your source

Badness parses your source into a lossless syntax tree and updates its analysis as you type. The formatter preserves non-trivia content, and formatting an already-formatted file changes nothing. The same parser powers the formatter, linter, and language server.

See the performance comparisons or try your own document in the playground.

Funding

I am grateful for the financial support offered by the TeX Users Group through the TeX Development Fund.