Using the checker

scripts/lint_style.py finds the mechanical patterns and leaves the rewrite free to focus on judgment. It uses only the Python standard library, reads the files you name and prints a report. It makes no network calls and changes nothing.

Run it

python3 scripts/lint_style.py draft.md
python3 scripts/lint_style.py page.html email.txt

It accepts .md, .html and .txt. When code execution is not available, apply the six patterns by hand using retired-patterns.md; the report format below tells you what to look for.

Reading the report

• RULE hits break a written rule. Fix every one. The exit status is 1 when any appear.
• CHECK hits are heuristics (a possible fragment, three short sentences in a row, a sentence past 45 words). Read each and decide.
• The checker cannot see every fragment. Read the whole draft for sentences with no verb, especially card descriptions and list items.

Options

Option	Effect
--core-only	Check only the six retired patterns
--skip em-dash,stock-word	Switch off named house-style rules
--british	Do not flag British spellings (default flags them, because the default is American English)
--list	Print every rule name and what it checks, then exit

Rule names: so-splice, so-bare, so-that, so-opener, worth, nudge, long-before, well-before, none-of, announce, fragment, is-not-it-is, em-dash, not-just, x-not-y, n-nouns, stock-word, partner-verb, spelling.

Protecting deliberate exceptions

Wrap a span the checker should skip between markers:

<!-- lint:off -->
We deliver seamless, holistic solutions.   (shown here as an example of what to avoid)
<!-- lint:on -->

The markers work in Markdown, HTML and plain text. Use them only for demonstrations, legal wording and quoted examples, and say so in the report.

Adding a rule

Add a tuple to CORE_RULES (retired patterns) or HOUSE_RULES (configurable preferences) with a name, a regular expression and a plain-language reason. Add a before-and-after pair to rewrite-bank.md in the same change.