Flake8 vs JSHint
Flake8
flake8.pycqa.orgJSHint
jshint.comSide by side
| Figure | Flake8 | JSHint |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Linters | 8.8 (#2) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Configuration | Project configuration can be stored in setup.cfg, tox.ini, or .flake8 using INI format. | Projects can configure JSHint with a .jshintrc file, package.json jshintConfig or the CLI --config option. |
| Extensibility | Flake8 supports community plugins, most of which are uploaded to PyPI, and provides guidance for plugin developers. | Custom reporter modules receive structured error data and can print, write or send results elsewhere. |
| Installation | The official quickstart installs Flake8 with python -m pip install flake8 and recommends invoking the interpreter-specific module when multiple Python versions are installed. | Official installation supports browser-like standalone files, Mozilla Rhino, npm global installation and npm development dependencies. |
| Latest release | PyPI lists version 7.4.1 uploaded on September 23, 2026. | GitHub lists JSHint 2.13.6 as the latest release, dated 2022-11-11, with fixes for const initialization and an error message. |
| Licence | PyPI identifies Flake8 as MIT licensed. | JSHint is released under the MIT Expat licence; versions before 2.12.0 had partially non-free JSON-licensed code. |
| Public API | The documentation includes a dedicated Public Python API section and a documented module index. | The JavaScript API exposes JSHINT(source, options, predef), an errors array and JSHINT.data() reports for browser and Node.js use. |
| Purpose | Flake8 combines pycodestyle, pyflakes, McCabe, and third-party plugins to check Python code style and quality. | JSHint is a community-driven static analysis tool that detects errors and potential problems in JavaScript code. |
| What it does | Flake8 is a Python command-line tool that combines pycodestyle, PyFlakes, McCabe complexity checks and third-party plugins into merged per-file diagnostics. | JSHint is a community-driven static analysis tool that detects JavaScript errors and potential problems. |
Plans
In their own words
JSHint
JSHint is a free, open-source static analysis tool for JavaScript. It checks code for syntax errors and potential problems such as implicit type conversion issues and leaking variables. The project aims to help JavaScript developers avoid typos and language gotchas while working on complex programs. JSHint is distributed as a Node module with a library and command-line program, and it can also be used through a JavaScript API. Configuration can come from command-line options, a .jshintrc file, package.json, or inline source directives. Standalone files are available for browser-like environments and Mozilla Rhino, with releases published to npm for Node.js. The install page lists integrations for editors and IDEs including Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text, Visual Studio, VS Code, Eclipse, and JetBrains IDEs, plus build integrations such as Grunt, Ant, Maven, pre-commit, and QUnit. JSHint is licensed under the MIT Expat license. Its documentation cautions that static analysis cannot determine whether a program is correct or fast, or whether it has memory leaks, and recommends using it alongside unit and functional tests and code reviews.