How to Use the 'vale' Command (with Examples)

Vale is an extensible style checker designed to help writers and developers ensure consistency and quality in their written content. It supports a variety of markup formats, including Markdown and AsciiDoc, making it a versatile tool for anyone who values clear, concise, and correct writing. This powerful utility is ideal for teams wishing to maintain uniform style standards across documentation and other textual content.

Use Case 1: Check the Style of a File

Code:

vale path/to/file

Motivation:

You may have a document that needs to adhere to certain stylistic guidelines. Using Vale to check the document before sharing or publishing ensures it meets the desired standards. This step can save time and reduce the risk of releasing content that could be seen as unprofessional or inconsistent.

Explanation:

• vale: This is the command that initiates the Vale style checker program.
• path/to/file: This specifies the path to the file you wish to check for style adherence. It can be an absolute or relative file path.

Example Output:

1:1   warning     'longword' is overly verbose; consider revising.

This output indicates that there’s a style warning at line 1, column 1, suggesting the word is verbose.

Use Case 2: Check the Style of a File with a Specified Configuration

Code:

vale --config='path/to/.vale.ini' path/to/file

Motivation:

Utilizing different style guides for different projects or types of documentation can be crucial. Suppose your organization has specific rules saved in a custom Vale configuration file (.vale.ini). This command allows you to apply those unique guidelines to your document, ensuring compliance with organizational standards.

Explanation:

• --config='path/to/.vale.ini': This argument specifies a custom configuration file that Vale should use when checking the document. The .vale.ini file contains rules and style preferences.
• path/to/file: This is the path to the file being style-checked.

Example Output:

2:10  error       Use 'affect' instead of 'effect'.

In this scenario, Vale refers to custom rules to suggest a more appropriate word.

Use Case 3: Output the Results in JSON Format

Code:

vale --output=JSON path/to/file

Motivation:

Integrating Vale with other systems or tools (such as automated CI/CD pipelines) often requires machine-readable output. JSON format offers a structured, easily parsable way to handle Vale’s output, aiding further processing or analysis programmatically.

Explanation:

• --output=JSON: This option commands Vale to format its output in JSON, which is a flexible format that’s easy to manipulate with various programming languages.
• path/to/file: Points to the document being analyzed.

Example Output:

[{"Path": "path/to/file", "Line": 1, "Span": [1, 5], "Message": "'longword' is overly verbose; consider revising.", "Severity": "warning"}]

This JSON details the file path, line number, and specific message, making it straightforward to automate further handling of the results.

Use Case 4: Check Style Issues at the Specific Severity and Higher

Code:

vale --minAlertLevel=suggestion path/to/file

Motivation:

A document might contain numerous stylistic issues, but not all require immediate action. This command allows users to focus only on more critical issues—those at or above a certain severity level—streamlining the revision process by filtering out less crucial suggestions.

Explanation:

• --minAlertLevel=suggestion|warning|error: Specifies the minimum severity level of issues to report. Possible values are ‘suggestion’, ‘warning’, or ’error’.
• path/to/file: Indicates the document to be analyzed by Vale.

Example Output:

1:1   error       Critical wording error detected.

This output reveals only the issues of designated severity, which could demand urgent correction.

Use Case 5: Check the Style from stdin, Specifying Markup Format

Code:

cat file.md | vale --ext=.md

Motivation:

Sometimes, document content is piped directly rather than being stored in a file. This scenario frequently arises in scripting or when processing streams of data. With this command, you can use Vale on content from standard input, specifying the document type it should treat the input as, enabling effective style checking on-the-fly.

Explanation:

• cat file.md: Reads the contents of file.md and pipes them to Vale.
• vale --ext=.md: Instructs Vale to treat the input from stdin as a Markdown file, utilizing appropriate rules and checks.

Example Output:

5:20  suggestion  'this part' might be clarified.

This suggests a possible area for improvement in the streamed Markdown content.

Use Case 6: List the Current Configuration

Code:

vale ls-config

Motivation:

Understanding the configuration that Vale is currently using is crucial for ensuring that the checks it performs align with your expectations. This command is valuable when troubleshooting, validating setup, or simply verifying which rulesets are active.

Explanation:

• ls-config: Displays the current configuration Vale is using, including active styles, formats, and other settings.

Example Output:

StylesPath = /path/to/styles
MinAlertLevel = warning
ActiveStyles = proselint

Here, you can see where the styles are located, what minimum alert level is set, and what style is currently active.

Conclusion:

Vale is a versatile and powerful tool for maintaining style and consistency in written content. Through its various commands, it offers comprehensive and flexible options suitable for different scenarios encountered in content creation and validation. Whether you are integrating it into automated processes or using it for manual style checks, Vale provides a robust solution for ensuring that your writing meets the highest standards.