Vibe Checks

Natural-Language Linter for Your Codebase

Vibe Checks lets you define rules in plain Markdown and then uses an LLM to enforce them. Think of it as a vibe check for your code: set the mood, and let AI do the rest.

Why? I have ESlint

Yeah, so do I. But sometimes there are guidelines that are difficult to verify programatically, but simple to explain in words.

Getting Started

Requirements

You must have some extension that provides a Language model via the VSCode Language Model API. I use Github Copilot, but there are probably others.

1. Install the Extension

Install from the Marketplace or directly in VSCode.

2. Configure Your Language Model

Run Vibe Checks: Choose Model from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Select your preferred language model
The model is saved in your workspace settings

3. Add Review Instructions

Create a .vibe-checks folder in your workspace root (or set a custom path)
Add one or more .md files with your review rules
You can organize rules by topic (e.g., style-guide.md, security.md)
Use markdown headings (e.g., ## JavaScript) for language-specific rules (must be in the exact format ## language)

Example: .vibe-checks/typescript-tips.md

# Guidelines

## TypeScript
- When creating constant objects or arrays, use as const to make them truly immutable.
- Instead of duplicating code, use utility types like Partial, Pick and Omit.
- Use `never` to ensure all cases are handled in `switch` statements.

Usage

Manual Check: Run Vibe Checks: Vibe check file to check the active file
Repo Changes Check: Run Vibe Checks: Vibe check changes to check all changed, staged, and new files (only staged) in your repository
Automatic Check: Configure checks to run automatically ( experimental, not recommended )
File explorer: Simply right click a file and Vibe check file

Examples

In the examples folder you can find some examples of instructions.

Supabase functions

Adapted from supabase's own prompts.

This is an excellent example of why this extension is useful.

Commands

Vibe Checks: Vibe check file — Run check on the active file
Vibe Checks: Vibe check changes — Run checks on all changed, staged, and new files in the repository
Vibe Checks: Choose Model — Select a language model
Vibe Checks: Clear Vibe Checks Cache — Clear cached results

Features

[x] Customizable Review Criteria: Define your own review rules in markdown files
[x] In-Editor Feedback: Errors and warnings appear in the editor itself
[x] Smart Caching: Avoids redundant analysis by caching results
[x] Automatic Triggers: Run checks on command, save, open, or change. (experimental, not recommended)
[x] Model Selection: Easily choose from available language models
[x] Check all files changed since last commit

Troubleshooting

"Language Model API not available": Update VSCode and ensure you have access to language models (e.g., Copilot subscription)
"Instructions folder not found": Create .vibe-checks in your workspace.
"No instructions found": Add at least one .md instruction file to your .vibe-checks.
Model not found: Use Vibe Checks: Choose Model to select an available model
Other: Try clearing the cache? 🤷

Development

Clone the repository
Run npm install
Open in VSCode and press F5 to launch the development host

Known bugs

Line numbers can be wrong some times.

License

MIT License — see License file for details.

Alfredvc