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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Biome Has a Free Toolchain That Replaces ESLint and Prettier in One Binary

#biome #javascript #typescript #tooling

ESLint + Prettier = 2 tools, 2 configs, 2 sets of plugins, and frequent conflicts between them. Biome replaces both with a single Rust-powered binary that's 100x faster.

What Biome Gives You for Free

  • Linter — 300+ rules, ESLint-compatible
  • Formatter — Prettier-compatible output
  • One binary — no plugins, no conflicts
  • 100x faster — Rust-powered, parallel processing
  • Zero config — works out of the box with sensible defaults
  • Import sorting — built-in, no plugin needed
  • JS, TS, JSX, TSX, JSON, CSS — all supported

Quick Start 

npm install -D @biomejs/biome
npx biome init
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Speed Comparison 

# Format 1000 files:
Prettier: 4.2s
Biome:    0.04s  ← 100x faster

# Lint 1000 files:
ESLint:   12.8s
Biome:    0.12s  ← 100x faster
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Usage 

# Format files
npx biome format --write .

# Lint files
npx biome lint --write .

# Both at once
npx biome check --write .

# CI mode (check without writing)
npx biome ci .
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Configuration (biome.json) 

{
  "formatter": {
    "indentStyle": "space",
    "indentWidth": 2,
    "lineWidth": 100
  },
  "linter": {
    "enabled": true,
    "rules": {
      "recommended": true,
      "complexity": {
        "noForEach": "warn"
      },
      "suspicious": {
        "noExplicitAny": "error"
      }
    }
  },
  "organizeImports": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "javascript": {
    "formatter": {
      "semicolons": "always",
      "quoteStyle": "single"
    }
  }
}
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Migration From ESLint + Prettier 

# Auto-migrate ESLint config
npx biome migrate eslint --write

# Auto-migrate Prettier config  
npx biome migrate prettier --write
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Biome reads your existing configs and generates equivalent biome.json.

IDE Support

  • VS Code: Official Biome extension (format on save, inline diagnostics)
  • JetBrains: Built-in support in WebStorm/IntelliJ
  • Neovim: LSP support via biome lsp

Biome vs ESLint + Prettier

Feature Biome ESLint + Prettier
Speed 100x faster Baseline
Config files 1 (biome.json) 2+ (.eslintrc, .prettierrc)
Plugins needed 0 5-10 typical
Conflicts Impossible Common
Import sorting Built-in Plugin needed
Install time 1 package 10+ packages
Update risk 1 dep Plugin version matrix

The Verdict

Biome is the future of JavaScript tooling: one tool, one config, one dependency. It's faster, simpler, and eliminates the ESLint-Prettier conflicts that waste developer time. If you're starting a new project, Biome should be your default.

Need help building production web scrapers or data pipelines? I build custom solutions. Reach out: spinov001@gmail.com

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