CI integration

VectorLint exits with a non-zero status code when it finds violations, making it a natural fit for CI pipelines. Add it as a pre-merge check and content that fails your quality thresholds never reaches production.

How it works in CI

When VectorLint finds violations it exits with code 1. When content passes all checks it exits with code 0. Most CI systems treat a non-zero exit as a failed step and block the merge automatically. No additional configuration needed.

Exit code	Meaning
`0`	All files passed. No violations found
`1`	One or more violations found

GitHub Actions

Basic setup

Add a workflow file at .github/workflows/vectorlint.yml:

name: Content quality check

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - 'content/**/*.md'

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: lts/*

      - name: Install VectorLint
        run: npm install -g vectorlint

      - name: Run content check
        run: vectorlint content/**/*.md
        env:
          LLM_PROVIDER: openai
          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
          CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD: 0.85

The paths filter limits the workflow to runs where content files actually changed. It won’t fire on code-only PRs.

Storing API keys

Never commit API keys to your repository. Store them as GitHub Actions secrets:

Go to your repository Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
Add a new secret for each key (e.g. OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
Reference them in your workflow with ${{ secrets.SECRET_NAME }}

Checking only changed files

For large content libraries, reviewing every file on every PR is slow and expensive. Use git diff to review only the files changed in the PR:

      - name: Get changed files
        id: changed
        run: |
          echo "files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD | grep '\.md$' | tr '\n' ' ')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: Run content check
        if: steps.changed.outputs.files != ''
        run: vectorlint ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}
        env:
          LLM_PROVIDER: openai
          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Recommended CI configuration

CI environments should be stricter than local development. A finding a writer might dismiss in review becomes a merge blocker in CI, so surface only high-confidence violations. Raise CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD in CI. Set it higher than your local default so only the most certain findings block a merge:

env:
  CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD: 0.85

Run the review only on production-bound content. Limit the workflow paths filter to directories that ship to users, not drafts or internal docs:

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - 'content/docs/**'
      - 'content/api/**'

Other CI systems

VectorLint works with any CI system that supports running shell commands. The pattern is the same: install VectorLint, set environment variables from secrets, run the review. GitLab CI:

content-quality:
  image: node:lts
  script:
    - npm install -g vectorlint
    - vectorlint content/docs/**/*.md
  variables:
    LLM_PROVIDER: openai
    OPENAI_API_KEY: $OPENAI_API_KEY
  rules:
    - changes:
        - content/**/*.md

CircleCI:

jobs:
  content-check:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/node:lts
    steps:
      - checkout
      - run:
          name: Install VectorLint
          command: npm install -g vectorlint
      - run:
          name: Run content check
          command: vectorlint content/**/*.md
          environment:
            LLM_PROVIDER: openai

Store API keys in your CI system’s secret or environment variable manager. Never store them in the workflow file itself.

Next steps

Handling false positives: set CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD and strictness for CI
Project Configuration: configure which files CI checks
CLI reference: full command and exit code reference

Overview

Get started

Configuration

Rules

Scoring

Guides

Reference

How it works in CI

GitHub Actions

Basic setup

Storing API keys

Checking only changed files

Recommended CI configuration

Other CI systems

Next steps

​How it works in CI

​GitHub Actions

​Basic setup

​Storing API keys

​Checking only changed files

​Recommended CI configuration

​Other CI systems

​Next steps

How it works in CI

GitHub Actions

Basic setup

Storing API keys

Checking only changed files

Recommended CI configuration

Other CI systems

Next steps