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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.

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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 codeMeaning
0All files passed — no violations found
1One or more violations found

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GitHub Actions

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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.

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Storing API keys

Never commit API keys to your repository. Store them as GitHub Actions secrets:
  1. Go to your repository Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
  2. Add a new secret for each key (e.g. OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
  3. Reference them in your workflow with ${{ secrets.SECRET_NAME }}

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Checking only changed files

For large content libraries, checking every file on every PR is slow and expensive. Use git diff to check 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 }}
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
Gate checks 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/**'
Use strict strictness on gated content. In your .vectorlint.ini, apply strict scoring to the files that CI checks: 
[content/docs/**/*.md]
RunRules=TechDocs
GrammarChecker.strictness=strict

[content/drafts/**/*.md]
RunRules=
Drafts never reach CI — the empty RunRules= means VectorLint skips them entirely.

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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 check. 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 in the workflow file itself.

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Next steps