ESLint for Node.js Scripts

Configure ESLint flat config (eslint.config.js) for Node.js script projects with TypeScript support, Node-specific rules, and type-aware linting.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

# Initialize a new ESLint config interactively
npm init @eslint/config@latest
 
# Install the core toolchain for a TypeScript Node.js script project
npm install --save-dev \
  eslint \
  typescript-eslint \
  eslint-plugin-n \
  globals
 
# Lint your scripts
npx eslint .
 
# Lint and auto-fix
npx eslint . --fix

When to reach for this: Any standalone Node.js project - CLIs, build scripts, automation, or monorepo tooling packages - that lives outside a Next.js/React app.

Working Example

// eslint.config.js
import js from "@eslint/js";
import tseslint from "typescript-eslint";
import nodePlugin from "eslint-plugin-n";
import globals from "globals";
 
export default tseslint.config(
  // Global ignores - must be the sole key in its own object
  {
    ignores: ["dist/", "build/", "coverage/", "node_modules/"],
  },
 
  // Base JS rules
  js.configs.recommended,
 
  // Node.js plugin recommended rules (flat config preset)
  nodePlugin.configs["flat/recommended-script"],
 
  // TypeScript type-checked rules
  ...tseslint.configs.strictTypeChecked,
  ...tseslint.configs.stylisticTypeChecked,
 
  {
    files: ["**/*.ts", "**/*.mts"],
    languageOptions: {
      globals: globals.nodeBuiltin,
      parserOptions: {
        project: "./tsconfig.json",
        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
      },
    },
    rules: {
      // Enforce async/await over raw promise chains
      "promise/prefer-await-to-then": "off",
      "@typescript-eslint/no-floating-promises": "error",
      "@typescript-eslint/no-misused-promises": "error",
      "@typescript-eslint/return-await": ["error", "always"],
 
      // Node.js plugin rules
      "n/no-missing-import": "off", // typescript-eslint resolves imports
      "n/no-unpublished-import": "off",
      "n/no-process-exit": "warn",
    },
  },
);

What this demonstrates:

• Flat config with the tseslint.config() helper for type-safe config authoring
• strictTypeChecked + stylisticTypeChecked for the most rigorous TS rules
• eslint-plugin-n (the maintained fork of eslint-plugin-node) providing Node.js-specific rules
• Type-aware linting enabled via parserOptions.project
• Global ignores in a dedicated object (required by flat config)

Deep Dive

How It Works

• ESLint 9+ loads eslint.config.js (flat config) from the project root by default - no more cascading .eslintrc files.
• typescript-eslint ships as a single package that re-exports @typescript-eslint/parser, @typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin, and a config() helper that concatenates and types config objects.
• eslint-plugin-n replaces the abandoned eslint-plugin-node. It adds Node-specific rules like n/no-missing-import, n/no-unpublished-bin, and n/no-deprecated-api.
• Type-aware rules (anything suffixed TypeChecked) require the parser to load tsconfig.json via parserOptions.project. Without it, those rules silently do nothing.
• tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname ensures the project path resolves relative to the config file, not the current working directory.

Variations

JavaScript-only config (no TypeScript):

// eslint.config.js
import js from "@eslint/js";
import nodePlugin from "eslint-plugin-n";
import globals from "globals";
 
export default [
  js.configs.recommended,
  nodePlugin.configs["flat/recommended-script"],
  {
    languageOptions: {
      ecmaVersion: "latest",
      sourceType: "module",
      globals: globals.nodeBuiltin,
    },
  },
];

Type-aware linting with a dedicated tsconfig:

{
  files: ["**/*.ts"],
  languageOptions: {
    parserOptions: {
      project: "./tsconfig.eslint.json",
      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
    },
  },
}

Prettier integration (turn off stylistic rules that conflict):

npm install --save-dev eslint-config-prettier

import prettier from "eslint-config-prettier";
 
export default tseslint.config(
  js.configs.recommended,
  ...tseslint.configs.recommended,
  prettier, // must be LAST - disables conflicting stylistic rules
);

Scoped ignores for generated files:

{
  ignores: ["**/*.generated.ts", "src/proto/**"],
}

TypeScript Notes

• @typescript-eslint/parser is installed transitively via the typescript-eslint meta-package - you rarely need to import it directly.
• Type-aware rules like no-floating-promises and no-misused-promises are essential for Node.js scripts where silent unhandled rejections can corrupt state.
• Enable the strictest preset with ...tseslint.configs.strictTypeChecked - it catches real bugs like no-unnecessary-condition and no-unsafe-argument.
• The tseslint.config() helper provides autocomplete and type errors if you misspell a rule name or option.

Gotchas

Things that will bite you. Each gotcha includes what goes wrong, why it happens, and the fix.

• Flat config vs legacy .eslintrc confusion - ESLint 9+ defaults to flat config. If you still have a .eslintrc.json in the project, ESLint ignores it silently once eslint.config.js exists. Fix: Delete all legacy files when migrating and verify with npx eslint --print-config path/to/file.ts.

• Missing parserOptions.project disables type-aware rules - Rules from strictTypeChecked or stylisticTypeChecked require the TypeScript program to be loaded. Without project, they throw at runtime or silently pass. Fix: Always set parserOptions.project and tsconfigRootDir in the TS-files block.

• eslint-plugin-n reports false positives for TS path aliases - Rules like n/no-missing-import can't resolve @/utils path aliases defined in tsconfig.json. Fix: Disable n/no-missing-import (and n/no-unpublished-import) when using TypeScript - typescript-eslint already validates imports.

• ESM config file in a CommonJS project - If package.json has "type": "commonjs" (or no type field), eslint.config.js with import syntax fails to load. Fix: Rename to eslint.config.mjs OR add "type": "module" to package.json.

• Prettier/ESLint rule conflicts - Enabling stylistic ESLint rules alongside Prettier produces fighting auto-fixes. Fix: Add eslint-config-prettier as the last item in the config array to disable conflicting rules.

• ignores mixed with other keys silently becomes a file filter - In flat config, an object with both ignores and rules is treated as a filter, not a global ignore. Fix: Put global ignores in their own { ignores: [...] } object with no other keys.

Alternatives

Other ways to solve the same problem - and when each is the better choice.

FAQs

Related

• Utility Script Patterns - file I/O, prompts, spinners, and colored output
• ESLint Setup for Next.js - flat config for Next.js apps
• ESLint Plugins - add React, a11y, import plugins
• TypeScript Basics - tsconfig fundamentals