The JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystems have long relied on tools like ESLint and Prettier to enforce code quality and formatting standards. These tools have become so ubiquitous that they’re often bundled into every project scaffold by default.

But we’re entering a new era.

Thanks to the rise of AI-assisted development and blazing-fast Rust-based tooling, the traditional linting stack is being redefined. The days of tweaking .eslintrc and arguing over Prettier line lengths may soon be behind us.

In this post, we’ll explore why developers are moving away from ESLint and Prettier, what’s replacing them, and how AI is reshaping the developer workflow.

🧨 The Cracks in the Traditional Toolchain
ESLint and Prettier have served us well, but they’re not without their problems:

• Performance Bottlenecks: ESLint can be slow on large codebases. Even with caching, linting thousands of files takes time.
• Config Hell: The endless jungle of plugins, configs, and rules can lead to more time spent configuring than coding.
• Overlapping Responsibilities: ESLint and Prettier often clash, especially around formatting vs. code correctness.
• Tooling Fatigue: Adding TypeScript support? JSX? React Hooks rules? Suddenly your toolchain is 10+ dependencies deep.

Developers want tools that are faster, smarter, and easier to use.

⚡ Enter the Rust-Based Linting Revolution
Rust has enabled a new wave of developer tools that are orders of magnitude faster than their JavaScript-based predecessors.

🚀 Deno & Biome (formerly Rome)
Originally built as Rome, Biome is a next-gen JavaScript toolchain written in Rust. It includes:

• Formatter (like Prettier)
• Linter (like ESLint)
• Parser and Compiler tools
• TypeScript support out of the box
• Lightning-fast performance

Biome’s single binary approach means no dependency hell. No endless config files. Just plug and play.

🦀 RSLint & Others
Projects like RSLint and SWC are also leveraging Rust to provide near-instant analysis and transformation of JavaScript and TypeScript codebases.

These tools are becoming the new standard for performance-focused teams.

🤖 How AI Is Changing the Game
AI is introducing context-aware, intelligent feedback—not just rule-based linting.

✨ AI Linting = Smarter Than Static Rules

Modern AI tools can:

• Understand intent, not just syntax.
• Suggest idiomatic improvements, not just fix errors.
• Learn from your codebase and style over time.
• Generate auto-fixes without needing a hundred config options.

Think GitHub Copilot or GPT-style suggestions, but embedded into your editor’s linter and formatter workflow.

📦 Tools to Watch

• CodiumAI, CodeWhisperer, and ChatGPT-based extensions are being integrated into IDEs for real-time, semantic code review.
• AI-enhanced PR reviewers now catch subtle bugs and suggest architectural improvements—something no static linter can do.

💡 The New Workflow: Minimal Config, Max Intelligence
Here’s how the modern stack looks:

# Old Stack
eslint –fix
prettier –write
tsc

# New Stack
biome check . # Fast, all-in-one, Rust-powered
# + AI assistant in your editor or CI

Minimal configuration, better performance, smarter suggestions.

You write code → AI and modern tooling clean it up, enforce style, and even refactor.

🧭 Should You Ditch ESLint and Prettier?

If you’re maintaining a legacy codebase, ESLint and Prettier are still reliable. But if you’re:

• Starting a new project
• Building for scale or performance
• Tired of config and plugin chaos
• Excited about AI-first workflows

Then it’s time to explore the new world of Rust-native and AI-augmented developer tools.

🚀 Too Long; Didn’t Read

• ESLint and Prettier are slowing dev teams down with bloated configs and sluggish performance.
• Rust-based tools like Biome are blazing fast and require minimal setup.
• AI-assisted coding goes beyond rules—understanding context, intent, and best practices.
• The future of linting is fast, smart, and mostly invisible.

Goodbye ESLint and Prettier. Hello, Biome and AI.