Use a Linter

A linter is a tool that analyzes your code for potential errors, style violations, and suspicious constructs without executing it. While the name comes from the original Unix utility that analyzed C code for portability issues, modern linters have evolved into sophisticated tools that can catch bugs, enforce coding standards, and even suggest performance improvements. Using a linter is one of the easiest ways to improve code quality and maintain consistency across a project.

Linters catch a wide variety of issues that might slip through manual review. They identify syntax errors, undefined variables, unused imports, and unreachable code. More advanced linters can detect logical errors like comparing different types, accessing potentially null objects, or using deprecated APIs. Style linters ensure consistent formatting - tabs versus spaces, line length, naming conventions - eliminating bike-shedding discussions in code reviews.

The real power of linting comes from integration into your development workflow. Modern editors can run linters in real-time, highlighting issues as you type. Pre-commit hooks can prevent badly formatted code from entering your repository. Continuous integration pipelines can fail builds that don't pass linting, maintaining standards across the entire team. This immediate feedback loop helps developers internalize good practices and catch issues early when they're cheapest to fix.

Different languages have different linting tools - ESLint for JavaScript, Pylint or flake8 for Python, RuboCop for Ruby. Most are highly configurable, allowing teams to define their own style guides and disable rules that don't apply. While it's tempting to enable every possible rule, start with a reasonable baseline and adjust based on your team's needs. The goal isn't to satisfy an arbitrary tool but to write more maintainable, consistent code. A well-configured linter acts like an always-available senior developer, catching mistakes and teaching best practices.