In simple English
This tool checks every link on your website to find broken pages. It crawls live web pages, markdown documents, and local folders automatically. You run it from your command line or set it to run whenever you update your site. It saves you from losing readers to dead links and missing files. The software is free and open source.
What it is
Linkinator (a command-line tool and software library that crawls websites and local files to validate every hyperlink) tests web addresses for availability, following redirects and checking anchors. It runs locally on your machine or inside automated build pipelines.
What it is good for
Solo builders and writers who want to catch broken links in documentation, blog posts, or product websites before their readers do.
- Scans live websites, local folders, and markdown files without extra setup.
- Runs automatically in continuous integration systems or GitHub Actions.
- Outputs results as clean JSON or CSV for use in other scripts.
- Requires Node.js installed on your computer to run the command-line interface.
- Large websites with thousands of pages can take several minutes to scan completely.
- Strict checks can flag temporary network drops as permanent broken links.
manual link checking or paid website auditing services
GitHub Actions
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npx linkinator https://example.com