In simple English
This tool checks your documentation files for broken internet links. It reads your Markdown and AsciiDoc files and tests every web address inside them. If a page fails to load or returns an error, the tool tells you where to find it. It runs on your computer or inside your automated build pipelines. You do not pay anything to use it, though you need to install it and update your link lists when things break.
What it is
A command-line tool written in JavaScript that checks for dead hyperlinks in text files. It supports complex web pages by using a headless browser fallback to handle JavaScript-heavy sites and bot protection.
What it is good for
Solo builders and documentation writers who want to catch broken links in their README files or guides before their users find them.
- Fewer false positives on protected sites thanks to the browser fallback.
- Clean terminal interface with animated progress bars for local use.
- Integrates directly into automated GitHub workflows for continuous checks.
- Requires Node.js and a compatible Chromium installation if installed via npm.
- Checking large documentation sets with hundreds of external links can take a few minutes.
- Needs careful configuration to ignore rate-limited websites or temporary outages.
manually clicking every link in your documentation
GitHub Actions
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npm install -g @umbrelladocs/linkspector linkspector check