RuboCop vs standard
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A Ruby linter and auto-formatter that checks code against the community Ruby style guide.
Open source · MIT
A JavaScript style guide with a linter and auto-fixer that needs no config files.
The short answer
Choose RuboCop if you need…
- Ruby developers who want consistent style across a project
- Teams that want an automated check on code style during development
- Maintainers of Ruby projects who want to follow the community Ruby Style Guide
- People who want to upgrade or clean up an existing Ruby codebase
Choose standard if you need…
- JavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
- Node.js developers who want a quick, zero-config check in their package.json test script
- Open source projects that want clear, automated style expectations for contributors
- Developers who want to avoid managing .eslintrc files
Side-by-side
| RuboCop | standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 12.9k | 29.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 16 months ago |
What each one is
RuboCop
RuboCop is a static code analyzer for Ruby, sometimes called a linter, and a code formatter. Out of the box it enforces many guidelines from the community Ruby Style Guide. Besides reporting problems, it can automatically fix many of them, and most of its behavior can be changed through configuration options.
standard
Standard is a JavaScript style guide enforced by a linter, which is a tool that checks code for formatting problems and common programmer mistakes. Running standard --fix will automatically correct many style issues. It is designed so you do not need to write or maintain a configuration file.
Best for
RuboCop
- Ruby developers who want consistent style across a project
- Teams that want an automated check on code style during development
- Maintainers of Ruby projects who want to follow the community Ruby Style Guide
- People who want to upgrade or clean up an existing Ruby codebase
standard
- JavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
- Node.js developers who want a quick, zero-config check in their package.json test script
- Open source projects that want clear, automated style expectations for contributors
- Developers who want to avoid managing .eslintrc files
Strengths
RuboCop
- Enforces many rules from the community Ruby Style Guide with little setup
- Can automatically correct many issues it reports
- Highly configurable and stable between minor versions, according to the README
standard
- No configuration files to create or maintain
- Automatic fixing via standard --fix saves review time
- Widely used and actively maintained, with about 29,000 GitHub stars and a recent push in July 2025
Not ideal for
RuboCop
- Non-Ruby projects, since it only analyzes Ruby code
- People who do not want to maintain a configuration file, because many aspects of its behavior are set through configuration options
- Projects on Ruby versions outside the supported runtimes (MRI 2.7+ or JRuby 9.4+), since the README lists these as the officially supported implementations
standard
- Teams that want to customize many style rules, since the README stresses there is no configuration (reason: the style is fixed by design)
- Projects that prefer Prettier-style formatting specifically, since the README only compares to Prettier in a linked talk and does not describe it as a replacement (reason: different approach)
- Developers who need the linter to check non-JavaScript languages (reason: it targets JavaScript files by default: **/*.js and **/*.jsx)
Trade-offs
RuboCop
- Configuration is extensive, so tuning it for a project takes effort
- The README notes that the project is financially supported through donations and sponsorships, so its development pace depends on funding
- Supported runtimes are limited to MRI 2.7+ and JRuby 9.4+ per the README
standard
- Style rules are fixed, so you cannot easily adjust them to personal or team preferences
- Requires Node.js and npm to be installed first
- The README is truncated here, so details on supported syntax and newer language features are unclear
Getting started
standard
Install globally as a command line program
npm install standard --globalInstall locally for a single project
npm install standard --save-devFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between RuboCop and standard?
RuboCop: A Ruby linter and auto-formatter that checks code against the community Ruby style guide. standard: A JavaScript style guide with a linter and auto-fixer that needs no config files. RuboCop suits ruby developers who want consistent style across a project, while standard suits javascript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules.
Are RuboCop and standard free?
RuboCop: Free and open source. standard: Free and open source.
Is RuboCop or standard more popular?
standard has more GitHub stars (29.4k) than RuboCop (12.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to RuboCop and standard?
Other options people compare them with include ESLint, Prettier, lint-staged.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.