Lint copy
A Figma plugin
A Figma plugin
The lint copy plugin is a basic prose linter. It enforces certain style rules, such as sentence case, and a custom word list.
The plugin returns errors for the following things:
Title case (not customizable)
Not using a capital letter at the start of a text string (not customizable)
Word replacements against a custom word list
The word list is fully custom. Use it to help enforce your voice and tone, controlled product vocabulary, and plain language.
The word list is written in word pairs, badword: goodword, in a JSON file. When the plugin detects a bad word from your word list, it outputs Found "badword": goodword.
This minimal hardcoded output is intentional to allow for maximum flexibility. This requires you to write longer goodword entries in the JSON file, but the word list can be used in more ways. For example, you can have entries like the following:
"in order to": "Replace with 'to'."
"very": "Delete. Intensifiers add little meaning."
"you are": "Use 'you're' for our voice and tone."
To create your list:
Create a JSON file named wordlist.json. Use a text editor like Visual Studio Code.
In the file, add your word pairs. In each pair, the plugin finds the first word or phrase and displays the second entry as an instruction.
If you're adding another word pair, add a comma at the end of the prior pair. Multiple entries should look like the following:
"utilize": "Replace with use.",
"leverage": "Replace with take advantage of."
For the final entry in the JSON file, do not place a comma after the word pair.
The plugin fetches the word list from GitHub. Other hosting options aren't supported.
To work, your GitHub repository must be public.
Refer to GitHub's documentation about creating a free personal account and repository.
Once the word list is in your repository, add the URL to the plugin. Everyone using the plugin must add the word list URL in their instance of the plugin.
In the repository, select the wordlist.json file you uploaded.
Find and select Raw. This opens the file in your browser. The URL should start with https://raw.githubusercontent.com. If you need help with this, refer to GitHub's documentation on viewing a file.
Copy the URL.
Paste the URL in the GitHub URL field in the plugin.
Select Save.
The plugin remembers the URL across sessions, so you shouldn't have to enter it again.
When you need to make changes to your word list, edit it in GitHub.
When you commit the changes, everyone automatically gets them—that's one of the great benefits of hosting the word list in GitHub!
Here's JSON you can copy and paste into your file to get started.
{
"_meta": {
"description": "This word list is used by the Figma plugin to detect and replace terms.",
"note": "List plural forms before singular forms to avoid double-counting."
},
"leverage": "Replace with 'take advantage of'.",
"utilize": "Replace with 'use'.",
you are": "Use 'you're' for our voice and tone."
}
You can use it to:
find jargon and suggest plain language alternatives, e.g. "utilize" becomes "use"
find wordy or redundant phrases and suggest shorter alternatives, e.g. "the reason is because" becomes "the reason"
find sensitive or gendered language and suggest alternatives
enforce the use of contractions (or no contractions!)
ensure product-specific terms are correct
suggest deletion of filler words and phrases
Add entries for both the singular and plural spelling of the term. List the plural term first. If you don't, a plural term will trigger 2 errors, 1 for the singular and 1 for the plural.