Migrating a JavaScript Project from Prettier and ESLint to BiomeJS

Summary

Prettier and ESLint have long been indispensable tools in the JavaScript ecosystem for ensuring code consistency and quality. They have become staples in the toolchains of JavaScript projects worldwide. However, a new player has emerged to challenge their dominance: BiomeJS. This ambitious project seeks to combine the functionality of both tools into a single, high-performance solution for code formatting and linting. By combining these capabilities, Biome aims to simplify workflows, reduce configuration complexity, and significantly boost performance, thus positioning itself as the next generation of JavaScript tooling. In this article, I'll introduce the BiomeJS project, explore its setup, and help you decide if migrating from Prettier and ESLint is the right move for you. What Is Biome? BiomeJS started its life as a fork of the now-defunct Rome project, but has since evolved into its own distinct toolchain focused on providing a fast, integrated development experience. It currently provides two solutions for JavaScript developers: A Prettier-like code formatter. A powerful linter that's inspired by ESLint. By combining these tools into a single solution, Biome minimizes the need for multiple configurations, thus creating a more seamless experience for developers. It is also built with a modern architecture, using Rust for speed and multi-threading, making it more than an order of magnitude faster than its predecessors. In this way, it represents not only a replacement but also a significant leap forward in simplifying and optimizing the JavaScript development workflow. Comparison with Prettier Biome's formatter, like Prettier's, offers only a few configuration options. Its output is mostly compatible with Prettier — though there are some differences — and it formats about 25 times faster because it's multithreaded and written in Rust. While Biome supports multiple languages, it lags behind Prettier in terms of coverage. Notably, HTML, Markdown, and SCSS are not y...