What is RedPen used for?

RedPen is an open-source proofreading tool that checks technical documents against writing standards in Markdown, AsciiDoc, LaTeX and other formats. It is a good fit for enforcing documentation style guides and linting manuals in CI.

Is RedPen open source?

Yes. RedPen is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at redpen-cc/redpen and is written mainly in Java.

Yes. RedPen is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

What is RedPen an alternative to?

RedPen is an open-source alternative to ProWritingAid. Other open-source alternatives to ProWritingAid include LanguageTool.

Is RedPen actively maintained?

The most recent commit to RedPen was on 7 July 2022. The project has 604 stars on GitHub.

RedPen: open-source alternative to ProWritingAid

About RedPen

RedPen is a proofreading tool for people who write technical documents or manuals that must follow a writing standard. It automates verification of natural-language text so that style and consistency rules are applied the same way every time, like a linter for documentation.

It is language independent and highly customizable, runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and understands several markup formats including wiki text, Markdown, Textile, AsciiDoc, LaTeX, Re:VIEW and reStructuredText. A plugin system lets users write extensions in JavaScript, errors can be suppressed through annotations, and there is a REST API and web UI.

The ecosystem includes a Docker image, a RubyGem and a Python client, plus editor integrations for Atom, Emacs, Vim, IntelliJ IDEA, SublimeLinter and Visual Studio Code, and a WordPress plugin. RedPen is written in Java, licensed under Apache-2.0 and supported by ATL, with docs in English and Japanese.

Key features

Rule-based proofreading of technical documents
Supports Markdown, AsciiDoc, LaTeX and more
JavaScript plugin system
REST API and web UI
Editor integrations for VS Code and Vim
Annotation-based error suppression

Good fit for

→Enforcing documentation style guides
→Linting manuals in CI

Built with: Java
Tags: proofreading; linter; documentation; markdown; asciidoc; latex; java; writing

RedPen: questions and answers

What is RedPen used for?: RedPen is an open-source proofreading tool that checks technical documents against writing standards in Markdown, AsciiDoc, LaTeX and other formats. It is a good fit for enforcing documentation style guides and linting manuals in CI.
Is RedPen open source?: Yes. RedPen is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at redpen-cc/redpen and is written mainly in Java.
Is RedPen free?: Yes. RedPen is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
What is RedPen an alternative to?: RedPen is an open-source alternative to ProWritingAid. Other open-source alternatives to ProWritingAid include LanguageTool.
Is RedPen actively maintained?: The most recent commit to RedPen was on 7 July 2022. The project has 604 stars on GitHub.