Why Vite Asked Me to Choose Between Oxlint and ESLint

When starting a new Vite project using `npx create-vite`, I encountered a prompt asking which linter to employ: Oxlint or ESLint. Although Vite did not explicitly endorse Oxlint over ESLint, the cursor placement in the CLI made me pause and consider the implications of this choice. Vite’s decision to present both linters as first-class options during project creation reflects the evolving frontend ecosystem, which now embraces native tooling like SWC, Biome, and Rollup.

Vite does not compel developers to pick a specific linter; it allows them to choose based on their preferences and project requirements. Oxlint, developed as part of the Oxc (Oxidized Compiler) project, is a Rust-based linter that offers faster execution and reduced startup overhead compared to ESLint, which runs on Node.js/JavaScript.

While ESLint boasts a mature and extensive plugin ecosystem, Oxlint currently focuses on catching common correctness bugs, React hook pitfalls, and type safety issues with minimal setup overhead. Benchmarks suggest Oxlint may provide quicker local feedback, which could enhance the development workflow. To explore these differences firsthand, I decided to use Oxlint for my initial Vite build.

As I develop the project, I plan to monitor Oxlint’s effectiveness in catching errors during active development and assess its limitations, if any. My next steps include experimenting with a hybrid setup—using Oxlint for local development and pre-commit hooks, while reserving ESLint for CI/CD pipelines to accommodate complex custom rules and team-wide policies.