A cute little HTML linter, until y̵ou ma̴k̵e i̴͌ͅt̴̖̀ a̵̤̤͕̰͐̅͘͘n̶̦̣͙̑̌̆̄ǵ̷̗̗̀͝r̷̭̈́͂͘ẙ̶͔̟̞̊̈…̴̢͘

Cutesy reformats & lints HTML documents, including HTML templates. It ensures consistent indentation, line breaks, and formatting while automatically fixing most issues.

Full support for Django templates 🐍💕

Sorts classes for TailwindCSS 💖✨

Works with AlpineJS and HTMX ⚡💘

Features ✨

Auto-fix: Automatically corrects most formatting issues

Configurable: Extensive configuration options for your project's needs

Fast: Rust core for high performance

Status

Quick Start

Installation

Basic Usage

Configuration

Framework Support

Examples

Documentation

When to Use Cutesy

Benefits

Badge

License

Contributing

🚀 Quick Start

Install:

pip install cutesy

Format your HTML files:

cutesy "*.html" --fix

For Django projects with TailwindCSS:

cutesy "templates/**/*.html" --fix --extras=[django,tailwind]

Installation

Cutesy requires Python 3.12+ and works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

pip install cutesy

For system-wide CLI tool:

pipx install cutesy

Development Installation:

git clone https://github.com/chasefinch/cutesy.git cd cutesy pip install -e .

📚 Detailed guide: See Installation Documentation for editor integration, pre-commit hooks, and CI/CD setup.

cutesy ".html" # Check all HTML files cutesy "templates/**/.html" # Check recursively cutesy --code '<div>test</div>' # Check code string

Fix issues automatically:

cutesy ".html" --fix # Fix all issues cutesy ".html" --fix --quiet # Fix quietly cutesy "*.html" --return-zero # Don't fail CI on issues

Key Options

Option Description Example

--fix Auto-fix issues (recommended) cutesy "*.html" --fix

--extras Enable template/framework support --extras=[django,tailwind]

--ignore Ignore specific rules --ignore=[F1,D5]

--quiet Suppress detailed output --quiet

--check-doctype Process non-HTML5 files --check-doctype

Configuration

Configuration Files

Create a cutesy.toml file in your project:

fix = true extras = ["django", "tailwind"] indentation_type = "spaces" line_length = 99 ignore = ["F1"] # Ignore specific rules

Also supports:

fix = true extras = ["django", "tailwind"] line_length = 120 max_items_per_line = 6

📚 Complete guide: See Configuration Documentation for all options and examples.

Django Templates

Enable Django template processing:

cutesy "templates/*.html" --fix --extras=django

Supports:

<!-- Before -->

{% if user.is_authenticated %}

<div class="welcome"> <h1>Welcome, {{ user.name }}!</h1> {% endif %} <!-- After -->

{% if user.is_authenticated %}

<div class="welcome"> <h1>Welcome, {{ user.name }}!</h1> </div> {% endif %}

TailwindCSS

Automatic class sorting and organization:

cutesy "*.html" --fix --extras=tailwind

Features:

<!-- Before --> <div class="text-red-500 p-4 bg-white hover:bg-gray-100 md:p-8 rounded-lg"> <!-- After --> <div class="bg-white hover:bg-gray-100 p-4 md:p-8 rounded-lg text-red-500">

AlpineJS & HTMX

Cutesy works great with attribute-heavy frameworks:

Cutesy ensures that HTML documents contain consistent whitespace, follow best practices, and adhere to common conventions. In --fix mode, Cutesy turns this:

<!doctype html> <html> <head> <title>Cutesy 🥰 demo</title> </head> <body> <h1>Hi there!</h1>

{% if request.user.is_authenticated %}

<p>Cutesy is so happy when your code is neat.</p> {% endif %} <div class='danger-zone' id="lintTrap" ></div > </body> </html>

…into this:

<!doctype html> <html> <head> <title>Cutesy 🥰 demo</title> </head> <body> <h1>Hi there!</h1>

{% if request.user.is_authenticated %}

<p>Cutesy is so happy when your code is neat.</p> {% endif %} <div id="lintTrap" class="danger-zone"></div> </body> </html>

Real-World Usage

Django Project:

Format all templates

cutesy "templates/**/*.html" --fix --extras=[django,tailwind]

Check before committing

cutesy "templates/**/*.html" --quiet

Static Site:

Format with custom config

cutesy "src/**/*.html" --fix --line-length=120

Format specific files

cutesy "src/components/*.html" --fix --extras=tailwind

Documentation

Document Description

Installation Guide Complete installation instructions, editor integration, CI/CD setup

Configuration Guide All configuration options, file formats, project examples

Rules Reference Complete list of all rules with examples and fixes

Development Guide Contributing, testing, development setup, Rust extensions

Distribution Guide PyPI publishing, Homebrew formula, package management

When to Use Cutesy

Cutesy is great for:

JSX / TSX files — Cutesy formats HTML templates, not JavaScript files.

Standalone JS / CSS files — Cutesy’s just for HTML, the templates that generate it, and the styles & scripts inside it. Use a CSS/JS toolchain for external files. Avoid JS or CSS “templates” which accept server instructions; Keep this in your HTML.

Why not Prettier, Stylelint & ESLint? Cutesy uses all three under the hood for formatting scripts & styles, and it will even respect your configuration for each. Cutesy provides access to these tools (as well as Typescript and automated testing) for server-rendered HTML templates, for <style> and <script> blocks inside of HTML documents, and for styles & scripts inside of HTML attributes.

Aside from that, Cutesy enforces an opinionated style for the HTML itself, along with any template-language tags, and it includes additional post-format analysis such as HTML & framework best practices. (Think image sizing, load order, template tag formatting, Tailwind theme setup, etc.)

✅ Validate AI code output - Catch inconsistencies in generated HTML

✅ Enforce team standards - Consistent formatting across all developers

✅ Catch errors early - Find malformed HTML and template syntax issues

✅ Save time - No more manual formatting or style discussions

✅ Better code reviews - Focus on logic, not formatting

✅ Framework integration - Works with your existing tools and workflows

Badge

Show off how Cutesy keeps you in line.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

See our Development Guide for getting started.