idnits ☆

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Description:
Looks for problems in internet draft formatting

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: ietf rfc validation documentation formatting

Install: brew install idnits

About:
Idnits is a command-line utility designed to validate Internet-Drafts and RFCs against formatting and boilerplate requirements. It scans documents for common issues such as incorrect headers, missing sections, and formatting errors. This tool helps authors ensure their submissions comply with IETF standards before publication.

Key Features:

Checks for required boilerplate text and legal notices
Validates document headers and section structure
Detects common formatting and layout issues
Provides clear error messages for easy correction

Use Cases:

Validating an Internet-Draft before submitting it to the IETF
Checking an RFC document for formatting compliance
Automating document quality checks in a CI/CD pipeline

Alternatives:

xml2rfc – xml2rfc renders IETF XML source files into RFC format, whereas idnits focuses on validating the text output for compliance.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit