Link Rules

Rules for validating links and link structure.

broken-links

Checks all links for broken/invalid status codes.

Checks

Internal links return 200
External links are reachable
No 404, 500, or other error codes
Handles redirects (up to 10 hops)

Requires

Live checks enabled (default). Disable with --no-live.

Examples

Fail:

<a href="/old-page">Link</a>
<!-- Error: Broken link: /old-page (404) -->

<a href="https://example.com/missing">External</a>
<!-- Error: Broken link: https://example.com/missing (404) -->

Pass:

<a href="/about">About Us</a>
<!-- Returns 200 OK -->

Configuration

rules: {
  'broken-links': {
    severity: 'error',
    enabled: true, // or false to disable
  },
}

Disable for Static Analysis

capyseo analyze ./dist --no-live

redirect-chains

Detects chains of 2+ redirects.

Checks

Links that redirect multiple times
Recommends direct linking

Examples

Warning:

<a href="/old">Link</a>
<!-- /old → /old2 → /new (2 redirects) -->
<!-- Warning: Redirect chain detected (2 hops) -->

Better:

<a href="/new">Link</a>
<!-- Direct link, no redirects -->

Why It Matters

Slower page loads
Lost link equity
Poor user experience

Configuration

rules: {
  'redirect-chains': {
    severity: 'warning',
  },
}

external-links

Validates external links with target="_blank" have rel="noopener".

Checks

target="_blank" links have rel="noopener"
Prevents security vulnerabilities

Examples

Fail:

<a href="https://external.com" target="_blank">External</a>
<!-- Warning: External link missing rel="noopener" -->

Pass:

<a href="https://external.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">External</a>
<a href="https://external.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">External</a>

Why It Matters

Without rel="noopener", the opened page can access window.opener and potentially redirect your page.

Configuration

rules: {
  'external-links': {
    severity: 'warning',
  },
}

internal-links

Analyzes internal linking structure.

Checks

Page has at least 3 internal links
Warns if too few internal links

Examples

Warning:

<body>
  <a href="/">Home</a>
  <!-- Only 1 internal link -->
  <!-- Info: Low internal link count (1). Consider adding more. -->
</body>

Pass:

<nav>
  <a href="/">Home</a>
  <a href="/about">About</a>
  <a href="/blog">Blog</a>
  <a href="/contact">Contact</a>
</nav>

Why It Matters

Internal links help:

Search engines discover pages
Distribute page authority
Improve user navigation

Configuration

rules: {
  'internal-links': {
    severity: 'info',
  },
}

Best Practices

Link Text Guidelines

Good	Bad
"View our pricing plans"	"Click here"
"Read the full article"	"More"
"Download the PDF guide"	"Link"

Security Checklist

All target="_blank" have rel="noopener"
No links to compromised domains
HTTPS links where possible

Internal Linking

Link to related content
Use descriptive anchor text
Include navigation links
Add contextual links in content

Example Good Linking

<article>
  <h1>React Hooks Guide</h1>
  <p>
    Before learning hooks, make sure you understand
    <a href="/guides/react-basics">React fundamentals</a>.
  </p>
  <p>
    For more advanced patterns, see our
    <a href="/guides/advanced-hooks">advanced hooks guide</a>.
  </p>
</article>

<nav>
  <a href="/" rel="home">Home</a>
  <a href="/guides">Guides</a>
  <a href="https://github.com/example" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GitHub</a>
</nav>