Releasing hihtml, a Supertool for HTML Validation, Link-Checking, and Minification

Published on May 19, 2026, filed under tools, development, html, quality, optimization. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon or on Bluesky.)

Have you ever wondered what HTML validator to use? How to check on deprecated HTML in your codebase? What link checker would do? What web page minifier to use?

Have you ever forgotten about one of these?

Or, have you ever wondered why you need to use so many tools and take so many steps to properly check and process HTML?

Meet hihtml (source), a convenient abstraction that allows you to validate HTML pages using HTML-validate, that checks on deprecated markup using ObsoHTML, that comes with a built-in link checker, and that minifies the respective web pages using HTML Minifier Next!

Screenshot of hihtml being used with its `-a` option, showing validation, link-checking, and minification on a local copy of worlds-highest-website.com. — hihtml in action. (The white terminal? The author regrets nothing 😁)

hihtml is designed to make HTML quality control and optimization as easy as possible:

You can run a quick check over any folder just using npx hihtml.
You can minify in-place using npx hihtml -m (will prompt for confirmation and is best done under version control).
You can check and, on success (no validation issues), minify using npx hihtml -a.
You can request a report of the process via npx hihtml -a -r.
You can do all of this and more (like passing on options) both on the command-line and programmatically.

Check the hihtml documentation for more details.

My recommendation: Try hihtml in a folder containing HTML using npx hihtml -c -l (equivalent to npx hihtml --check-code --check-links). That will give you an instant idea of what hihtml does without any actual changes.

Then—this is the first release, so things may have been missed and things may change. If you run into a problem or have a suggestion, please file an issue and I’ll have a look.

Other than that: Enjoy a new unified way of covering your HTML quality and optimization needs!

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies, including Google; I’m an open-source developer and a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG); and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also with respect to politics and philosophy. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my experiences and perspectives. (Please share feedback—interpret charitably, keep it friendly, but do be critical.)