MDS063: descriptive-link-text

Link text must be descriptive. Non-descriptive phrases like “click here”, “here”, “link”, and “more” fail screen readers and link-list navigation.

The comparison is case- and whitespace-insensitive. Two link patterns are exempt: links whose sole content is a single inline code span (an API symbol), and links whose sole content is an image (a linked logo or badge where the image itself carries the meaning).

# Config

Enable:

rules:
  descriptive-link-text: true

Disable:

rules:
  descriptive-link-text: false

Replace the default banned list:

rules:
  descriptive-link-text:
    banned: ["read more", "learn more"]

# Examples

# Bad

# Title

[click here](https://example.com)

# Good

# Title

Visit [the documentation](https://example.com) for more information.

See [`SomeAPI`](https://example.com/api) for details.

[![logo](logo.png)](https://example.com)

# Meta-Information

• ID: MDS063
• Name: descriptive-link-text
• Status: ready
• Default: disabled (opt-in)
• Fixable: no
• Implementation: source
• Category: prose
• markdownlint: MD059 (descriptive-link-text)
• rumdl: MD059 (link-text)