Extended vs Legacy

eslint-config-airbnb-extended ships in two flavors. Both are flat-config only (no .eslintrc*) and work great with TypeScript, what differs is their philosophy and how opinionated they are.

NOTE

This package doesn’t support .eslintrc*. If you’re still on legacy config files, migrate to eslint.config.mjs first. See migration guide for detailed information.

Overview

Aspect	Extended	Legacy
Purpose	Modern, TypeScript-first, opinionated defaults for new and existing codebases	Provide drop-in replacement of the original Airbnb ESLint configurations using the new flat config format.
Strictness	Tighter defaults out of the box, pairs nicely with the optional Strict Rules add-on	Conservative defaults, easier drop-in when migrating from old Airbnb configs
TypeScript	Fully supported, encourages TS-aware patterns	Fully supported, fewer extra opinions
Imports	Uses eslint-plugin-import-x (faster fork of eslint-plugin-import) for modern import checks	Uses eslint-plugin-import to keep migration noise low
Styling	Uses ESLint Stylistic for formatting-style rules you can autofix and tune	Uses deprecated ESLint styling rules for easy migration
Best for	Teams who want a maintained, modernized successor to Airbnb with sensible opinions	Teams moving from airbnb, airbnb-base, or airbnb-typescript configs who want to keep the same behavior initially and improve gradually.

Which one should I choose?

Choose Extended if you:

• are starting fresh or ready to modernize,
• looking for TypeScript-aware checks along with a cleaner, more consistent import and style setup,
• plan to enable the Strict Rules bundle later for even tighter consistency.

Choose Legacy if you:

• are migrating from airbnb, airbnb-base, or airbnb-typescript configs and want minimal diffs first,
• have a large codebase and prefer a gentler, low-friction transition path,
• plan to adopt the Extended (or Strict rules) opinions gradually after migration.