diff --git a/.flake8 b/.flake8
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3da4e9c6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.flake8
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[flake8]
+# E241: Multiple spaces after ,
+# E265: Block comment should start with '#'
+# F401: Unused import (checked by pylint)
+# E501: Line too long (checked by pylint)
+ignore=E241,E265,F401,E501
+max_complexity = 10
+exclude = appdirs.py
diff --git a/.pylintrc b/.pylintrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..22d815227
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pylintrc
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+[MASTER]
+ignore=appdirs.py
+
+[MESSAGES CONTROL]
+disable=no-self-use,
+        super-on-old-class,
+        old-style-class,
+        abstract-class-little-used,
+        bad-builtin,
+        star-args,
+        fixme,
+        global-statement,
+        no-init,
+        locally-disabled,
+        too-many-ancestors,
+        too-few-public-methods,
+        too-many-public-methods
+
+[BASIC]
+module-rgx=[a-z_]*$
+const-rgx=[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{0,30}$
+method-rgx=[a-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{2,30}$
+attr-rgx=[a-z_][a-z0-9_]{0,30}$
+argument-rgx=[a-z_][a-z0-9_]{0,30}$
+variable-rgx=[a-z_][a-z0-9_]{0,30}$
+class-attribute-rgx=[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{1,30}$
+inlinevar-rgx=[a-z_][a-z0-9_]*$
+bad-names=foo,bar,baz,tmp
+
+[FORMAT]
+max-line-length=79
+ignore-long-lines=<?https?://
+
+[VARIABLES]
+dummy-variables-rgx=_$
+
+[CLASSES]
+defining-attr-methods=__init__,__new__,setUp
+
+[DESIGN]
+max-args=10
+max-attributes=12
diff --git a/qutebrowser/commands/keys.py b/qutebrowser/commands/keys.py
index 8ccd231c6..0446644ca 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/commands/keys.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/commands/keys.py
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class KeyParser(QObject):
         Return:
             True if event has been handled, False otherwise.
         """
-        MODMASK2STR = {
+        modmask2str = {
             Qt.ControlModifier: 'Ctrl',
             Qt.AltModifier: 'Alt',
             Qt.MetaModifier: 'Meta',
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ class KeyParser(QObject):
         if not mod & (Qt.ControlModifier | Qt.AltModifier | Qt.MetaModifier):
             # won't be a shortcut with modifiers
             return False
-        for (mask, s) in MODMASK2STR.items():
+        for (mask, s) in modmask2str.items():
             if mod & mask:
                 modstr += s + '+'
         keystr = QKeySequence(e.key()).toString()
diff --git a/qutebrowser/commands/utils.py b/qutebrowser/commands/utils.py
index e144263d1..bb36b5a19 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/commands/utils.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/commands/utils.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from qutebrowser.commands.command import Command
 cmd_dict = {}
 
 
-class register:
+class register:  # pylint: disable=invalid-name
 
     """Decorator to register a new command handler.
 
diff --git a/qutebrowser/models/completion.py b/qutebrowser/models/completion.py
index e5bfa3256..f5b8a9898 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/models/completion.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/models/completion.py
@@ -242,8 +242,8 @@ class CompletionModel(QAbstractItemModel):
             item.setdata(index.column(), value, role)
         except (IndexError, ValueError):
             return False
-        # We explicitely need to select this version, see [1].
-        # [1] http://python.6.x6.nabble.com/Bug-Report-pyqt5-discard-silently-signal-with-missing-optional-parameters-dataChanged-roles-for-exam-tt5043737.html  # pylint: disable=line-too-long
+        # We explicitely need to select this version, see:
+        # http://python.6.x6.nabble.com/Bug-Report-pyqt5-discard-silently-signal-with-missing-optional-parameters-dataChanged-roles-for-exam-tt5043737.html
         self.dataChanged.emit(index, index, [])
         return True
 
diff --git a/qutebrowser/network/qutescheme.py b/qutebrowser/network/qutescheme.py
index c3b8ab8fa..c6559c60d 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/network/qutescheme.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/network/qutescheme.py
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ class QuteSchemeHandler(SchemeHandler):
         """
         return url.replace('http://', '').replace('qute:', 'qute_')
 
-    def createRequest(self, op, request, outgoingData):
+    def createRequest(self, op, request, outgoing_data):
         """Create a new request.
 
         Args:
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ class QuteSchemeHandler(SchemeHandler):
         Return:
             A QNetworkReply.
         """
+        # pylint: disable=unused-argument
         # FIXME handle unknown pages
         # FIXME adjust URLutils based on handlers
         logging.debug('request: {}'.format(request))
diff --git a/qutebrowser/network/schemehandler.py b/qutebrowser/network/schemehandler.py
index cc9c81c47..b61ab4630 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/network/schemehandler.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/network/schemehandler.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class SchemeHandler(QObject):
 
     """Abstract base class for custom scheme handlers."""
 
-    def createRequest(self, op, request, outgoingData):
+    def createRequest(self, op, request, outgoing_data):
         """Create a new request.
 
         Args:
diff --git a/qutebrowser/utils/style.py b/qutebrowser/utils/style.py
index 51a8d2401..431e19ae5 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/utils/style.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/utils/style.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class Style(QCommonStyle):
     Based on:
 
     http://stackoverflow.com/a/17294081
-    https://code.google.com/p/makehuman/source/browse/trunk/makehuman/lib/qtgui.py # pylint: disable=line-too-long
+    https://code.google.com/p/makehuman/source/browse/trunk/makehuman/lib/qtgui.py
 
     Attributes:
         _style: The base/"parent" style.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/utils/url.py b/qutebrowser/utils/url.py
index 0d249e453..3dda4a84f 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/utils/url.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/utils/url.py
@@ -76,9 +76,9 @@ def _is_url_naive(url):
     Return:
         True if the url really is an URL, False otherwise.
     """
-    PROTOCOLS = ['http://', 'https://']
+    protocols = ['http://', 'https://']
     u = urlstring(url)
-    return (any(u.startswith(proto) for proto in PROTOCOLS) or '.' in u or
+    return (any(u.startswith(proto) for proto in protocols) or '.' in u or
             u == 'localhost')
 
 
diff --git a/run_checks.py b/run_checks.py
index dad4150e9..a51f22bad 100644
--- a/run_checks.py
+++ b/run_checks.py
@@ -39,37 +39,6 @@ status = OrderedDict()
 options = {
     'target': 'qutebrowser',
     'disable': {
-        'pylint': [
-            # short variable names can be nice
-            'invalid-name',
-            # Basically unavoidable with Qt
-            'too-many-public-methods',
-            'no-self-use',
-            # These don't even exist in python3
-            'super-on-old-class',
-            'old-style-class',
-            # False-positives
-            'abstract-class-little-used',
-            # map/filter can be nicer than comprehensions
-            'bad-builtin',
-            # I disagree with these
-            'star-args',
-            'fixme',
-            'too-many-instance-attributes',
-            'global-statement',
-            'no-init',
-            'too-many-arguments',
-            'too-few-public-methods',
-            'too-many-ancestors',
-            # visual noise
-            'locally-disabled',
-        ],
-        'flake8': [
-            'E241',  # Multiple spaces after ,
-            'E265',  # Block comment should start with '#'
-            'F401',  # Unused import (checked by pylint)
-            'E501',  # Line too long (checked by pylint)
-        ],
         'pep257': [
             'D102',  # Docstring missing, will be handled by others
             'D209',  # Blank line before closing """ (removed from PEP257)
@@ -77,8 +46,9 @@ options = {
     },
     'exclude': ['appdirs.py'],
     'other': {
-        'pylint': ['--output-format=colorized', '--reports=no'],
-        'flake8': ['--max-complexity=10'],
+        'pylint': ['--output-format=colorized', '--reports=no',
+                   '--rcfile=.pylintrc'],
+        'flake8': ['--max-complexity=10', '--config=.flake8'],
     },
 }
 
@@ -164,14 +134,26 @@ def _get_args(checker):
     if checker == 'pylint':
         try:
             args += ['--disable=' + ','.join(options['disable']['pylint'])]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += ['--ignore=' + ','.join(options['exclude'])]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += options['other']['pylint']
         except KeyError:
             pass
     elif checker == 'flake8':
         try:
             args += ['--ignore=' + ','.join(options['disable']['flake8'])]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += ['--exclude=' + ','.join(options['exclude'])]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += options['other']['flake8']
         except KeyError:
             pass
@@ -179,8 +161,14 @@ def _get_args(checker):
         args = []
         try:
             args += ['--ignore=' + ','.join(options['disable']['pep257'])]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += ['--match=(?!{}).*\.py'.format('|'.join(
                 options['exclude']))]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
+        try:
             args += options['other']['pep257']
         except KeyError:
             pass