diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 183b8201997b..df8434f94099 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
     "oav": "^0.4.1",
     "js-yaml": "^3.8.2",
     "azure-storage": "^2.1.0",
+    "@microsoft.azure/literate":"^1.0.19",
+    "@microsoft.azure/async-io":"^1.0.21",
+    "@microsoft.azure/polyfill":"^1.0.17",
     "oad": "^0.1.6"
   },
   "homepage": "https://github.com/azure/azure-rest-api-specs",
diff --git a/test/linter.js b/test/linter.js
index 46f081943df7..e652bc28d40b 100644
--- a/test/linter.js
+++ b/test/linter.js
@@ -4,23 +4,135 @@
 'use strict';
 var
   execSync = require('child_process').execSync,
-  utils = require('./util/utils');
+  utils = require('./util/utils'),
+  fs = require('fs'),
+  literate = require('@microsoft.azure/literate'),
+  async_io_1 = require("@microsoft.azure/async-io"),
+  path = require('path');
 
-describe('AutoRest Linter validation:', function () {
-  let configsToProcess = utils.getConfigFilesChangedInPR();
-  // Useful when debugging a test for a particular swagger. 
-  // Just update the regex. That will return an array of filtered items.
-  // configsToProcess = ['specification/sql/resource-manager/readme.md'];
-  for (const config of configsToProcess) {
-    it(config + ' should honor linter validation rules.', async function () {
-      var cmd = `autorest --validation --azure-validator ${config} --message-format=json`;
-      console.log(`Executing: ${cmd}`);
-
-      try {
-        let result = execSync(cmd, { encoding: 'utf8', maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 * 64 });
-      } catch (err) {
-        throw new Error('Linter validation contains error(s)');
-      }
+async function readConfigFile(file, tag) {
+  // autorest configuration type
+  const msgs = new literate.MessageEmitter();
+  msgs.Message.Subscribe((src, each) => console.log(each.Text));
+  const cfg = new literate.Configuration("\n> see https://aka.ms/autorest", new literate.DiskFileSystem("readme.md"), async_io_1.ResolveUri(async_io_1.CreateFolderUri(process.cwd()), async_io_1.CreateFileUri(path.resolve(file)) || "."), {
+    "input-file": [],
+  });
+  return await cfg.CreateView(msgs, true, { tag: tag });
+}
+
+async function getTagsMapFromConfig(args) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(path.resolve(args.file))) {
+    console.error('config file invalid. cannot read tags from file ' + config);
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const allTags = scanForTags(fs.readFileSync(args.file));
+  const result = {};
+  for (const each of allTags) {
+    result[each] = (await readConfigFile(args.file, each))["input-file"];
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
+function scanForTags(content) {
+  const result = new Array();
+  const rx = /\$\(tag\)(.*)/g;
+  let match = rx.exec(content);
+  while (match) {
+    const vrx = /['"](.*?)['"]/g;
+    let v = vrx.exec(match[1]);
+    if (v && v.length && result.indexOf(v[1]) == -1) {
+      result.push(v[1]);
+    }
+    match = rx.exec(content);
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function getTagsFromConfig(config) {
+  // get hold of all tags and their corresponding input files using the literate config tool
+  const tagsMap = await getTagsMapFromConfig({ file: config });
+  if (tagsMap === null) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  const tags = Object.keys(tagsMap);
+
+  // filter the tags
+  if (utils.prOnly) {
+    // get path to the modified files relative to their corresponding md file, need to do this since 
+    // config files have relative paths to the input files
+    let allModifiedFiles = utils.getFilesChangedInPR();
+    allModifiedFiles = allModifiedFiles.map(mfile => {
+      return mfile.replace(path.dirname(config) + '/', '');
     });
+
+    // for each tag->files, find if there are any modified files and select those tags
+    return tags.filter(tag => {
+
+      const tagFiles = (String(tagsMap[tag])).split(',');
+      // find intersection with the modified files
+      return tagFiles.filter(tagFile => {
+        return allModifiedFiles.indexOf(tagFile) > -1;
+      }).length > 0;
+    });
+  }
+  return tags;
+}
+
+function execLinterCommand(args) {
+  var cmd = `autorest --validation --azure-validator --message-format=json ${args}`.trim();
+  console.log(`Executing: ${cmd}`);
+  try {
+    let result = execSync(cmd, { encoding: 'utf8', maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 * 64 });
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new Error('Linter validation contains error(s)');
+  }
+
+}
+
+describe('AutoRest Linter validation:', function () {
+  if (utils.prOnly) {
+    // Useful when debugging a test for a particular swagger. 
+    // Just update the regex. That will return an array of filtered items.
+    // configsToProcess = ['specification/sql/resource-manager/readme.md'];
+    let configsToProcess = utils.getConfigFilesChangedInPR();
+    for (const config of configsToProcess) {
+      it(config + ' should honor linter validation rules.', async function () {
+
+        // find all tags in the config file
+        const tagsToProcess = await getTagsFromConfig(config);
+        // if no tags found to process, run with the defaults    
+        if (tagsToProcess === null || tagsToProcess.length === 0) {
+          // no tags found
+          // this means we need to run validator against the individual 
+          // json files included in the PR
+          // but in the same directory tree as the config file
+          const filesChangedInPR = utils.getFilesChangedInPR();
+          const configDir = path.dirname(config);
+          filesChangedInPR.filter(prfile => {
+            // set any type to string
+            prFile += '';
+            return prFile.startsWith(configDir) && prfile.indexOf('examples') === -1 && prFile.endsWith('.json');
+          }).forEach(prFileInConfigFile => {
+            console.warn(`Configuration file not found for file: ${prFileInConfigFile}, running validation rules against it in individual context.`);
+            execLinterCommand(`--input-file=${prFileInConfigFile}`);
+          });
+        }
+        else {
+          // if tags found, run linter against every single tag
+          tagsToProcess.forEach((tagToProcess) => {
+            execLinterCommand(`${config} --tag=${tagToProcess}`);
+          }, this);
+        }
+      });
+    }
+  }
+  else {
+    // we are not handling pr_only=false case today, 
+    // to enable, we need to write logic to calculate
+    // all config files in the repo and run linter with 
+    // every tag in the md file; we can get tags each 
+    // config file from getTagsFromCinfig file
+    console.warn('Cannot run linter in pr_only false mode');
   }
 });