diff --git a/.travis/check_pylint_diff b/.travis/check_pylint_diff
index 6c206ce2133..48cb9044c74 100755
--- a/.travis/check_pylint_diff
+++ b/.travis/check_pylint_diff
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@
 # Licensed under http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 # Created By: miha@reciprocitylabs.com
 
+set -o pipefail
 set -o nounset
 set -o errexit
 
 ARG1=${1:-}
 GIT_REPO="$(pwd)"
-TMP_REPO="$(mktemp -d)"
+TMP_REPO="$(mktemp -d pylint_diff.XXXXXXX)"
 SCRIPT=$(basename "$0")
+PYLINT="$(command -v pylint 2>/dev/null || true)"
 
 trap 'status=$?; cd '$GIT_REPO'; rm -rf '$TMP_REPO'; exit $status' EXIT
 
@@ -41,14 +43,18 @@ Given the commit tree:
 
 case $ARG1 in -h|--help) print_help ; esac
 
+if [ ! "$PYLINT" ]; then
+    echo 'Error: pylint is required'
+    exit 3
+fi
+
 # Make a local clone: prevents copying of objects
 # Handle shallow git clones
-[ -f "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow" ] &&
-    is_shallow=true
+is_shallow=$([ -f "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow" ] && echo true || echo)
 if [ "$is_shallow" ]; then
     mv "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow" "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow-bak"
 fi
-git clone -q --local "$GIT_REPO" "$TMP_REPO"  2>/dev/null
+git clone -q --local --depth=50 "$GIT_REPO" "$TMP_REPO"  2>/dev/null
 if [ "$is_shallow" ]; then
     mv "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow-bak" "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow"
     cp "$GIT_REPO/.git/shallow" "$TMP_REPO/.git/shallow"
@@ -95,8 +101,9 @@ checkout ()
 n_lint_errors ()
 {
     echo "$CHANGED_FILES" |
-        xargs pylint |
-        awk -F'[\\. ]' '/^Your code has been rated at /{ print $7 }'
+        xargs "$PYLINT" |
+        awk -F'[\\. ]' '/^Your code has been rated at /{ print $7 }' ||
+        true
 }
 
 echo "Running pylint on current commit ($CURRENT_COMMIT)"
@@ -107,7 +114,8 @@ checkout $PREVIOUS_COMMIT
 RESULT_PARENT=$( n_lint_errors )
 
 checkout $CURRENT_COMMIT
-echo "$CHANGED_FILES" | xargs pylint || true
+echo
+echo "$CHANGED_FILES" | xargs "$PYLINT" || true
 
 echo "Pylint results"
 echo "=============="
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index a74bf56abb8..b92cdb23d72 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ In addition, we add the following guidelines:
   reason) should have a `__name__ == '__main__'`-fenced code block that
   shows/tests the gist of that module in a user-friendly way.
 
+Please ensure your commits pass code quality assurance by executing:
+
+    pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+    python setup.py lint
+
 [PEP-8]: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/
 [Google Python Style Guide]: https://google.github.io/styleguide/pyguide.html
 [Napoleon]: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/ext/napoleon.html
diff --git a/requirements-dev.txt b/requirements-dev.txt
index 7fb0ea150a6..af85ddc217f 100644
--- a/requirements-dev.txt
+++ b/requirements-dev.txt
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 pylint
+radon
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 7820be437bb..8ea38fe055a 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import os
 import sys
 import subprocess
-from setuptools import find_packages
+from setuptools import find_packages, Command
 
 if sys.version_info < (3, 4):
     sys.exit('Orange requires Python >= 3.4')
@@ -182,6 +182,24 @@ def configuration(parent_package='', top_path=None):
 }
 
 
+class LintCommand(Command):
+    """A setup.py lint subcommand developers can run locally."""
+    description = "run code linter(s)"
+    user_options = []
+    initialize_options = finalize_options = lambda self: None
+
+    def run(self):
+        """Lint current branch compared to a reasonable master branch"""
+        sys.exit(subprocess.call('''
+        set -eu
+        upstream=$(git rev-parse -q --verify upstream/master)
+        origin=$(git rev-parse -q --verify origin/master)
+        master=$(git rev-parse -q --verify master)
+        best_ancestor=$(git merge-base HEAD ${upstream:-${origin:-$master}})
+        .travis/check_pylint_diff $best_ancestor
+        ''', shell=True, cwd=os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+
 def setup_package():
     write_version_py()
     setup(
@@ -201,6 +219,9 @@ def setup_package():
         entry_points=ENTRY_POINTS,
         zip_safe=False,
         test_suite='Orange.tests.test_suite',
+        cmdclass={
+            'lint': LintCommand,
+        },
     )
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':