Format

Overview

clice format formats the files of a project with the clang-format built into clice, as the editor does, several files at a time, with the .clang-format configuration the tree already has. clice adds no style settings of its own: the style comes from clang-format's own discovery, the nearest .clang-format above each file.

Usage: clice format [<path>...] [--workspace <dir>] [--configuration <tag>] [--check] [--jobs <n>]

Without paths it formats the build's own files: every translation unit of the compilation database outside a build tree (a directory holding CMakeCache.txt or build.ninja, where FetchContent puts the sources it fetches) and every file with a C-family suffix they include that sits inside the project, outside the build trees (a directory below the root holding a compilation database, where a build generates or fetches sources), outside the system include directories of their commands and outside the cache directory; nothing in a project nested in the root (a directory with a clice.toml or .clice/config.toml of its own) is formatted. A directory argument narrows that set to the files under it; a file argument with a C-family suffix is formatted whether or not the build knows it. Paths are relative to the current directory. A rule in clice.toml with format = false keeps matching files out, for example a vendored library or generated sources:

[[rules]]
patterns = ["third_party/**", "gen/**"]
format = false

Files are rewritten in place; a symlinked source is rewritten at its target, which has to sit inside the project as well. --check rewrites nothing and prints what clang-format would change, one diagnostic per place, then how many files need formatting.

Exit codes: 0 when every file is formatted (or, with --check, nothing would change), 1 when --check found files to format, 2 when the run could not complete: the arguments do not parse, a file or its .clang-format could not be read, the project, its configuration or a compilation database could not be found or loaded, or the requested configuration does not exist.

Examples

The Build's Files

Without paths, the build's own files are formatted; named paths narrow the run or add files to it.

Supported

Format the build's files

Without paths, the build's sources and the headers they include are formatted; vendored and system headers are left alone

Supported

Format named paths

A named file is formatted whether or not the build knows it; a named directory narrows the build's files to those under it

Rewriting in Place

A run rewrites every file that does not follow its style yet.

Supported

Format in place

Without --check every file of the build is rewritten to its style

Checking

--check reports what would change and writes nothing.

Supported

Check formatting

With --check nothing is rewritten; each place clang-format would change is reported