Artistic Style

Line endings in the formatted file will be the same as the input file. If there are mixed line endings the most frequent occurrence will be used.

File Type

Artistic Style will determine the file type from the file extension. The extension ".java" indicates a Java file, and ".cs" indicates a C# file. Everything else is a C or C++ file. If you are using a non-standard file extension for Java or C#, use one of the --mode= options.

Wildcards and Recursion

Artistic Style can process directories recursively. Wildcards (such as "*.cpp" or "*.c??") are processed internally. If a shell is used it should pass the wildcards to Artistic Style instead of resolving them first. For Linux use double quotes around paths whose filename contains wildcards. For Windows use double quotes around paths whose filename contains spaces. The "Other Options" section contains information on recursive processing.

File Names

When a file is formatted, the newly indented file retains the original file name. A copy of the original file is created with an .orig appended to the original file name. (This can be set to a different string by the option --suffix=, or suppressed altogether by the options -n or --suffix=none). Thus, after indenting SourceFile.cpp the indented file will be named SourceFile.cpp, while the original pre-indented file will be renamed to SourceFile.cpp.orig.

Considerations

Artistic Style can format standard class library statements such as Open GL, wxWidgets, QT, and MFC.

Embedded assembler language is formatted correctly. This includes extended assembly and Microsoft specific assembler lines and blocks.

Artistic Style can format embedded SQL statements. The SQL formatting will be maintained as long as the standard hanging indent format is used. If the "exec sql" statement is indented more than the following statements, the SQL will be aligned in a single column.

Files encoded as UTF 16 or 32 bit can NOT be formatted. These are left unformatted and a warning message is displayed. These files can be converted with the program iconv and with some text editors, such as SciTE.

Embedded statements that are multiple-line and are NOT in a C type format, such as Python, are usually mal-formatted. (A C type format has blocks enclosed by brackets and statements terminated by a semi-colon). Macros that define functions may cause the following code to be mal-formatted because the macro is missing the brackets and semi-colons from the definition. If you have source code with these types of statements, exclude them with the --exclude= statement described in the "Other Options" section.

Quick Start

If you have never used Artistic Style there are a couple of ways to start. One is to run it with no options at all. This will format the file with 4 spaces per indent and will leave the brackets unchanged. Another is to use one of the predefined styles described in the "Predefined Style Options" section. Select one with a bracket formatting style you like. Once you are familiar with the options you can customize the format to your personal preference.

Usage

Artistic style is a console program that receives information from the command line. The format of the command line is:

The block parens [ ] indicate that more than one option or more than one filename can be entered. They are NOT actually included in the command. For the options format see the following Options section.

Example to format a single file:

astyle  --style=allman  /home/user/project/foo.cpp

Example to format all .cpp and .h files recursively:

astyle  --style=allman --recursive  /home/user/project/*.cpp  /home/user/project/*.h

The < and > characters are used to redirect the files into standard input (cin) and out of standard output (cout) - don't forget them! With this option only one file at a time can be formatted. Wildcards are not recognized, there are no console messages, and a backup is not created.

Options

Not specifying any option will result in 4 spaces per indent, no change in bracket placement, and no formatting changes.

Long options

These options start with '--', and must be written one at a time.
(Example: '

--brackets=attach
            --indent=spaces=4

Short Options

These options start with a single '-', and may be concatenated together.
(Example: '-bps4' is the same as writing '-b -p -s4'.)

Options File

An OPTIONAL default options file may be used to supplement or replace the command line options.

# this line is a comment
--brackets=attach   # this is a line-end comment

# long options can be written without the preceding '--'
indent-switches     # cannot do this on the command line

# short options must have the preceding '-'
-t -p

# short options can be concatenated together
-M65Ucv

Predefined Style Options

Predefined Style options define the style by setting other options. The style options always override any individual option settings. You will always get the requested style regardless of other defined options.

The predefined style options always set the options brackets=###, indent‑blocks, and indent‑brackets. These options can NOT be changed with the individual option settings.

Some styles use the default setting for spaces per indent and some use a different setting. You may use any of the indent= options with any style. The indent options that do not set the spaces per indent (indent=spaces, indent=tab, or indent=force‑tab) will use the default spaces per tab setting for the style. The indent options that set the spaces per indent (indent=spaces=#, indent=tab=#, or indent=force‑tab=#) will use the specified spaces per tab setting instead of the default for the style. For the options that set the spaces per indent see the following style descriptions.

All other options are available to customize the style. By default, none of the styles indent namespaces. This can be changed with the indent‑namespaces option.

--style=allman / --style=ansi / --style=bsd / -A1
Allman style formatting/indenting uses broken brackets.

int Foo(bool isBar)
{
    if (isBar)
    {
        bar();
        return 1;
    }
    else
        return 0;
}

int Foo(bool isBar) {
    if (isBar) {
        bar();
        return 1;
    } else
        return 0;
}

--style=k&r / --style=k/r / -A3
Kernighan & Ritchie style formatting/indenting uses linux brackets. Brackets are broken from namespaces, classes, and function definitions. Brackets are attached to statements within a function.

Using the k&r option may cause problems because of the &. This can be resolved by enclosing the k&r in quotes (e.g. ‑‑style="k&r") or by using the alternate ‑‑style=k/r.

int Foo(bool isBar) 
{
    if (isBar) {
        bar();
        return 1;
    } else
        return 0;
}

--style=stroustrup / -A4
Stroustrup style formatting/indenting uses stroustrup brackets. Brackets are broken from function definitions only. Brackets are attached to namespaces, classes, and statements within a function. Indentation is 5 spaces.

int Foo(bool isBar) 
{
     if (isBar) {
          bar();
          return 1;
     } else
          return 0;
}

--style=whitesmith / -A5
Whitesmith style formatting/indenting uses broken, indented brackets. Class blocks and switch blocks are indented to prevent a 'hanging indent' with switch statements and C++ class modifiers (public, private, protected).

int Foo(bool isBar) 
    {
    if (isBar)
        {
        bar();
        return 1;
        }
    else
        return 0;
    }

--style=banner / -A6
Banner style formatting/indenting uses attached, indented brackets. Class blocks and switch blocks are indented to prevent a 'hanging indent' with switch statements and C++ class modifiers (public, private, protected).

int Foo(bool isBar) {
    if (isBar) {
        bar();
        return 1;
        }
    else
        return 0;
    }

--style=gnu / -A7
GNU style formatting/indenting uses broken brackets and indented blocks. Indentation is 2 spaces.

Extra indentation is added to blocks within a function. The opening bracket for namespaces, classes, and functions is not indented.

int Foo(bool isBar)
{
  if (isBar)
    {
      bar();
      return 1;
    }
  else
    return 0;
}

--style=linux / -A8
Linux style formatting/indenting uses linux style brackets. Brackets are broken from namespace, class, and function definitions. Brackets are attached to statements within a function. Indentation is 8 spaces. Minimum conditional indent is 4 spaces, or one-half the spaces per indent if a different setting is used. If you want to change the spaces per indent for this style it will be easier to use the K&R style instead.

Also known as Kernel Normal Form (KNF) style, this is the style used in the Linux kernel.

int Foo(bool isBar)
{
        if (isFoo) {
                bar();
                return 1;
        } else
                return 0;
}

--style=horstmann / -A9
Horstmann style formatting/indenting uses horstmann style brackets. Brackets are broken with run-in statements. Switches are indented. Indentation is 3 spaces.

int Foo(bool isBar)
{  if (isBar)
   {  bar();
      return 1;
   } else
      return 0;
}

--style=1tbs / --style=otbs / -A10
"One True Brace Style" formatting/indenting uses linux style brackets and adds brackets to unbracketed one line conditional statements. In the following example brackets have been added to the "return 0;" statement. The option ‑‑add‑one‑line‑brackets can also be used with this style.

int Foo(bool isBar)
{
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
        return 1;
    } else {
        return 0;
    }
}

Tab and Bracket Options

default indent option
If no indentation option is set, the default option of 4 spaces will be used (e.g. -s4 --indent=spaces=4).

--indent=spaces / --indent=spaces=# / -s#
Indent using # spaces per indent (e.g. -s6 --indent=spaces=6). # must be between 2 and 20. Not specifying # will result in a default of 4 spaces per indent.

--indent=tab / --indent=tab=# / -t / -t#
Indent using tab characters. Treat each tab as # spaces (e.g. -t6 /


            --indent=tab=6

). # must be between 2 and 20. If no # is set, treats tabs as 4 spaces.

--indent=force-tab / --indent=force-tab=# / -T / -T#
Indent using tab characters. Treat each tab as # spaces (e.g. -T6 /


            --indent=force-tab=6

). Uses tabs as indents where ‑‑indent=tab prefers to use spaces, such as inside multi-line statements. # must be between 2 and 20. If no # is set, treats tabs as 4 spaces.

default brackets option
If no brackets option is set, the brackets will not be changed.

--brackets=break / -b
Break brackets from their pre-block statements ( e.g. Allman / ANSI style ).

void Foo(bool isFoo)
{
    if (isFoo)
    {
        bar();
    }
    else
    {
        anotherBar();
    }
}

--brackets=attach / -a
Attach brackets to their pre-block statements ( e.g. Java style ).

void Foo(bool isFoo) {
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
    } else {
        anotherBar();
    }
}

--brackets=linux / -l
Break brackets from namespace, class, and function definitions, but attach brackets to statements within a function ( e.g. K&R / Linux style ).

With C++ files brackets are attached for function definitions within a class (inline class functions). The brackets are also attached for arrays, structs, enums, and other top level objects that are not classes or functions. This option is effective for C/C++ files only.

void Foo(bool isFoo)
{
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
    } else {
        anotherBar;
    }
}

--brackets=stroustrup / -u
Break brackets from function definitions only. Attach brackets to namespaces, classes, and statements within a function ( e.g. Stroustrup style ).

void Foo(bool isFoo)
{
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
    } else {
        anotherBar;
    }
}

--brackets=horstmann / -g
Break brackets from their pre-block statements but allow run-in statements on the same line as an opening bracket ( e.g. Horstmann style ).

void Foo(bool isFoo)
{   if (isFoo())
    {   bar1();
        bar2();
    }
    else
    {   anotherBar();
    }
}

Indentation Options

--indent-classes / -C
Indent 'class' and 'struct' blocks so that the blocks 'public:', 'protected:' and 'private:' are indented. The struct blocks are indented only if an access modifier is declared somewhere in the struct. The entire block is indented. This option is effective for C++ files only.

class Foo
{
public:
    Foo();
    virtual ~Foo();
};

becomes:

class Foo
{
    public:
        Foo();
        virtual ~Foo();
};

--indent-switches / -S
Indent 'switch' blocks so that the '

case
            X:

' statements are indented in the switch block. The entire case block is indented.

switch (foo)
{
case 1:
    a += 1;
    break;

case 2:
{
    a += 2;
    break;
}
}

becomes:

switch (foo)
{
    case 1:
        a += 1;
        break;

    case 2:
    {
        a += 2;
        break;
    }
}

--indent-cases / -K
Indent 'case X:' blocks from the 'case X:' headers. Case statements not enclosed in blocks are NOT indented.

switch (foo)
{
    case 1:
        a += 1;
        break;

    case 2:
    {
        a += 2;
        break;
    }
}

becomes:

switch (foo)
{
    case 1:
        a += 1;
        break;

    case 2:
        {
            a += 2;
            break;
        }
}

--indent-brackets / -B
Add extra indentation to brackets. This is the option used for Whitesmith and Banner style formatting/indenting. If both ‑‑indent‑brackets and ‑‑indent‑blocks are used the result will be ‑‑indent‑blocks. This option will be ignored if used with a predefined style.

if (isFoo)
{
    bar();
}
else
    anotherBar();

becomes:

if (isFoo)
    {
    bar();
    }
else
    anotherBar();

--indent-blocks / -G
Add extra indentation to blocks within a function. The opening bracket for namespaces, classes, and functions is not indented. This is the option used for GNU style formatting/indenting. This option will be ignored if used with a predefined style.

if (isFoo)
{
    bar();
}
else
    anotherBar();

becomes:

if (isFoo)
    {
        bar();
    }
else
    anotherBar();

--indent-namespaces / -N
Add extra indentation to namespace blocks. This option has no effect on Java files.

namespace foospace
{
class Foo
{
    public:
        Foo();
        virtual ~Foo();
};
}

becomes:

namespace foospace
{
    class Foo
    {
        public:
            Foo();
            virtual ~Foo();
    };
}

--indent-labels / -L
Add extra indentation to labels so they appear 1 indent less than the current indentation, rather than being flushed to the left (the default).

void Foo() {
    while (isFoo) {
        if (isFoo)
            goto error;
        ...
error:
        ...
    }
}

becomes (with indented 'error:'):

void Foo() {
    while (isFoo) {
        if (isFoo)
            goto error;
        ... 
    error:
        ...
    }        
}

--indent-preprocessor / -w
Indent multi-line preprocessor definitions ending with a backslash. Should be used with --convert-tabs for proper results. Does a pretty good job, but can not perform miracles in obfuscated preprocessor definitions. Without this option the preprocessor statements remain unchanged.

#define Is_Bar(arg,a,b) \
(Is_Foo((arg), (a)) \
|| Is_Foo((arg), (b)))

becomes:

#define Is_Bar(arg,a,b) \
    (Is_Foo((arg), (a)) \
     || Is_Foo((arg), (b)))

--indent-col1-comments / -Y
Indent C++ comments beginning in column one. By default C++ comments beginning in column one are not indented. This option will allow the comments to be indented with the code.

void Foo()\n"
{
// comment
    if (isFoo)
        bar();
}

becomes:

void Foo()\n"
{
    // comment
    if (isFoo)
        bar();
}

--max-instatement-indent=# / -M#
Indent a maximum of # spaces in a continuous statement, relative to the previous line (e.g. ‑‑max‑instatement‑indent=40). # must be less than 80. If no # is set, the default value of 40 will be used. A maximum of less than two indent lengths will be ignored.

fooArray[] = { red,
         green,
         blue };

fooFunction(barArg1,
         barArg2,
         barArg3);

becomes (with larger value):

fooArray[] = { red,
               green,
               blue };

fooFunction(barArg1,
            barArg2,
            barArg3);

--min-conditional-indent=# / -m#
Set the minimal indent that is added when a header is built of multiple-lines. This indent makes helps to easily separate the header from the command statements that follow. The value for # must be less than 40. The default setting for this option is twice the current indent (e.g. --min-conditional-indent=8).

// default setting makes this non-bracketed code clear
if (a < b
        || c > d)
    foo++;

// but creates an exaggerated indent in this bracketed code
if (a < b
        || c > d)
{
    foo++;
}

becomes (when setting --min-conditional-indent=0):

// setting makes this non-bracketed code less clear
if (a < b
    || c > d)
    foo++;

// but makes this bracketed code clearer
if (a < b
    || c > d)
{
    foo++;
}

Padding Options

--break-blocks / -f
Pad empty lines around header blocks (e.g. 'if', 'for', 'while'...).

isFoo = true;
if (isFoo) {
    bar();
} else {
    anotherBar();
}
isBar = false;

becomes:

isFoo = true;

if (isFoo) {
    bar();
} else {
    anotherBar();
}

isBar = false;

--break-blocks=all / -F
Pad empty lines around header blocks (e.g. 'if', 'for', 'while'...). Treat closing header blocks (e.g. 'else', 'catch') as stand-alone blocks.

isFoo = true;
if (isFoo) {
    bar();
} else {
    anotherBar();
}
isBar = false;

becomes:

isFoo = true;

if (isFoo) {
    bar();
    
} else {
    anotherBar();
}

isBar = false;

--pad-oper / -p
Insert space padding around operators. Operators inside block parens [] are not padded. Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible. Note that there is no option to unpad. Once padded, they stay padded.

if (foo==2)
    a=bar((b-c)*a,*d--);

becomes:

if (foo == 2)
     a = bar((b - c) * a, * d--);

--pad-paren / -P
Insert space padding around parenthesis on both the outside and the inside. Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible.

if (isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

becomes:

if ( isFoo ( a, b ) )
    bar ( a, b );

--pad-paren-out / -d
Insert space padding around parenthesis on the outside only. Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible. This can be used with unpad-paren below to remove unwanted spaces.

if (isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

becomes:

if (isFoo (a, b) )
    bar (a, b);

--pad-paren-in / -D
Insert space padding around parenthesis on the inside only. Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible. This can be used with unpad-paren below to remove unwanted spaces.

if (isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

becomes:

if ( isFoo( a, b ) )
    bar( a, b );

--pad-header / -H
Insert space padding after paren headers only (e.g. 'if', 'for', 'while'...). Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible. This can be used with unpad-paren to remove unwanted spaces.

if(isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

becomes:

if (isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

--unpad-paren / -U
Remove extra space padding around parenthesis on the inside and outside. Any end of line comments will remain in the original column, if possible. This option can be used in combination with the paren padding options pad‑paren, pad‑paren‑out, pad‑paren‑in, and pad‑header above. Only padding that has not been requested by other options will be removed.

For example, if a source has parens padded on both the inside and outside, and you want inside only. You need to use unpad-paren to remove the outside padding, and pad‑paren‑in to retain the inside padding. Using only pad‑paren‑in would not remove the outside padding.

if ( isFoo( a, b ) )
    bar ( a, b );

becomes (with no padding option requested):

if (isFoo(a, b))
    bar(a, b);

--delete-empty-lines / -x
Delete empty lines within a function or method. Empty lines outside of functions or methods are NOT deleted. If used with break-blocks or break-blocks=all it will delete all lines EXCEPT the lines added by the break-blocks options.

void Foo()
{
	
    foo1 = 1;
	
    foo2 = 2;
	
}

becomes:

void Foo()
{
    foo1 = 1;
    foo2 = 2;
}

--fill-empty-lines / -E
Fill empty lines with the white space of the previous line.

Formatting Options

--break-closing-brackets / -y
When used with --brackets=attach, --brackets=linux, or --brackets=stroustrup, this breaks closing headers (e.g. 'else', 'catch', ...) from their immediately preceding closing brackets. Closing header brackets are always broken with broken brackets, horstmann brackets, indented blocks, and indented brackets.

void Foo(bool isFoo) {
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
    } else {
        anotherBar();
    }
}

becomes (with a broken 'else'):

void Foo(bool isFoo) {
    if (isFoo) {
        bar();
    }
    else {
        anotherBar();
    }
}

--break-elseifs / -e
Break "else if" header combinations into separate lines. This option has no effect if keep-one-line-statements is used, the "else if" statements will remain as they are.

If this option is NOT used, "else if" header combinations will be placed on a single line.

if (isFoo) {
    bar();
}
else if (isFoo1()) {
    bar1();
}
else if (isFoo2()) }
    bar2;
}

becomes:

if (isFoo) {
    bar();
}
else
    if (isFoo1()) {
        bar1();
    }
  else
        if (isFoo2()) {
            bar2();
        }

--add-brackets / -j
Add brackets to unbracketed one line conditional statements (e.g. 'if', 'for', 'while'...). The statement must be on a single line. The brackets will be added according to the currently requested predefined style or bracket type. If no style or bracket type is requested the brackets will be attached. If --add-one-line-brackets is also used the result will be one line brackets.

if (isFoo)
    isFoo = false;

becomes:

if (isFoo) {
    isFoo = false;
}

--add-one-line-brackets / -J
Add one line brackets to unbracketed one line conditional statements (e.g. 'if', 'for', 'while'...). The statement must be on a single line. The option implies --keep-one-line-blocks and will not break the one line blocks.

if (isFoo)
    isFoo = false;

becomes:

if (isFoo)
    { isFoo = false; }

if (isFoo)
{ isFoo = false; cout << isFoo << endl; }

remains unchanged.

--keep-one-line-statements / -o
Don't break complex statements and multiple statements residing on a single line.

if (isFoo)
{
    isFoo = false; cout << isFoo << endl;
}

remains unchanged.

if (isFoo) DoBar();

remains unchanged.

--convert-tabs / -c
Converts tabs into spaces in the non-indentation part of the line. The number of spaces inserted will maintain the spacing of the tab. The current setting for spaces per tab is used. It may not produce the expected results if convert-tabs is used when changing spaces per tab. Tabs are not replaced in quotes.

--align-pointer=type   / -k1
--align-pointer=middle / -k2
--align-pointer=name  
            / -k3

Attach a pointer or reference operator (* or &) to either the variable type (left) or variable name (right), or place it between the type and name. The spacing between the type and name will be preserved, if possible. This option is effective for C/C++ files only.

char *foo1;

becomes (with align-pointer=type):

char* foo1;

char* foo2;

becomes (with align-pointer=middle):

char * foo2;

char& foo3;

becomes (with align-pointer=name):

char &foo3;

--mode=c
--mode=cs
--mode=java
Indent a C/C++, C#, or Java file. The option is usually set from the file extension for each file. You can override the setting with this entry. It will be used for all files regardless of the file extension. It allows the formatter to identify language specific syntax such as C++ classes, templates, and keywords.

Other Options

--suffix=####
Append the suffix #### instead of '.orig' to original filename (e.g. --suffix=.bak). If this is to be a file extension, the dot '.' must be included. Otherwise the suffix will be appended to the current file extension.

--suffix=none / -n
Do not retain a backup of the original file. The original file is purged after it is formatted.

--options=none
Disable the default options file. Only the command-line parameters will be used.

--recursive / -r / -R
For each directory in the command line, process all subdirectories recursively. When using the recursive option the file name statement should contain a wildcard. Linux users should place the filepath and name in double quotes so the shell will not resolve the wildcards (e.g. "$HOME/src/*.cpp"). Windows users should place the filepath and name in double quotes if the path or name contains spaces.

--exclude=####
Specify a file or sub directory #### to be excluded from processing.

Excludes are matched from the end of the filepath. An exclude option of "templates" will exclude ALL directories named "templates". An exclude option of "cpp/templates" will exclude ALL "cpp/templates" directories. You may proceed backwards in the directory tree to exclude only the required directories.

Specific files may be excluded in the same manner. An exclude option of "default.cpp" will exclude ALL files named "default.cpp". An exclude option of "python/default.cpp" will exclude ALL files named "default.cpp" contained in a "python" subdirectory. You may proceed backwards in the directory tree to exclude only the required files.

Wildcards are NOT allowed. There may be more than one exclude statement. The filepath and name may be placed in double quotes (e.g. ‑‑exclude="foo bar.cpp").

--errors-to-stdout / -X
Print errors to standard-output rather than to standard-error.
This option should be helpful for systems/shells that do not have this option, such as in Windows95.

--preserve-date / -Z
Preserve the original file's date and time modified. The date and time modified will not be changed in the formatted file. This option is not effective if redirection is used to rename the input file.

--verbose / -v
Verbose display mode. Display optional information, such as release number and statistical data.

--formatted / -Q
Formatted files display mode. Display only the files that have been formatted. Do not display files that are unchanged.

--lineend=windows / -z1
--lineend=linux   / -z2
--lineend=macold  /
            -z3

Force use of the specified line end style. Valid options are windows (CRLF), linux (LF), and macold (CR). MacOld style is the format for OS 9 and earlier. Mac OS X uses the Linux style. If one of these options is not used the line ends will be determined automatically from the input file.

--version / -V
Print version number and quit. The short option must be by itself, it cannot be concatenated with other options.

--help / -h / -?
Print a help message and quit. The short option must be by itself, it cannot be concatenated with other options.

Artistic Style 1.24

A Free, Fast and Small Automatic Formatter
for C, C++, C#, and Java Source Code

Contents

General Information

Line Endings

File Type

Wildcards and Recursion

File Names

Considerations

Quick Start

Usage

Options

Long options

Short Options

Options File

Predefined Style Options

Tab and Bracket Options

Indentation Options

Padding Options

Formatting Options

Other Options

Artistic Style 1.24

A Free, Fast and Small Automatic Formatterfor C, C++, C#, and Java Source Code

Contents

General Information

Line Endings

File Type

Wildcards and Recursion

File Names

Considerations

Quick Start

Usage

Options

Long options

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A Free, Fast and Small Automatic Formatter
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