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Using clang-format on C++ Code

clang-format is a tool to automatically format C/C++/Objective-C code, so that developers don't need to worry about style issues during code reviews.

It is highly recommended to format your changed C++ code before opening pull requests, which will save you and the reviewers' time.

You can install clang-format and git-clang-format via npm install -g clang-format.

To automatically format a file according to Electron C++ code style, run clang-format -i path/to/electron/file.cc. It should work on macOS/Linux/Windows.

The workflow to format your changed code:

  1. Make codes changes in Electron repository.
  2. Run git add your_changed_file.cc.
  3. Run git-clang-format, and you will probably see modifications in your_changed_file.cc, these modifications are generated from clang-format.
  4. Run git add your_changed_file.cc, and commit your change.
  5. Now the branch is ready to be opened as a pull request.

If you want to format the changed code on your latest git commit (HEAD), you can run git-clang-format HEAD~1. See git-clang-format -h for more details.

Editor Integration​

You can also integrate clang-format directly into your favorite editors. For further guidance on setting up editor integration, see these pages: