How to configure clang-format

Overview

clang-format is an utility to format source code in several languages according to predefined settings. Settings for auto-formatting of C source files are summarized below, and should be saved in .clang-format file in root folder. These settings are chosen to closely match the formatting style used.

Configuring Editors

Visual Studio Code

Install the C/C++ extension and customize settings.json to include:

"C_Cpp.clang_format_path": "/path/to/<clang-format-executable>",
"C_Cpp.clang_format_style": "file",
"C_Cpp.clang_format_fallbackStyle": "none"

Emacs

Add the line

(load "/path/to/clang-format.el")

to ~/.emacs.d/init.el. Format a source file with M-x clang-format-region.

CLion

• Add the .clang-format file to the root directory as explained above. Go to File->Settings->Tools->External Tools and click on the plus sign. A window should pop up. Choose a name, for example "clang-format"
• For the Tool settings tab use this configuration:
  • Program: clang-format (use the name of your executable here)
  • Parameters: --style=file -i $FileName$
  • Working directory: $FileDir$ With your file open, go to Tools->External tools and run the config above. This calls clang-format and does in-place formatting using the style defined in the first .clang-format file found in a parent directory.

.clang-format file

---
BasedOnStyle: WebKit
BinPackParameters: false
AlignEscapedNewlines: Left
PointerAlignment: Right
AllowShortFunctionsOnASingleLine: None
AllowShortIfStatementsOnASingleLine: false
AllowShortLoopsOnASingleLine: false
BreakBeforeBraces: Linux
BreakBeforeBinaryOperators: None
KeepEmptyLinesAtTheStartOfBlocks: false
PenaltyBreakBeforeFirstCallParameter: 1
IndentCaseLabels: true
IndentWidth: 4
UseTab: Never
SortIncludes: false
ColumnLimit: 80
...