astyle

Source code formatter for C, C++, C#, and Java

TLDR

Format C++ code

$ astyle [file.cpp]

Format with specific style

$ astyle --style=google [file.cpp]

Format in place (overwrite)

$ astyle --suffix=none [file.cpp]

Format recursively

$ astyle --recursive "*.cpp,*.h"

Format with custom options

$ astyle --indent=spaces=4 --brackets=attach [file.cpp]

SYNOPSIS

astyle [--style=name] [--indent=type] [options] files

astyle (Artistic Style) is a source code indenter and formatter for C, C++, C++/CLI, Objective-C, C#, and Java. It reformats code to follow consistent style guidelines, improving readability and maintainability.
The tool supports various predefined styles (Google, Mozilla, GNU, etc.) and extensive customization.

PARAMETERS

--style=name

Predefined style: allman, google, kr, linux, mozilla, gnu, java

--indent=type

Indentation: spaces=n, tab, force-tab=n

--brackets=type

Bracket style: attach, linux, break

--indent-classes

Indent class blocks

--indent-switches

Indent switch blocks

--pad-oper

Pad operators with spaces

--pad-header

Pad headers (if, for, while)

--unpad-paren

Remove padding inside parentheses

--suffix=suffix

Backup file suffix (none to overwrite)

--recursive

Process directories recursively

-n, --suffix=none

Don't create backup files

--dry-run

Show changes without applying

CONFIGURATION

~/.astylerc

User-level default options file. Each line contains one option (e.g., --style=google).

.astylerc

Project-level options file in the current directory, overrides user defaults.

CAVEATS

Always backup code before formatting entire projects. May conflict with version control diffs. Team should agree on style before applying. Some styles may clash with existing code conventions.

HISTORY

Artistic Style was created by Tal Davidson and Jim Pattee, with the first release in 1998. It has become a standard code formatting tool for C-family languages.