Format files from the command line

Apply code style formatting to specified files from the command line. To be able to format files, install and enable plugins with support for the corresponding file types in CLion (for example, the Shell Script plugin to format shell script files).

You can find the script for running CLion in the installation directory under bin. To use this script as the command-line launcher, add it to your system PATH as described in Command-line interface.

Syntax

clion.bat format [<options>] <path ...>

Examples

Format two specific files from the C:\Data\src directory using the default code style settings:

clion.bat format C:\Data\src\hello.cpp C:\Data\src\world.cpp

Recursively format all files in the C:\Data\src directory including all subdirectories using the default code style settings:

clion.bat format -r C:\Data\src

Non-recursively format all the .cpp and .h files in the C:\Data\src directory using code style settings from C:\Data\settings.xml:

clion.bat format -s C:\Data\settings.xml -m *.cpp,*.h C:\Data\src

By default, CLion does not provide a command-line launcher. For information about creating a launcher script for CLion, see Command-line interface.

Syntax

clion format [<options>] <path ...>

Examples

Format two specific files from the ~/Data/src directory using the default code style settings:

clion format ~/Data/src/hello.cpp ~/Data/src/world.cpp

Recursively format all files in the ~/Data/src directory including all subdirectories using the default code style settings:

clion format -r ~/Data/src

Non-recursively format all the .cpp and .h files in the ~/Data/src directory using code style settings from ~/Data/settings.xml:

clion format -s ~/Data/settings.xml -m *.cpp,*.h ~/Data/src

Syntax

clion.sh format [<options>] <path ...>

Examples

Format two specific files from the ~/Data/src directory using the default code style settings:

clion.sh format ~/Data/src/hello.cpp ~/Data/src/world.cpp

Recursively format all files in the ~/Data/src directory including all subdirectories using the default code style settings:

clion.sh format -r ~/Data/src

Non-recursively format all the .cpp and .h files in the ~/Data/src directory using code style settings from ~/Data/settings.xml:

clion.sh format -s ~/Data/settings.xml -m *.cpp,*.h ~/Data/src

Options

Option	Description
`-h`	Show the help message and quit.
`-m\|-mask`	Specify a comma-separated list of file masks that define the files to be processed. You can use the `*` (any string) and `?` (any single character) wildcards.
`-r\|-R`	Process specified directories recursively.
`-s\|-settings`	Specify the code style settings file to use for formatting. This can be one of the following: A file with the exported code style settings: in the Settings/Preferences dialog `Ctrl+Alt+S` , open the Editor \| Code Style page, click , and select Export. The .idea/codeStyleSettings.xml file stored in your project directory (for CLion version 2017.2 and earlier). The .idea/codeStyles/Project.xml file stored in your project directory (for CLion version 2017.3 and later). If this option is not specified, the default code style settings will be used.

Last modified: 08 May 2020