clang-format vs Prettier
clang-format
clang.llvm.org
Prettier
prettier.ioSide by side
| Figure | clang-format | Prettier |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 2 |
| Spec score · Code formatters | 7.7 (#8) | 8.5 (#2) |
| Spec score · Code Formatting Tools | 7.6 (#20) | 8.5 (#2) |
| Configuration | Formatting styles can be set with command-line options or project-level .clang-format or _clang-format files. | Configuration can use JSON, YAML, TOML, JavaScript or TypeScript files, with overrides for selected files and directories. |
| Editor integrations | The documentation describes integrations for Vim, Emacs, BBEdit, CLion, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio Code. | The official site lists integrations or support for VS Code, WebStorm, Visual Studio, Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text, Nova and Espresso. |
| Languages | The standalone tool formats C, C++, Java, JavaScript, JSON, Objective-C, Protobuf, and C# code. | Built-in language support includes JavaScript, JSX, Angular, Vue, Flow, TypeScript, CSS, Less, SCSS, HTML, JSON, GraphQL, Markdown, YAML, LWC, and MJML. |
Plans
In their own words
clang-format
clang-format has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Prettier
Prettier is an open-source code formatter that parses source files and prints them in a consistent style while accounting for line length. Its built-in languages include JavaScript, JSX, Angular, Vue, Flow, TypeScript, CSS, Less, SCSS, HTML, JSON, GraphQL, Markdown, YAML, LWC, and MJML. The command-line interface can write formatted files with --write or check formatting with --check in continuous integration. Listed editor integrations include VS Code, Emacs, Vim, Helix, Sublime Text, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, and Espresso; formatting can run from a shortcut or on save. Prettier has configuration options but keeps them limited. Plugins can add languages and formatting rules, and languages outside the built-in set require a plugin. For ESLint integration, the installation guidance recommends eslint-config-prettier to disable rules that are unnecessary or may conflict. Prettier supports browser and JavaScript API use, along with Linux, macOS, and Windows. The listed plan is free. Commercial support and maintenance are available through the Tidelift Subscription.