clang-format vs Ruff
clang-format
clang.llvm.orgRuff
docs.astral.shSide by side
| Figure | clang-format | Ruff |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code formatters | 7.7 (#8) | 7.8 (#7) |
| Spec score · Code Formatting Tools | 7.6 (#20) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Configuration | Formatting styles can be set with command-line options or project-level .clang-format or _clang-format files. | Ruff supports configuration through pyproject.toml, ruff.toml, or .ruff.toml. |
| Editor integrations | The documentation describes integrations for Vim, Emacs, BBEdit, CLion, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio Code. | The setup guide documents integrations including VS Code, Sublime Text, PyCharm, and Zed. |
| Purpose | ClangFormat is a set of tools built on LibFormat for formatting source code, available as a standalone tool and through editor integrations. | Ruff is a Python linter and code formatter written in Rust. |
| Support | The Clang guide directs users who encounter problems to file bugs on the LLVM bug tracker. | The editor setup documentation says setup instructions are provided on a best-effort basis and directs users to open an issue for assistance. |
Plans
In their own words
clang-format
clang-format has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Ruff
Ruff is a Python linter and code formatter written in Rust, available free under a permissive open-source license. It includes more than 900 built-in lint rules, including native versions of popular Flake8 plugin rules, and can automatically correct violations such as unused imports. Its formatter aims to serve as a replacement for Black, though the documentation allows for differences in some cases. The built-in Ruff Language Server supplies diagnostics, fixes, and formatting; the documentation recommends pairing it with another Python language server for navigation and autocompletion. Setup guidance covers VS Code, Sublime Text, PyCharm, and Zed, while CI support includes GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, and pre-commit hooks. Ruff can be installed through uv, pip, pipx, standalone installers, Homebrew, Conda, and other package managers. It supports configuration in pyproject.toml, ruff.toml, or .ruff.toml. A Bandit-derived rule group checks for common Python security issues. Ruff runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is also published as a Docker image. The maker describes it as 10–100x faster than tools such as Flake8 and Black.