clang-format vs rustfmt
clang-format
clang.llvm.orgrustfmt
rust-lang.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | clang-format | rustfmt |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code formatters | 7.7 (#8) | 7.9 (#4) |
| Spec score · Code Formatting Tools | 7.6 (#20) | 8.0 (#10) |
| Configuration | Formatting styles can be set with command-line options or project-level .clang-format or _clang-format files. | Configuration can be set in `rustfmt.toml` or `.rustfmt.toml`, and the default style conforms to the Rust style guide. |
| Editor integrations | The documentation describes integrations for Vim, Emacs, BBEdit, CLion, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio Code. | The README lists integrations or usage instructions for Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text 3, Atom, Visual Studio Code, and IntelliJ or CLion. |
| License | LLVM releases are distributed under the Apache-2.0 license with LLVM exceptions, which the download page describes as OSI-approved. | rustfmt is distributed under both the MIT License and Apache License 2.0. |
| Purpose | ClangFormat is a set of tools built on LibFormat for formatting source code, available as a standalone tool and through editor integrations. | rustfmt formats Rust code according to style guidelines. |
| Support | The Clang guide directs users who encounter problems to file bugs on the LLVM bug tracker. | The README points users to `rustfmt --help` and `cargo fmt --help` for command usage and arguments. |
Plans
In their own words
clang-format
clang-format has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
rustfmt
rustfmt formats Rust code according to style guidelines. It can format files directly or read code from standard input and write formatted output to standard output. With Cargo, `cargo fmt` formats binary and library targets in a crate and works with workspaces. A `rustfmt.toml` or `.rustfmt.toml` file can hold configuration, including stable and nightly-only options. For automated checks, `--check` returns code 0 when no formatting changes are needed and code 1 when changes would be made; it can be used in CI to fail a build on formatting differences. The README lists editor use with Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text 3, Atom, Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ, and CLion. Rustfmt is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is distributed under the MIT License and Apache License 2.0. It does not attempt to format comments, and listed limitations also involve macros, unparsable code, fragments, and non-ASCII Unicode. Unstable settings require opt-in on nightly, and the README says the latest version requires the nightly toolchain.