Fourmolu vs rustfmt
Fourmolu
fourmolu.github.iorustfmt
rust-lang.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Fourmolu | rustfmt |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code Formatting Tools | 8.3 (#4) | 8.0 (#10) |
| Configuration | Settings can be provided in a fourmolu.yaml file or as command-line options. | Configuration can be set in `rustfmt.toml` or `.rustfmt.toml`, and the default style conforms to the Rust style guide. |
| Limitations | The README describes CPP support as experimental and says it works only in simple cases where CPP conditionals surround top-level declarations. | The README lists limitations involving unparsable code, macros, comments, code fragments, non-ASCII Unicode, and bugs. |
| Purpose | Fourmolu formats Haskell source code and is a configurable fork of Ormolu. | rustfmt formats Rust code according to style guidelines. |
Plans
In their own words
Fourmolu
Fourmolu is a configurable formatter for Haskell source code and a fork of Ormolu. It uses GHC’s parser and aims to keep diffs small, produce idempotent output, and handle large projects. Set formatting options in `fourmolu.yaml` or pass them on the command line. Controls include indentation, line length, import grouping, record layout, Haddock comments, Unicode output, and operator fixities. Fourmolu can find the relevant Cabal file to read default extensions and dependencies that help determine fixities. Magic comments can disable formatting for selected code, and command-line options can target a line region. There is an interactive browser demo with configurable formatting and program options. Installation instructions cover GHCup, Cabal, Stack, and dotslash; editor integration is documented through Haskell Language Server. The project recommends a GitHub Action to keep projects formatted. Its listed current release is v0.21.0.0. CPP handling is experimental and limited to simple cases where conditionals surround top-level declarations. Output always uses LF line endings, which can cause check mode to fail on CRLF files.
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.