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Prettier VS EditorConfig

Compare Prettier VS EditorConfig and see what are their differences

Prettier logo Prettier

An opinionated code formatter

EditorConfig logo EditorConfig

EditorConfig is a file format and collection of text editor plugins for maintaining consistent coding styles between different editors and IDEs.
  • Prettier Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-27
  • EditorConfig Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-25

Prettier features and specs

  • Consistency
    Ensures a uniform code style across different files and projects, reducing code review conflicts and making it easier for team members to work on the same codebase.
  • Time-saving
    Automates code formatting, which saves developers time that they would otherwise spend on manually formatting code.
  • Integrations
    Works well with various code editors, IDEs, and continuous integration tools, making it easy to integrate into existing workflows.
  • Language Support
    Supports a wide range of programming languages and file types beyond JavaScript, including TypeScript, CSS, HTML, Markdown, JSON, and more.
  • Community and Documentation
    Backed by a strong community and comprehensive documentation that provide quick solutions and guide you through setup and customization.

Possible disadvantages of Prettier

  • Lack of Customization
    Prettier enforces a specific set of rules and offers limited customization options compared to other linters or formatters, which may not satisfy all coding style preferences.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may face a learning curve when configuring and integrating Prettier into their existing workflow, especially if they are not familiar with code formatters.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running Prettier on large projects can introduce performance overhead, particularly during automated tasks like pre-commit hooks or continuous integration processes.
  • Conflict with Existing Tools
    May conflict with other code linters and formatters, requiring additional configuration to ensure compatibility and avoid duplicated efforts.

EditorConfig features and specs

  • Consistency Across Editors
    EditorConfig helps maintain consistent coding styles for multiple developers working on the same project across various editors and IDEs. This ensures that all developers adhere to the same coding standards, minimizing discrepancies in code formatting.
  • Ease of Use
    EditorConfig files are simple to set up and use. Once the configuration file is in place, any supported editor with the EditorConfig plugin installed will automatically enforce the styles, requiring minimal ongoing maintenance from developers.
  • Compatibility
    EditorConfig is compatible with a wide range of editors and IDEs through plugins, allowing developers to use their preferred development environment while still adhering to project-wide formatting rules.
  • Source Control Friendliness
    By enforcing consistent styles, EditorConfig reduces the likelihood of unnecessary code diffs caused by differing formatting preferences, making version control diffs cleaner and easier to understand.

Possible disadvantages of EditorConfig

  • Limited Scope
    EditorConfig focuses primarily on basic whitespace and file-ending settings. It does not provide comprehensive style enforcement, such as linting for programming language-specific syntax rules or convention enforcement beyond formatting.
  • Requires Editor Support
    EditorConfig requires either native support or plugins to be installed in the editor or IDE. If a developer is using an unsupported editor or does not have the plugin installed, they may not benefit from the configuration.
  • Potential for Inconsistencies
    Depending on the implementation of the EditorConfig plugin in specific editors, there can be slight differences in how rules are applied. This can potentially lead to inconsistencies if not all team members use the same tools or versions.
  • Basic Feature Set
    EditorConfig’s feature set is relatively basic compared to other tools that offer more robust configurations and checks, such as full-featured code linters and formatters that enforce a wider array of coding conventions and rules.

Analysis of Prettier

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Prettier is generally considered a good tool because of its ease of use, ability to enforce a consistent coding style, and its support for various programming languages. It is highly valued in teams looking to streamline their code format and improve teamwork by reducing stylistic debates.

Why this product is good

  • Prettier is a widely used code formatter that helps maintain consistent code style across a project. It automatically formats code to adhere to a set of rules, reducing time spent on code reviews and making the codebase more readable and maintainable. Its integration with various editors and support for multiple languages enhance its utility in diverse development environments.

Recommended for

  • Teams seeking to maintain a consistent code style across members
  • Developers who want to automate code styling tasks
  • Projects that benefit from reducing time spent on stylistic feedback in code reviews
  • Individuals who appreciate the integration of code formatting tools within their development environment

Prettier videos

Code Formatting with Prettier in Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - ESLint + Prettier + VS Code — The Perfect Setup
  • Review - Miranda Lambert -- Only Prettier [REVIEW/RATING]

EditorConfig videos

EditorConfig, A tool I include in all my projects

More videos:

  • Review - Detecting missing ConfigureAwait with FxCop and EditorConfig - Dotnetos 5-minute Code Reviews
  • Review - 15 Visual Studio Editor Tips including Intellicode and EditorConfig

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Prettier and EditorConfig)
Code Coverage
88 88%
12% 12
Code Analysis
88 88%
12% 12
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Code Quality
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Prettier and EditorConfig. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Prettier should be more popular than EditorConfig. It has been mentiond 289 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Prettier mentions (289)

  • A Case for Semicolon-less JavaScript (ASI)
    In short semi-columns in JavaScript helps reduce the surface for bugs in poorly maintained code bases, and provides clearer intent to formatters such as prettier. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Should you stop using prettier? Maybe
    For years, I've been prettier's biggest fan... Introducing it to every codebase at a new role, instantly adding it to any new repository, installing additional plugins such as tailwind or xml and of course, ensuring the "Format on save" option is switched on. - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • 🚀 Biome Has Entered the Chat: A New Tool to Replace ESLint and Prettier
    If you’ve ever set up a JavaScript or TypeScript project, chances are you've spent way too much time configuring ESLint, Prettier, and their dozens of plugins. We’ve all been there — fiddling with .eslintrc, fighting with formatting conflicts, and installing what feels like half the npm registry just to get decent code quality tooling. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Mastering JavaScript Syntax with the Help of AI
    Use tools like Prettier to reformat code when things get messy. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Matanuska ADR 017 - Vitest, Vite, Grabthar, Oh My!
    Unfortunately, this did mean that configuration began to sprawl. At this point, I had configurations not just for Vite (shared with Vitest) and tsc, but also for Prettier, ESLint and even ShellCheck. Many of these files had shared settings that needed to match each other. This was somewhat manageable, until Vite was also in the mix. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
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EditorConfig mentions (84)

  • Converting a Git repo from tabs to spaces (2016)
    FWIW: EditorConfig isn't a ".net ecosystem" thing but works across a ton of languages, editors and IDEs: https://editorconfig.org/ Also, rather than using GitHub Actions to validate if it was followed (after branch was pushed/PR was opened), add it as a Git hook (https://git-scm.com/docs/githooks) to run right before commit, so every commit will be valid and the iteration<>feedback loop gets like 400% faster as... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Config-file-validator v1.7.0 released!
    Added support for EditorConfig, .env, and HOCON validation. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • C-style: My favorite C programming practices
    There is always .editorconfig [1] to setup indent if you have a directory of files. In places where it really matters (Python) I'll always comment with what I've used. [1] https://editorconfig.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • How to set up a new project using Yarn
    .editorconfig helps maintain consistent coding styles for multiple developers working on the same project across various editors and IDEs. Find more information on the EditorConfig website if you’re curious. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Most basic code formatting
    These are tools that you need to add. But the most elemental code formatting is not here, it is in the widely supported .editorconfig file. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Prettier and EditorConfig, you can also consider the following products

ESLint - The fully pluggable JavaScript code quality tool

Tailwind CSS - A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

Standard JS - DevOps, Build, Test, Deploy, and Code Review

SonarQube - SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code.

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

pre-commit by Yelp - A framework for managing and maintaining multi-language pre-commit hooks