Does Xcode have code autoformat feature?

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Is any way to autoformat a source code in the Xcode IDE?

8 Answers

There isn't really an autoformat option in Xcode.

There is an option ^I (Control-I) to re-indent the code, which will re-align the code according to the tab width set in your preferences, but that's about as far as it goes.

You might have better luck with a text editor like TextMate? I don't know for certain, but I know it supports Objective-C and has some macros, there may be a reformat option?

One trick is to select the code (either "select all" or just the section you want to re-format) - then cut, then paste it back. This triggers the automatic code formatting in the Xcode editor.

Format on Save

For anyone wanting to format on save this is what I did. It's a bit janky but it works well. ⤵


  1. To get started pick out a formatter for Xcode. I'd recommend SwiftFormat but here's a list of a bunch of them and other handy extensions.
  2. Once you have a formatter picked out assign it a hotkey in Xcode that's not taken such as CMD + ~
  3. Then download a shortcut mapper such as BetterTouchTool.
  4. In your shortcut mapper simply setup CMD + S for Xcode and set it to actually use your shortcut you set for your fomatter. Like this ⤵ enter image description here
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