microsoft/typespec

---
id: formatter
title: Formatter
---

# Formatter

TypeSpec comes with a built-in formatter. The formatter can be used in different ways:

- [Via the cli](#via-the-cli)
- Via the vscode/vs extension
- As a `prettier` plugin

## Via the cli

Format all TypeSpec files:

```bash
tsp format "**/*.tsp"
```

Check file formatting without modifying them, useful for CI enforcement.

```bash
tsp format --check "**/*.tsp"
```

## Via the VSCode or VS extension

When you use the extensions for VS Code or Visual Studio, the tsp formatter becomes automatically accessible.

If you're working within a TypeSpec file, you can format the document using the default keyboard shortcut for formatting, `alt+shift+F`.

## Via prettier

The tsp formatter is essentially a `prettier` plugin. If you already have a `prettier` configuration set up for other languages, it can be quite handy to simply integrate TypeSpec into this existing pipeline.

In your `prettier` config file, add:

```yaml
plugins:
  - "./node_modules/@typespec/prettier-plugin-typespec"
overrides: [{ "files": "*.tsp", "options": { "parser": "typespec" } }]
```