[clang-format] Add ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon option to control space before Objective-C method return type #170579

vkpatel186 · 2025-12-04T00:12:07Z

[clang-format] Add ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon option to control space before Objective-C method return type

This patch introduces the ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon style option, allowing users to add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations (e.g., '- (void)method' vs '-(void)method').

Includes documentation and unit tests.

…pace before Objective-C method return type This patch introduces the ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon style option, allowing users to add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations (e.g., '- (void)method' vs '-(void)method'). Includes documentation and unit tests.

github-actions · 2025-12-04T00:12:27Z

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…odDeclColon

llvmbot · 2025-12-04T00:13:03Z

@llvm/pr-subscribers-clang-format

Author: None (vkpatel186)

Changes

[clang-format] Add ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon option to control space before Objective-C method return type

This patch introduces the ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon style option, allowing users to add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations (e.g., '- (void)method' vs '-(void)method').

Includes documentation and unit tests.

Full diff: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/pull/170579.diff

5 Files Affected:

(modified) clang/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.rst (+6)
(modified) clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h (+7-1)
(modified) clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp (+3)
(modified) clang/lib/Format/TokenAnnotator.cpp (+1-1)
(modified) clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp (+16)

diff --git a/clang/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.rst b/clang/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.rst
index 4f81a084dd65b..dcd59a8820231 100644
--- a/clang/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.rst
+++ b/clang/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.rst
@@ -5538,6 +5538,12 @@ the configuration (without a prefix: ``Auto``).
   Add a space after ``@property`` in Objective-C, i.e. use
   ``@property (readonly)`` instead of ``@property(readonly)``.
 
+.. _ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon:
+
+**ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon** (``Boolean``) :versionbadge:`clang-format 23` :ref:`¶ <ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon>`
+  Add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations,
+  i.e. use '- (void)method' instead of '-(void)method'.
+
 .. _ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList:
 
 **ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList** (``Boolean``) :versionbadge:`clang-format 3.7` :ref:`¶ <ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList>`
diff --git a/clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h b/clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h
index c7e57d47f9ed1..a0c7310f80ff4 100644
--- a/clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h
+++ b/clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h
@@ -3936,6 +3936,11 @@ struct FormatStyle {
   /// \version 3.7
   bool ObjCSpaceAfterProperty;
 
+  /// Add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations,
+  /// i.e. use '- (void)method' instead of '-(void)method'.
+  /// \version 23
+  bool ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon;
+
   /// Add a space in front of an Objective-C protocol list, i.e. use
   /// ``Foo <Protocol>`` instead of ``Foo<Protocol>``.
   /// \version 3.7
@@ -5845,7 +5850,8 @@ struct FormatStyle {
            VerilogBreakBetweenInstancePorts ==
                R.VerilogBreakBetweenInstancePorts &&
            WhitespaceSensitiveMacros == R.WhitespaceSensitiveMacros &&
-           WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines == R.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines;
+           WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines == R.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines &&
+           ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon == R.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon;
   }
 
   std::optional<FormatStyle> GetLanguageStyle(LanguageKind Language) const;
diff --git a/clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp b/clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp
index f0e9aff2fd21a..db184da18cc99 100644
--- a/clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp
+++ b/clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp
@@ -1353,6 +1353,8 @@ template <> struct MappingTraits<FormatStyle> {
                    Style.WhitespaceSensitiveMacros);
     IO.mapOptional("WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines",
                    Style.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines);
+    IO.mapOptional("ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon",
+                   Style.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon);
 
     // If AlwaysBreakAfterDefinitionReturnType was specified but
     // BreakAfterReturnType was not, initialize the latter from the former for
@@ -1788,6 +1790,7 @@ FormatStyle getLLVMStyle(FormatStyle::LanguageKind Language) {
   LLVMStyle.ObjCBlockIndentWidth = 2;
   LLVMStyle.ObjCBreakBeforeNestedBlockParam = true;
   LLVMStyle.ObjCSpaceAfterProperty = false;
+  LLVMStyle.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon = true;
   LLVMStyle.ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList = true;
   LLVMStyle.PackConstructorInitializers = FormatStyle::PCIS_BinPack;
   LLVMStyle.PointerAlignment = FormatStyle::PAS_Right;
diff --git a/clang/lib/Format/TokenAnnotator.cpp b/clang/lib/Format/TokenAnnotator.cpp
index 79cfa73001e54..af48d804b4518 100644
--- a/clang/lib/Format/TokenAnnotator.cpp
+++ b/clang/lib/Format/TokenAnnotator.cpp
@@ -5437,7 +5437,7 @@ bool TokenAnnotator::spaceRequiredBefore(const AnnotatedLine &Line,
     return Right.hasWhitespaceBefore();
   if (Line.Type == LT_ObjCMethodDecl) {
     if (Left.is(TT_ObjCMethodSpecifier))
-      return true;
+      return Style.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon;
     if (Left.is(tok::r_paren) && Left.isNot(TT_AttributeRParen) &&
         canBeObjCSelectorComponent(Right)) {
       // Don't space between ')' and <id> or ')' and 'new'. 'new' is not a
diff --git a/clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp b/clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp
index 3ff784035dd44..bd98051872fcf 100644
--- a/clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp
+++ b/clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp
@@ -15623,6 +15623,22 @@ TEST_F(FormatTest, FormatForObjectiveCMethodDecls) {
   verifyGoogleFormat("- foo:(int)foo;");
 }
 
+TEST_F(FormatTest, SpaceBeforeObjCMethodDeclColon) {
+  FormatStyle Style = getLLVMStyle();
+  verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("+ (int)foo:(int)x;", "+       (int)        foo:(int)x;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("- foo;", "-foo;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("- foo:(int)f;", "-foo:(int)f;", Style);
+
+  Style.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon = false;
+  verifyFormat("-(void)method;", "-  (void)   method;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("+(int)foo:(int)x;", "+        (int)foo:(int)x;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("+(int)foo:(int)x;", "+ (int)foo:(int)x;", Style);
+
+  verifyFormat("-foo;", "- foo;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("-foo:(int)f;", "- foo:(int)f;", Style);
+}
+
 TEST_F(FormatTest, BreaksStringLiterals) {
   // FIXME: unstable test case
   EXPECT_EQ("\"some text \"\n"

HazardyKnusperkeks

Please add a note to the release notes.

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:36:11Z

clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h


+  /// Add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations,
+  /// i.e. use '- (void)method' instead of '-(void)method'.
+  /// \version 23


That still would be 22.

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:36:24Z

clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h

  bool ObjCSpaceAfterProperty;

+  /// Add or remove a space between the '-'/'+' and the return type in Objective-C method declarations,
+  /// i.e. use '- (void)method' instead of '-(void)method'.


Please add a code section with true vs false.

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:36:45Z

clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h

           WhitespaceSensitiveMacros == R.WhitespaceSensitiveMacros &&
-           WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines == R.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines;
+           WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines == R.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines &&
+           ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon == R.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon;


Please sort alphabetically.

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:37:02Z

clang/lib/Format/Format.cpp

                   Style.WhitespaceSensitiveMacros);
    IO.mapOptional("WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines",
                   Style.WrapNamespaceBodyWithEmptyLines);
+    IO.mapOptional("ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon",


HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:38:30Z

clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp


+TEST_F(FormatTest, SpaceBeforeObjCMethodDeclColon) {
+  FormatStyle Style = getLLVMStyle();
+  verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);


Suggested change

verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);

verifyFormat("- (void)method;", Style);

Should suffice, or what is the benefit of the other tests?

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-04T19:38:43Z

clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp

+  verifyFormat("- foo:(int)f;", "-foo:(int)f;", Style);
+
+  Style.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon = false;
+  verifyFormat("-(void)method;", "-  (void)   method;", Style);


Suggested change

verifyFormat("-(void)method;", "- (void) method;", Style);

verifyFormat("-(void)method;", Style);

Same here.

Just wanted to confirm that these changes don’t impact any other code paths. I aimed to cover all possible combinations.

github-actions · 2025-12-04T19:40:56Z

✅ With the latest revision this PR passed the C/C++ code formatter.

…eMethodDeclColon

HazardyKnusperkeks · 2025-12-06T20:32:39Z

clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h

           ObjCPropertyAttributeOrder == R.ObjCPropertyAttributeOrder &&
           ObjCSpaceAfterProperty == R.ObjCSpaceAfterProperty &&
           ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList == R.ObjCSpaceBeforeProtocolList &&
+           ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon == R.ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon &&


Still one line up. :)

…odDeclColon

owenca

Please link a public style guide that wants no space after the +/- prefix. See https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.html#adding-additional-style-options. Also, add a CHECK_PARSE_BOOL test.

owenca · 2025-12-08T05:34:36Z

clang/include/clang/Format/Format.h

+  ///    -(void)method      vs.      - (void)method
+  /// \endcode
+  /// \version 22
+  bool ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon;


How about ObjCSpaceAfterMethodDeclarationPrefix instead?

owenca · 2025-12-08T05:47:49Z

clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp

+  FormatStyle Style = getLLVMStyle();
+  verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("+ (int)foo:(int)x;", "+       (int)        foo:(int)x;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("- foo;", "-foo;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("- foo:(int)f;", "-foo:(int)f;", Style);
+


Suggested change

FormatStyle Style = getLLVMStyle();

verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);

verifyFormat("+ (int)foo:(int)x;", "+ (int) foo:(int)x;", Style);

verifyFormat("- foo;", "-foo;", Style);

verifyFormat("- foo:(int)f;", "-foo:(int)f;", Style);

auto Style = getLLVMStyle();

EXPECT_TRUE(Style. ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon);

owenca · 2025-12-08T05:49:41Z

clang/unittests/Format/FormatTest.cpp

+  verifyFormat("+(int)foo:(int)x;", "+        (int)foo:(int)x;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("+(int)foo:(int)x;", "+ (int)foo:(int)x;", Style);
+
+  verifyFormat("-foo;", "- foo;", Style);
+  verifyFormat("-foo:(int)f;", "- foo:(int)f;", Style);


Merge branch 'main' into feature/clang-format-Add-ObjCSpaceBeforeMeth…

f373c40

…odDeclColon

llvmbot added the clang-format label Dec 4, 2025

HazardyKnusperkeks reviewed Dec 4, 2025

View reviewed changes

vkpatel186 and others added 2 commits December 4, 2025 23:34

Fix review comments

f10f688

Merge branch 'llvm:main' into feature/clang-format-Add-ObjCSpaceBefor…

dedca65

…eMethodDeclColon

HazardyKnusperkeks reviewed Dec 6, 2025

View reviewed changes

vkpatel186 and others added 2 commits December 6, 2025 22:56

Fix Review comments, make new property order alphabetical

9818413

Merge branch 'main' into feature/clang-format-Add-ObjCSpaceBeforeMeth…

7664855

…odDeclColon

owenca requested changes Dec 8, 2025

View reviewed changes

	verifyFormat("- (void)method;", "-(void)method;", Style);
	verifyFormat("- (void)method;", Style);

	verifyFormat("-(void)method;", "- (void) method;", Style);
	verifyFormat("-(void)method;", Style);

[clang-format] Add ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon option to control space before Objective-C method return type #170579

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[clang-format] Add ObjCSpaceBeforeMethodDeclColon option to control space before Objective-C method return type #170579

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