Improve Code Review Experience by Filtering\Ignoring Formatting Changes

[Ben-Avrahami]

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Summary:

The proposed GitHub feature allows users to filter out formatting changes in code reviews, improving efficiency, code clarity, and personalization in the review process.

Request

I would like to request a new feature for GitHub that enhances the code review process by providing an option to filter out formatting changes in the code diffs. Currently, when conducting a code review, the review interface displays all changes, including formatting modifications such as blank lines and white spaces. This unnecessarily clutters the review and makes it more challenging to focus on the substantive code changes, reducing efficiency and effectiveness.

I propose implementing a feature that allows users to choose whether they want to exclude formatting changes from the code diffs during code reviews. This feature would greatly improve the review experience by eliminating noise and enabling reviewers to concentrate solely on meaningful code alterations.

how its different from the "ignore whitespaces" feature that exists today

lets say 2 people working on the same repository use different code formatter.
if they format the code using their formatter it will make a lot of changes that will not be ignore by the "ignore whitespaces" option.
and also the "ignore whitespaces" option needs to be checked every review separately and cannot be set as a default preference for a specific user.

Key Features:

Option to Ignore Formatting Changes: Introduce a user-configurable setting that enables reviewers to exclude formatting modifications, such as blank lines and white spaces, from code diffs shown during code reviews.

User Preference: Provide a per-user default setting that allows individuals to choose whether they want formatting changes to be hidden or displayed in their code reviews. This option would ensure that each user can customize the experience based on their personal preferences and review requirements.

Clear Distinguishment: Clearly differentiate between actual code changes and formatting modifications in the code diff display. This could be achieved by applying distinct styling or color highlighting to indicate formatting alterations, making it easier for reviewers to navigate through the changes.

Benefits:

Increased Review Efficiency: By filtering out formatting changes, reviewers can focus solely on the functional and logical alterations made to the code, reducing distractions and improving review speed and accuracy.

Enhanced Code Clarity: With the ability to exclude formatting modifications, code reviews become more streamlined and easier to comprehend, as reviewers can pay undivided attention to the meaningful changes and their impact on the codebase.

Personalized Review Experience: Offering a user-configurable default setting allows each reviewer to tailor the review process to their own preferences. Users who prefer to see formatting changes can still have that option, while those who find it distracting can choose to hide them.

Overall, this feature would significantly enhance the code review workflow on GitHub, providing a more efficient, focused, and personalized experience for reviewers. By empowering users to filter out formatting changes, we can elevate the quality and effectiveness of code reviews on the platform.

Thank you for considering this feature request. I believe it would greatly benefit the GitHub community and improve the overall code collaboration experience.

[LinorMor]

Great idea!!

[BenArtzi4]

Sounds like an excellent idea that would have helped me a lot over the years

[Merav-Taviv]

I agree with the proposed feature to filter out formatting changes in code reviews on GitHub.
This feature would address the unnecessary clutter caused by formatting modifications and allow for a more efficient and focused code review process.

[Moshe-Frankipour]

I'm totally on board with the proposed feature to filter out formatting changes in GitHub code reviews. It's a game-changer that would make the whole process way more efficient, clear, and personalized. Imagine being able to focus only on the juicy code modifications without getting distracted by unnecessary formatting tweaks like blank lines and spaces. This feature would go beyond the existing "ignore whitespaces" option by tackling the formatting differences caused by different code formatters. Plus, having a default setting for each user would let everyone review code their own way. It's a no-brainer that this feature would seriously level up the GitHub code collaboration experience.

[christopher-ernenwein-se]

+1

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[pradyumnjain25]

By any chance this being worked on?. will be a great feature to have

[rfossicav]

Sad that this was closed / ended up dormant. A quick online search reveals that there are other over the years that are interested in such a feature.