What is a .editorconfig file?
EditorConfig Coding-Style File · Code and data · EditorConfig project · 2011
An .editorconfig file defines basic coding style (indentation, line endings, charset, trailing whitespace) for a project, so every editor and IDE formats files the same way regardless of personal settings.
What is a .editorconfig file used for?
The format is INI-like: [*.py] or [*.{js,ts}] sections set properties such as indent_style, indent_size, end_of_line and insert_final_newline. Editors read the nearest .editorconfig up the folder tree until one says root = true.
Most modern IDEs (VS Code via extension or built-in, JetBrains, Visual Studio) honour it out of the box, which is why the file appears in so many repositories: it ends tabs-versus-spaces arguments at the tooling level.
How to open a .editorconfig file
The .editorconfig format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .editorconfig file.
Windows
- any text editor
- VS Code
macOS
- any text editor
- VS Code
Linux
- any text editor
- VS Code
.editorconfig file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .editorconfig file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for EditorConfig.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (no fixed signature) | 0 | plain text; no fixed magic bytes |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .editorconfig file?
An .editorconfig file defines basic coding style (indentation, line endings, charset, trailing whitespace) for a project, so every editor and IDE formats files the same way regardless of personal settings.
What does an .editorconfig file do?
It tells editors how to format files in the project: tabs or spaces, indent width, line endings and charset, so the style stays consistent across the team.
Do I need a plugin for .editorconfig?
JetBrains IDEs and Visual Studio support it natively; VS Code needs the small official EditorConfig extension. Most other editors have a plugin.
What does root = true mean?
It stops the upward search. Editors read every .editorconfig from the file's folder up the tree and stop at the first one marked root = true.
Related formats
Sources
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