Require Brace Style (brace-style)

The --fix option on the command line can automatically fix some of the problems reported by this rule.

Brace style is closely related to indent style in programming and describes the placement of braces relative to their control statement and body. There are probably a dozen, if not more, brace styles in the world.

The one true brace style is one of the most common brace styles in JavaScript, in which the opening brace of a block is placed on the same line as its corresponding statement or declaration. For example:

if (foo) {
  bar();
} else {
  baz();
}

One common variant of one true brace style is called Stroustrup, in which the else statements in an if-else construct, as well as catch and finally, must be on its own line after the preceding closing brace. For example:

if (foo) {
  bar();
}
else {
  baz();
}

Another style is called Allman, in which all the braces are expected to be on their own lines without any extra indentation. For example:

if (foo)
{
  bar();
}
else
{
  baz();
}

While no style is considered better than the other, most developers agree that having a consistent style throughout a project is important for its long-term maintainability.

Rule Details

This rule enforces consistent brace style for blocks.

Options

This rule has a string option:

• "1tbs" (default) enforces one true brace style
• "stroustrup" enforces Stroustrup style
• "allman" enforces Allman style

This rule has an object option for an exception:

• "allowSingleLine": true (default false) allows the opening and closing braces for a block to be on the same line

1tbs

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the default "1tbs" option:

/*eslint brace-style: "error"*/

function foo()
{
  return true;
}

if (foo)
{
  bar();
}

try
{
  somethingRisky();
} catch(e)
{
  handleError();
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
}
else {
  baz();
}

Examples of correct code for this rule with the default "1tbs" option:

/*eslint brace-style: "error"*/

function foo() {
  return true;
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
} else {
  baz();
}

try {
  somethingRisky();
} catch(e) {
  handleError();
}

// when there are no braces, there are no problems
if (foo) bar();
else if (baz) boom();

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "1tbs", { "allowSingleLine": true } options:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "1tbs", { "allowSingleLine": true }]*/

function nop() { return; }

if (foo) { bar(); }

if (foo) { bar(); } else { baz(); }

try { somethingRisky(); } catch(e) { handleError(); }

stroustrup

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the "stroustrup" option:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "stroustrup"]*/

function foo()
{
  return true;
}

if (foo)
{
  bar();
}

try
{
  somethingRisky();
} catch(e)
{
  handleError();
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
} else {
  baz();
}

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "stroustrup" option:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "stroustrup"]*/

function foo() {
  return true;
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
}
else {
  baz();
}

try {
  somethingRisky();
}
catch(e) {
  handleError();
}

// when there are no braces, there are no problems
if (foo) bar();
else if (baz) boom();

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "stroustrup", { "allowSingleLine": true } options:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "stroustrup", { "allowSingleLine": true }]*/

function nop() { return; }

if (foo) { bar(); }

if (foo) { bar(); }
else { baz(); }

try { somethingRisky(); }
catch(e) { handleError(); }

allman

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the "allman" option:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "allman"]*/

function foo() {
  return true;
}

if (foo)
{
  bar(); }

try
{
  somethingRisky();
} catch(e)
{
  handleError();
}

if (foo) {
  bar();
} else {
  baz();
}

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "allman" option:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "allman"]*/

function foo()
{
  return true;
}

if (foo)
{
  bar();
}

if (foo)
{
  bar();
}
else
{
  baz();
}

try
{
  somethingRisky();
}
catch(e)
{
  handleError();
}

// when there are no braces, there are no problems
if (foo) bar();
else if (baz) boom();

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "allman", { "allowSingleLine": true } options:

/*eslint brace-style: ["error", "allman", { "allowSingleLine": true }]*/

function nop() { return; }

if (foo) { bar(); }

if (foo) { bar(); }
else { baz(); }

try { somethingRisky(); }
catch(e) { handleError(); }

When Not To Use It

If you don't want to enforce a particular brace style, don't enable this rule.

Further Reading

• Indent style

Version

This rule was introduced in ESLint 0.0.7.

Resources

• Rule source
• Documentation source