Fixing Prettier not working with VSCode

Ukrainian version

Problem Description

You have installed and enabled Prettier in your JS application, but Visual Studio Code does not format or highlight your code.

If you have not yet installed Prettier in your application - you can see the guide for its installation at the link

Ways of Fixing:

There are several possible problems that can occur with code analysis. Here are the main ones:

Prettier is Not Installed

Check your package.json for the Prettier version installed:

If prettier is installed, try running npm install, just in case.

Prettier Extension in VSCode is Not Installed

Make sure you have installed the Prettier extension in VSCode. If it is missing, you can find it at the link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=esbenp.prettier-vscode

Invalid or Missing Configuration File

Check that the .prettierrc or prettier.config.js file is present and correct.

Try replacing your configuration file with another, verified file. You can use the basic config from the documentation:

{
  "trailingComma": "es5",
  "tabWidth": 4,
  "semi": false,
  "singleQuote": true
}

Prettier is Not Set as a Default Code Formatter

Go to File -> Preferences -> Settings or (Ctrl + comma). And do a search on the word formatter.

In the opened tab, select 'Default Formatter' - `Prettier'.

Disabled File Extensions or Incorrect Language Configurations

Prettier can be configured to disable parsing for certain file types - so check that the required files are not included in the prettier-ignore file.
Also, check that your file extension is spelled correctly.

Also, make sure that the settings correspond to the programming language you are using.

Conflicting VSCode Extensions

Try disabling other VSCode extensions. Conflicting extensions can interfere with Prettier.

Obsolete Prettier version

Newer versions of VSCode extensions may not support older versions of Prettier. If necessary, raise the Prettier version in package.json.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at possible problems with the integration of Prettier and VSCode. I hope that these tips will help you solve the problems you encountered.

Using Prettier with ESLint? See also:

• Difference between Plugins and ESLint Rules
• Mastering ESLint Configurations: Best Practices

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