Fix code indentation in Xcode

Question

Once I start editing my code and adding for loops or if then statements my code indentation is whacked because the previous code maintains its former indentation instead of adjusting automatically.

In Visual Studio you can highlight code and select 'format selection' to fix these issues - is there anything similar in Xcode?

[**here**](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/829954/how-can-i-indent-multiple-lines-in-xcode) is the best solution — swiftBoy, Aug 16 '13 at 06:10
Possible duplicate of [Xcode source automatic formatting](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1573968/xcode-source-automatic-formatting) — Emil Laine, Dec 05 '15 at 04:14

score 257 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 25 '17 at 11:11

257

Before Xcode 9 (for Xcode 9 see default shortcut below)

select text
right-click
there's a "Re-indent selection" item in popup menu

In XCode 4 there is one more step:

select text
right-click
Click on "Structure"
there's a "Re-indent selection" and other options in popup menu

Or using the default shortcut:

select text
press ctrl + i

edited Nov 25 '17 at 11:11

Ali Beadle

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answered Aug 24 '10 at 16:36

Vladimir

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This apparently doesn't work with ObjC++ in Xcode 5, the "Re-indent selection" option simply does nothing – Juan Campa Nov 22 '13 at 19:28
4

As of Xcode 9 the right-click option is no longer present. ctrl + i does still work though. – Ali Beadle Oct 16 '17 at 18:02
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ctrl + i ... Thats it – mercury Aug 20 '18 at 19:37
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LOL I misread and tried command + i, and it rebuilt my project and asked me to select a profiling template. – Dronz Jan 02 '19 at 17:47
`ctrl` + `i` it is indeed, I was confused whether it "i" or "I" or "|", it is plain "i", thanks – Windo Dec 18 '19 at 02:16

Josh Brown · Answer 2 · 2014-05-15T18:26:51.083

83

select text
press Control-I (the default keyboard shortcut)

edited May 15 '14 at 18:26

answered May 26 '11 at 15:49

Josh Brown

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Spent too much time hanging out in other IDEs lately and my brain thought this was worth erasing. – Fernando Mazzon Apr 21 '17 at 11:19
1

Control-I does nothing for me as of XCode 11. Is there really no menu option for this at all? – Paul Slocum Nov 17 '19 at 13:43
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@PaulSlocum Control-I still works for me in Xcode 11. It's also in the menu in Editor > Structure > Re-Indent. – Josh Brown Nov 18 '19 at 22:02
lol, been trying the IntelliJ shortcut coming back to Xcode long time later. – Okhan Okbay Jun 26 '22 at 11:13

score 23 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 22 '20 at 08:48

23

You can do this automatically in Xcode 11

answered Jan 22 '20 at 08:48

tetrajen

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this is GENIUS! Thank you! – radu122 Jul 12 '20 at 12:38

Basil Bourque · Answer 4 · 2013-08-14T11:03:59.777

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In Xcode 4.6.3, choose Editor > Structure > Re-Indent.

Shortcut: Control + I (that's 'i', for 'indent')

This works on current selection. If no text selected, choose Edit > Select All (⌘+A) and then perform the re-indent.

(I'm more clearly restating the other answers)

edited Aug 14 '13 at 11:03

answered Aug 14 '13 at 08:19

Basil Bourque

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score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 01 '18 at 07:57

6

Xcode 9.2:

You can select text and press ctrl + i to re-indent code.

answered Mar 01 '18 at 07:57

Cons Bulaquena

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ICL1901 · Answer 6 · 2011-09-30T11:08:53.670

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These solutions re-indent text to the default xCode behaviors. To change these behaviors, go to xCode (v.4) > Preferences > Text Editing. Then to Indentation Tab.

edited Sep 30 '11 at 11:08

answered Sep 30 '11 at 11:01

ICL1901

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Exactly what I was looking for... and yet not... I was hoping I could tell Xcode to do things like indent private: and public: inside of a C++ class... instead it aligns them underneath the class keyword, but I see no such option. – ArtOfWarfare Jan 24 '13 at 17:36

score 5 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 22 '20 at 09:30

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You can do it in different ways, but these two are the easiest

select text ( ⌘ +a) :

Using shortcut -> (control)^ + i
Click on "Editor" -> Click on "Structure" -> Click on "Re-indent"

answered Jun 22 '20 at 09:30

Chris

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score 5 · Answer 8 · answered May 18 '22 at 09:11

5

Sometimes setting Xcode global preferences is not enough for ^ + i to do its job accordingly. The reason is that project settings override global ones. You can set indentations for a concrete project or even a file. Select project (or file) in the Navigation Pane. Then in File Inspector go to Text Settings section and set desired number of tabs or spaces for indents.

answered May 18 '22 at 09:11

Paul B

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This answer has screenshots of where to find these settings: https://stackoverflow.com/a/47023275/59913 – Stan James Dec 28 '22 at 04:02
This allowed me to track down why Xcode was indenting using _3_ spaces when it is configured globally for 4. – freespace Dec 29 '22 at 04:15

Blago · Answer 9 · 2019-12-21T11:55:14.303

3

To quickly re-indent the whole file:

⌘+a

⌘+x

⌘+v

Edit: No longer working in Xcode 11

edited Dec 21 '19 at 11:55

answered Oct 23 '18 at 18:57

Blago

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Is this any different to cmd + a, ctrl + i? – Declan McKenna Oct 03 '19 at 06:39
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It will work after @tetrajen solution: Xcode Preference > Text Editing > Indentation > mark the "Re-Indent on paste". – Elad Mar 16 '20 at 08:37

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Sep 29 '17 at 07:09

2

You can try my extension Swimat https://github.com/Jintin/Swimat

It support format on selection.

Simple install by brew cask install swimat

answered Sep 29 '17 at 07:09

Jintin

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Fix code indentation in Xcode

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