Export .clang-format code style to Android Studio

Question

Question: Is there a way to import .clang-format code style in Android Studio for native development?

Context:

Hello all,

I am currently working on a cross-platform C++ project, which also involves Android. We have multiple subprojects, including a platform-independent common code base.

The structure of the whole repository looks something like this:

.
├── .idea           - Settings for CLion
├── .vscode         - Settings for VS Code
├── app
│   ├── android     - Full Android project generated by Android Studio 
│   │   └── .idea   - Settings for Android Studio
│   └── linux       - Project for targeting hardware based on Linux
├── core            - Platform-independent library with business logic etc.
└── .clang-format   - Clang-format configuration file for the whole repository

As you can see, we can use a single .clang-format file for the whole repository regardless of the used IDE (both CLion and VS Code can be configured by this file). However, I couldn't find a way to force Android Studio to also use the style defined there. I should mention that the Android project includes native C++ code, which I want to format using the same code style.

I was thinking about multiple ways to achieve this, but none of them worked. I've tried:

1. Forcing CLion to use .clang-format and export IDEA XML settings – does not work, as the settings simply include a directive to enable clang-format support
2. Find a way to convert .clang-format to .editorconfig, which is supported by AS – couldn't find any tools for that, and not sure if the two specs overlap enough.
3. Look for some plugins, custom on save actions etc. – research in progress, nothing so far.

Does anyone have a working solution or some other ideas I may try?

Answer 1

Just enable the ClangFormat option:

Answer 2

You can use Android Studio's External Tools to call the clang-format executable directly on the file you want to format.

It's not quite as integrated as the built-in formatter (e.g. "undo" will prompt you to reload from disk), but it gets the job done. After you create the tool, you can run it with CTRL+SHIFT+A then type "clang-format" (or w/e you chose to name it). You can also use Android Studio's Keymap to run the tool. Before creating this key-map, first close and reopen the Settings menu, otherwise the clang-format External Tool won't be there yet for you to create the shortcut.

Either one will format the file currently focused in the editor.

The -style=file argument will tell clang-format to look for your .clang-format file in a parent directory of the file being formatted. The -i flag will tell clang-format to update the file in line (instead of printing to stdout). $FilePath$ is a substitution variable provided by External Tools and will be replaced by the file currently in focus.