If you’ve ever wrestled with inconsistent HTML formatting in your Angular, Vue, Svelte, or plain HTML5 templates, you’re not alone. Enter PrettyHTML, the opinionated general formatter designed to bring order to chaos. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the setup and usage of PrettyHTML, as well as troubleshooting common issues you might encounter along the way.

What is PrettyHTML?

PrettyHTML is a tool that formats your HTML templates to ensure they are neat, tidy, and easy to read. Its features include:

• Indentation based on node-level and tag length.
• Parsing for Angular, Vue, and HTML5.
• Formatting embedded content with Prettier.
• Removing excessive whitespace and enforcing consistent output.

Installing PrettyHTML

To get started, you need to install PrettyHTML. Here’s how you can do it:

npm install @starptech/prettyhtml --global

If you’re behind a proxy, use the following command instead:

npm install @starptech/prettyhtml --global --registry=https://registry.npmjs.org

Using PrettyHTML CLI

The command-line interface (CLI) makes it easy to format your HTML files. You can format all HTML files in the current directory by executing:

prettyhtml example.html ./**/*.html

For help with the CLI, simply use:

prettyhtml --help

Understanding PrettyHTML’s Features: An Analogy

Think of PrettyHTML as a seasoned librarian efficiently organizing a chaotic library. Every book (or HTML tag) needs to be in its rightful place, properly shelved, with the right cataloging (indentation and formatting). Just as a librarian won’t move a book’s content around but will ensure it’s stacked neatly with the right spacing, PrettyHTML preserves the essence of your code while making it readable and consistent.

Integrating Pre-Commit Hooks

To ensure that code is automatically formatted before every commit, you can integrate PrettyHTML with Git hooks using a package called prettyhtml-quick. Here’s how you can set it up in your `package.json`:

{
  "husky": {
    "hooks": {
      "precommit": "prettyhtml-quick --staged"
    }
  }
}

How to Use Options in PrettyHTML

PrettyHTML offers various options to customize your formatting. For instance:

• options.tabWidth – Sets the width of your indentation level (default is 2).
• options.useTabs – Use tabs instead of spaces for indentation (default is false).
• options.printWidth – Defines the maximum line length (default is 80).

These options enable you to tailor PrettyHTML to fit your personal or team’s coding style!

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even the best tools can encounter hiccups. Here are some common issues you might face and their solutions:

• Issue: PrettyHTML isn’t formatting files properly.
  Ensure that you are using the correct version of Node.js and that PrettyHTML is installed globally.
• Issue: Integration with Git hooks doesn’t seem to work.
  Verify your Git configuration and ensure that husky is properly installed and configured in your project.

For more insights, updates, or to collaborate on AI development projects, stay connected with fxis.ai.

Final Thoughts

At fxis.ai, we believe that such advancements are crucial for the future of AI, as they enable more comprehensive and effective solutions. Our team is continually exploring new methodologies to push the envelope in artificial intelligence, ensuring that our clients benefit from the latest technological innovations.

Now you’re ready to tidy up your web projects with PrettyHTML effortlessly! Happy coding!