query-format.md

title	versions	topics	type	product	autogenerated	intro	redirect_from
query format	fpt ghec ghes * * *	Advanced Security Code scanning CodeQL	reference	{% data reusables.gated-features.codeql %}	codeql-cli	Autoformat QL source code.	/code-security/codeql-cli/manual/query-format

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.man-pages-version-note %}

Synopsis

codeql query format [--output=<file>] [--in-place] [--backup=<ext>] <options>... -- <file>...

Description

Autoformat QL source code.

Options

Primary Options

<file>...

One or more .ql or .qll source files to autoformat. A dash can be specified to read from standard input.

-o, --output=<file>

Write the formatted QL code to this file instead of the standard output stream. Must not be given if there is more than one input.

-i, --[no-]in-place

Overwrite each input file with a formatted version of its content.

--[no-]check-only

Instead of writing output, exit with status 1 if any input files differ from their correct formatting. A message telling which files differed will be printed to standard error unless you also give -qq.

-b, --backup=<ext>

When writing a file that already exists, rename the existing file to a backup by appending this extension to its name. If the backup file already exists, it will be silently deleted.

--no-syntax-errors

If an input file is not syntactically correct QL, pretend that it is already correctly formatted. (Usually such a file causes the command to terminate with an error message).

Common options

-h, --help

Show this help text.

-J=<opt>

[Advanced] Give option to the JVM running the command.

(Beware that options containing spaces will not be handled correctly.)

-v, --verbose

Incrementally increase the number of progress messages printed.

-q, --quiet

Incrementally decrease the number of progress messages printed.

--verbosity=<level>

[Advanced] Explicitly set the verbosity level to one of errors, warnings, progress, progress+, progress++, progress+++. Overrides -v and -q.

--logdir=<dir>

[Advanced] Write detailed logs to one or more files in the given directory, with generated names that include timestamps and the name of the running subcommand.

(To write a log file with a name you have full control over, instead give --log-to-stderr and redirect stderr as desired.)

--common-caches=<dir>

[Advanced] Controls the location of cached data on disk that will persist between several runs of the CLI, such as downloaded QL packs and compiled query plans. If not set explicitly, this defaults to a directory named .codeql in the user's home directory; it will be created if it doesn't already exist.

Available since v2.15.2.