🎨 Intelligent Formatter

The core feature of Gherkin PowerTools. Powered by the official @cucumber/gherkin Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) parser, the robust formatting engine analyzes your Gherkin syntax with mathematical precision and aligns it automatically. It transforms messy, unreadable tests into a pristine, standardized format instantly.

[!TIP] How to Trigger Formatting

• Full Document: Shift+Alt+F (Windows/Linux) or ⇧⌥F (macOS).
• Selection Only: Highlight text → Cmd+K Cmd+F / Ctrl+K Ctrl+F.
• On Save: Enable editor.formatOnSave in your settings.json (see Configuration).

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✨ Formatting Capabilities

AST-Powered Flat Indentation

Enforces a consistent alignment strategy where all operational steps (Given, When, Then, And, But) share the exact same starting column. Because it operates on an AST rather than simple Regex, it flawlessly ignores keywords hidden inside DocStrings or comments.

Dynamic Table Alignment

Data tables and Examples blocks (using pipes |) are dynamically padded. The formatter calculates the maximum column width and aligns the entire table perfectly to the preceding step keyword.

    Given I have a database
          | id | username | role  |
          | 1  | admin    | super |
          | 2  | test     | read  |

Auto-Casing & Keyword Normalization

Automatically capitalizes Gherkin keywords (given → Given, scenario outline → Scenario Outline) to enforce strict standardization across your suite.

Intelligent Tag Wrapping

Keeps your files clean by intelligently wrapping long lists of @tags that exceed 80 characters. It respects logical grouping and indents them correctly above the Scenario or Feature block.

Unmapped Descriptions & DocStrings

Preserves multi-line descriptions directly beneath Feature and Scenario blocks without corrupting their indentation. Flawlessly formats """ DocStrings relative to their parent step.

Multi-language Support (i18n)

Fully supports formatting in English, Spanish, French, and German. It detects the # language: <lang> header and applies the correct localized casing rules:

English	Spanish	French	German
Given	Dado	Soit	Angenommen
When	Cuando	Quand	Wenn
Then	Entonces	Alors	Dann
Scenario	Escenario	Scénario	Szenario