Prettier is an opinionated code formatter. You run it, and your code comes out formatted the same way every time — same indentation, same quotes, same line breaks. No configuration debates, no style arguments in code review, no diffs full of whitespace changes. It is the closest thing JavaScript has to a solved problem.
The idea is radical in its simplicity: Prettier does not ask what style you like. It has one style, and you accept it. That sounds restrictive until you realize how much time teams waste arguing about semicolons, trailing commas, and line length. Prettier ends those arguments by removing the choice entirely.
Using it is one command:
npm install --save-dev prettier npx prettier --write . That reformats every file in your project. Add it to your editor so it formats on save, and add a check to your CI so unformatted code never merges. The configuration file is optional — most teams use the defaults, and the only settings people commonly change are singleQuote and semi.
Prettier works with JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, HTML, JSON, Markdown, and more. It does not check your logic — that is a linter's job. Prettier only cares about how the code looks. Pair it with ESLint for the logic, and you have the two tools every JavaScript project should start with.
The limits are honest. Prettier will sometimes format code in a way you do not love, and you cannot override it for one line without an ignore comment. It does not understand your intent, only your syntax. And on very large files it can be slow — but that is a small price for never arguing about formatting again.
Start today with one step: install Prettier in one project, run it with --write, and look at the diff. If the diff is mostly formatting, that is the point — now your future diffs will show only real changes.
