:format does not work in unsaved buffers

[gruhn]

Summary

Nothing terrible, but I noticed that the :format command doesn't seem to do anything in unsaved buffers. Sometimes I just want to pretty print some JSON, without saving it anywhere.

Reproduction Steps

1. Open helix and paste some unformatted JSON into the unsaved buffer (e.g. { "json_key": [1,2,3] })
2. Type :set-language json
3. Type :format (no effect)
4. Instead save the buffer with :w temp.json
5. Type :format (now it works)

Screen.Recording.2024-11-07.at.12.48.35.mov

Helix log

~/.cache/helix/helix.log

please provide a copy of `~/.cache/helix/helix.log` here if possible, you may need to redact some of the lines

Platform

macOS

Terminal Emulator

iTerm2

Installation Method

nixpkgs

Helix Version

helix 24.7 (079f544)

[the-mikedavis]

This is a limitation of LSP: LSP features only work on buffers that are backed by files. It should work to define an external formatter (formatter key in https://docs.helix-editor.com/master/languages.html#language-configuration) like prettier, since that works without an underlying file and takes precedence over LSP formatting.