Overview Automatically format your Python code according to PEP 8 style guidelines. This tool provides the same formatting you get from tools like Black, autopep8, or yapf.
Request File URI (e.g., file:///workspace/main.py)
Formatting options Number of spaces per indentation level
Use spaces instead of tabs
Maximum line length (Black default: 88, PEP 8: 79)
Response Array of text edits to apply Range to replace Start position (line, character)
End position (line, character)
Example Request cURL
Python
JavaScript
TypeScript
curl -X POST https://api.pylancemcp.dev/v1/tools/call \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "name": "format_document", "arguments": { "uri": "file:///workspace/app/utils.py", "options": { "tabSize": 4, "insertSpaces": true, "lineLength": 88 } } }'
Example Response { "edits" : [ { "range" : { "start" : { "line" : 5 , "character" : 0 }, "end" : { "line" : 5 , "character" : 47 } }, "newText" : "def calculate_total(items: List[Item], tax_rate: float = 0.1) -> float:" }, { "range" : { "start" : { "line" : 8 , "character" : 8 }, "end" : { "line" : 8 , "character" : 65 } }, "newText" : " return sum(item.price for item in items) * (1 + tax_rate)" } ], "totalEdits" : 2 }
Indentation Consistent spaces/tabs and nesting levels
Line Length Wraps long lines to stay under limit
Spacing Proper spacing around operators and commas
Imports Organizes and sorts import statements
Before and After def calculate_total ( items , tax_rate = 0.1 , discount = 0 )-> float : subtotal = sum ([item.price for item in items]) tax = subtotal * tax_rate return subtotal + tax - discount class User : def __init__ ( self , name , email ): self .name = name self .email = email
Import Organization import os from typing import List import sys from app.models import User import json from app.utils import calculate
Line Wrapping Before
After (line_length: 88)
result = some_function(first_parameter, second_parameter, third_parameter, fourth_parameter, fifth_parameter)
Choose your preferred line length:
Style Line Length Description Black 88 Modern, opinionated formatter PEP 8 79 Traditional Python standard Google 80 Google Python Style Guide Custom Any Your preferred maximum
Use Cases # Auto-format every time you save a file def on_file_save ( file_uri ): formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri) if formatted.total_edits > 0 : apply_edits(file_uri, formatted.edits) print ( f "✨ Formatted { file_uri } " )
Pre-Commit Hook # Format all changed files before committing def format_changed_files (): changed_files = get_git_changed_files() python_files = [f for f in changed_files if f.endswith( '.py' )] for file in python_files: formatted = client.format_document( uri = file ) if formatted.total_edits > 0 : apply_edits( file , formatted.edits) print ( f "📝 Formatted { file } " ) return len (python_files)
Code Review Automation # Check if code follows formatting standards def check_formatting_compliance ( file_uri ): formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri) if formatted.total_edits == 0 : return { "compliant" : True , "message" : "✅ Code is properly formatted" } else : return { "compliant" : False , "message" : f "❌ { formatted.total_edits } formatting issues found" , "fixes" : formatted.edits }
Configuration Options Tab Size # Use 2-space indentation (not recommended for Python) formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri, options = { "tab_size" : 2 } ) # Standard 4-space indentation formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri, options = { "tab_size" : 4 } )
Line Length # Strict PEP 8 (79 characters) formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri, options = { "line_length" : 79 } ) # Black style (88 characters) formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri, options = { "line_length" : 88 } ) # More permissive (120 characters) formatted = client.format_document( uri = file_uri, options = { "line_length" : 120 } )
Format on Demand : Don’t format constantly - only on save or commit
Cache Results : If file hasn’t changed, formatting result is the same
Batch Format : Format multiple files in sequence, not parallel
Error Responses Code Reason Solution FILE_NOT_FOUNDFile doesn’t exist Verify file path PARSE_ERRORFile has syntax errors Fix syntax errors first INVALID_OPTIONSFormatting options invalid Check option values FILE_TOO_LARGEFile exceeds size limit Split into smaller files
Rate Limits Tier Requests/Hour Requests/Day Max File Size Free 20 100 100KB Hobby 500 5,000 500KB Pro 5,000 50,000 1MB Enterprise Unlimited Unlimited 10MB
Best Practices Team Consistency : Use the same line length across your team
Version Control : Configure formatting before committing to avoid large diffs
IDE Integration : Set up format-on-save in your editor
CI/CD : Add formatting checks to your build pipeline
