How do I enforce this Elixir style guide in my project?

You'll need to integrate external tools like Credo for linting and ensure team adoption through code reviews. The guide itself doesn't provide automation, so set up Credo with custom rules based on the guidelines, such as avoiding needless pipelines or enforcing naming conventions.

What's the difference between this style guide and the official Elixir guidelines?

This guide is more opinionated and comprehensive, covering specific conventions like predicate function naming with '?' and pipeline best practices. Official resources from the Elixir Core Team are often less prescriptive and focus on broader idiomatic patterns rather than detailed stylistic rules.

When should I use pipelines vs nested function calls in Elixir?

The guide recommends using the pipeline operator for chaining function calls to improve readability, but warns against 'needless pipelines' for single operations. Use pipelines for multi-step transformations, as shown in the examples, but avoid them for simple calls like String.strip(input).

How to name exceptions according to the Elixir style guide?

Exception names should end with 'Error', such as ResponseError, and error messages should be non-capitalized without trailing punctuation. For example, raise ArgumentError, 'malformed payload' is preferred over 'Malformed payload.'

Does this style guide cover Phoenix or Ecto-specific conventions?

No, it focuses on general Elixir coding practices like naming, formatting, and module organization. For framework-specific guidelines, you'll need to consult additional resources, as it doesn't address Phoenix controllers, Ecto schemas, or other domain-specific patterns.

How to handle comments in Elixir code based on this guide?

Use comments sparingly and only for critical details like algorithm explanations or business rules, avoiding superfluous ones. The guide quotes Russ Olsen: 'good code is like a good joke: It needs no explanation,' and provides examples like not commenting obvious function calls.

elixir-style-guide — Opinionated Elixir Style Guide

What is elixir-style-guide?

The Elixir Style Guide is an opinionated collection of coding conventions and best practices for the Elixir programming language. It provides detailed guidelines on naming, formatting, code organization, and idiomatic patterns to help developers write consistent and maintainable Elixir code. The guide covers everything from basic syntax to advanced language features.

Target Audience

Elixir developers and teams looking to establish consistent coding standards across their projects. It's particularly valuable for code reviewers, technical leads, and developers contributing to shared codebases.

Value Proposition

This guide offers comprehensive, well-reasoned conventions that go beyond basic syntax rules. It helps teams avoid common pitfalls, improves code readability, and aligns with Elixir's built-in formatter and community practices.

An opinionated Elixir style guide

Use Cases

Best For

Establishing team coding standards for Elixir projects
Learning idiomatic Elixir patterns and best practices
Code review preparation and consistency checking
Onboarding new developers to Elixir codebases
Refactoring legacy Elixir code to modern standards
Creating internal style guides for organizations

Not Ideal For

Teams already using automated linting tools like Credo with custom rule sets
Solo developers or experimental projects where rapid iteration outweighs code consistency
Environments that strictly follow the Elixir Core Team's less opinionated official guidelines

Pros & Cons

Pros

Comprehensive Coverage

Covers naming, formatting, modules, error handling, and more with detailed examples, such as clear rules for snake_case variables and CamelCase modules, as outlined in the Naming and Modules sections.

Philosophical Foundation

Emphasizes code readability and consistency with quotes and reasoning, reinforcing that code is for programmers, not just machines, as seen in the introductory quote and commentary on comments.

Alignment with Elixir Formatter

Explicitly notes that formatting rules align with Elixir's built-in formatter from v1.6, ensuring compatibility with standard tooling and reducing configuration overhead.

Clear Examples

Provides 'Bad' and 'Good' code snippets for each rule, such as in the pipeline operator and error handling sections, making guidelines easy to understand and apply.

Cons

Manual Enforcement Required

As a documentation-only guide, it lacks automated tooling; teams must rely on code reviews or external linters like Credo to enforce rules, which can lead to inconsistency without diligent adoption.

Overly Opinionated Rules

Some conventions, like avoiding anonymous functions in pipelines or strict boolean operator usage, may be restrictive for certain use cases and not universally accepted, potentially stifling developer flexibility.

Redundant Formatting Guidance

The formatting section is largely handled by Elixir's built-in formatter, making detailed guidelines on whitespace and indentation unnecessary for projects already using the formatter, as acknowledged in the README.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is elixir-style-guide?

Target Audience

Value Proposition

Use Cases

Best For

Establishing team coding standards for Elixir projects
Learning idiomatic Elixir patterns and best practices
Code review preparation and consistency checking
Onboarding new developers to Elixir codebases
Refactoring legacy Elixir code to modern standards
Creating internal style guides for organizations

Not Ideal For

Teams already using automated linting tools like Credo with custom rule sets
Solo developers or experimental projects where rapid iteration outweighs code consistency
Environments that strictly follow the Elixir Core Team's less opinionated official guidelines

Pros & Cons

Pros

Comprehensive Coverage

Philosophical Foundation

Emphasizes code readability and consistency with quotes and reasoning, reinforcing that code is for programmers, not just machines, as seen in the introductory quote and commentary on comments.

Alignment with Elixir Formatter

Explicitly notes that formatting rules align with Elixir's built-in formatter from v1.6, ensuring compatibility with standard tooling and reducing configuration overhead.

Clear Examples

Provides 'Bad' and 'Good' code snippets for each rule, such as in the pipeline operator and error handling sections, making guidelines easy to understand and apply.

Cons

Manual Enforcement Required

As a documentation-only guide, it lacks automated tooling; teams must rely on code reviews or external linters like Credo to enforce rules, which can lead to inconsistency without diligent adoption.

Overly Opinionated Rules

Redundant Formatting Guidance

Frequently Asked Questions

elixir-style-guide

What is elixir-style-guide?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

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elixir-style-guide

What is elixir-style-guide?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

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