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prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

A small Prettier 3 plugin that removes unnecessary outer parentheses from multi-line return statements and JSX expressions, including .map() callbacks and conditional rendering with &&, ||, ??, and ternaries. Loading the plugin enables the behavior; there is no formatting option.

function View() {
  return <main>
    <Header />
    <Content />
  </main>;
}

Use in another project

After the first npm release, install from the registry:

npm install --save-dev "prettier@^3.9.10" prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

Or with Yarn:

yarn add --dev "prettier@^3.9.10" prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

Until that release, or to install a Git revision, use GitHub:

npm install --save-dev --save-exact prettier@3.9.10 github:harshmoorjani/prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

The Yarn equivalent is:

yarn add --dev prettier-plugin-minimal-parens@github:harshmoorjani/prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

GitHub installs do not require npm publication or a local checkout. If the repository is private, Git needs GitHub access, including in CI. If you already use GitHub CLI, gh auth setup-git --hostname github.com configures its login as Git's credential helper.

Add the plugin to your project's .prettierrc.json:

{
  "plugins": ["prettier-plugin-minimal-parens"]
}

If you already have a Prettier configuration, add prettier-plugin-minimal-parens to its existing plugins array. The equivalent prettier.config.mjs is:

export default {
  plugins: ["prettier-plugin-minimal-parens"],
};

Then format normally:

npx prettier --write path/to/file.tsx

For an existing Yarn project, use yarn prettier --write path/to/file.tsx or your normal format script. Use the project's existing package manager.

Editors should use the project's installed Prettier and configuration. There is no extra option to enable: loading this plugin changes return formatting.

Commit your package manifest and lockfile so CI installs the same Git revision. To explicitly pin the plugin to a specific commit instead of the repository's default branch, use:

npm install --save-dev --save-exact prettier@3.9.10 "github:harshmoorjani/prettier-plugin-minimal-parens#<commit-sha>"

Replace <commit-sha> with the full SHA from this repository's commit history.

GitHub dependency installation is supported by npm's package specification.

Migrating from prettier-custom

If you installed the earlier GitHub package under the name prettier-custom, replace that dependency and change its entry in your Prettier plugins array to prettier-plugin-minimal-parens. Before the npm release, use:

yarn remove prettier-custom
yarn add --dev prettier-plugin-minimal-parens@github:harshmoorjani/prettier-plugin-minimal-parens

After the npm release, the second command can be yarn add --dev prettier-plugin-minimal-parens.

Work on this plugin locally

npm install
npm run format -- path/to/file.tsx --write
npm test

The included prettier.config.mjs also enables the plugin for editors formatting files inside this directory.

Publishing

Version 0.1.0 is prepared for the first npm release. From a clean checkout:

npm ci
npm login
npm publish --dry-run
npm publish

prepublishOnly runs the test suite before publishing. The package contains only index.js, package.json, README.md, and LICENSE; there is no build step. Prettier is a peer dependency and is not bundled.

The npm name must still be available when publishing. Authenticate with the npm account that should own the package and complete its required 2FA checks. See npm's publishing guide.

For subsequent releases, update the package version before publishing again.

Compatibility

Uses Prettier's built-in AST printer without rewriting source text. Necessary parentheses, comment handling, and formatting outside these expressions stay with Prettier. Tested with Prettier 3.9.10. Plugins that replace the JavaScript printer may conflict; this plugin does not merge other printers.

Coverage includes elements and fragments in explicit returns, arrow bodies, callbacks, ternary branches (including nested and mixed branches), assignments, arguments, object properties, arrays, JSX children and attributes, methods, and yield expressions. Both standard and experimental ternary layouts are tested with JavaScript, Babel TypeScript, and TypeScript parsers.

The regression suite checks AST equivalence and formatting stability, including comments, semicolons, line widths, tabs, CRLF, range formatting, TypeScript casts, and satisfies. Grouping needed for operator precedence, ternaries used as conditions, object-literal arrow bodies, invocation/member access, and comments is retained. prettier-ignore is respected.

License

The Unlicense: dedicated to the public domain. You may use, modify, and redistribute this plugin for any purpose, including commercially, without attribution. Provided without warranty. Prettier retains its own license.