| name | control-flow-braces |
| description | Brace style for the Charty codebase — use when writing or editing any Kotlin in charty/ or composeApp/, and before committing. Every `if`/`else if`/`else`/`for`/`while` body must be wrapped in braces `{ }`, even a single statement, a one-liner, or an `if`/`else` used as a value expression. Braceless forms like `if (w > m) m = w` or `val x = if (a) 1 else 2` are not allowed. |
Control-flow braces
Charty always braces the bodies of control-flow statements and the branches of if/else used
as a value expression. A single guarded statement or a terse ternary-style if is easy to misread or
to break when a second line is added later, so we never write the braceless form.
Rule
Every if, else if, else, for, and while body is wrapped in { } — including a body
that is a single statement, the one-line form, and an if/else whose value is assigned,
returned, or passed as an argument.
Banned (braceless body or branch):
if (width > maxWidth) maxWidth = width
if (range == 0f) return bottom
for (point in points) draw(point)
if (a) b() else c()
val label = if (v == v.toLong().toFloat()) v.toLong().toString() else v.toString()
fun sweep(total: Float): Float = if (total > 0f) value / total else 0f
foo(bar = if (enabled) onClick else null)
Required (braced):
if (width > maxWidth) {
maxWidth = width
}
for (point in points) {
draw(point)
}
val label =
if (v == v.toLong().toFloat()) {
v.toLong().toString()
} else {
v.toString()
}
fun sweep(total: Float): Float =
if (total > 0f) {
value / total
} else {
0f
}
foo(
bar =
if (enabled) {
onClick
} else {
null
},
)
Inside a string template, brace the branches in place (it cannot span lines):
"${if (n == 1) { "" } else { "s" }}".
Not covered by this rule
when branches — a single-expression branch stays as arm -> expression; do not add braces
(else -> is a when branch, not an if/else).- Elvis / single-expression functions with no
if (fun f() = expr, x ?: return) — not
control-flow, not affected. But when the single-expression body is an if/else, brace its
branches as shown above.
Applying it
- When you write or edit a control-flow statement, brace its body even if it is one line.
- When editing nearby code, convert any braceless
if/for/while you touch to the braced form.
- This is a commit gate: a staged diff that adds a braceless control-flow body is not ready.
commit-with-stats checks for it.
Quick self-check on a staged diff (flags added if (...)/for (...)/while (...) lines whose body
is on the same line without an opening brace — review each hit):
git diff --cached -U0 -- '*.kt' | grep -E '^\+' \
| grep -E '\b(if|for|while)\s*\(' \
| grep -vE '\{\s*$' | grep -vE '\)\s*$' \
| grep -vE '=\s*if|=\s*when|return (if|when)'
Every line it prints should be inspected: if it is a braceless statement body, add braces; expression
forms and when arms are fine.
