Freemarker Template Formatter

Freemarker Template Formatter processes FTL sources to produce a consistent, readable layout without changing template semantics. It targets developers and templating teams who maintain large codebases with many contributors. The tool accepts raw Freemarker templates, analyzes structural elements such as directives, macro definitions, and nested blocks, and applies a uniform style to whitespace, indentation, and line breaks. By normalizing these aspects, diffs become easier to review and revisions less error-prone, especially in CI pipelines or when onboarding new team members.
It uses a Freemarker-aware parser to identify blocks like <#if>, <#list>, and <#macro>, preserving their content while reflowing surrounding whitespace. The formatter supports configurable indentation widths (2 or 4 spaces), a maximum line length, and optional attribute wrapping. It keeps comments, string literals, and interpolation expressions intact, and it avoids altering runtime expressions. Advanced users can enable or disable attribute wrapping, decide whether to keep blank lines, and generate a side-by-side diff for review.
Use cases include pre-commit formatting, CI checks, and bulk cleanup of legacy templates across services. The tool is particularly valuable for Java-based web apps that rely on Freemarker for server-side rendering, enabling consistent templates across modules and reducing merge conflicts. Unique value comes from domain-aware formatting that respects Freemarker semantics while offering pragmatic defaults and optional customization.