I've been using VS Code for Java for the past year or so. For the most part, I've been super happy. But one thing has been driving me crazy.

The problem

I write a nicely formatted chain of methods, like:

public Weather getWeather(Double lat, Double lon) {
  return webClient.get()
      .uri(uri -> uri.path("/")
          .queryParam("lat", lat.toString())
          .queryParam("lon", lon.toString())
          .queryParam("units", "metric")
          .queryParam("apiKey", apiKey)
          .build())
      .retrieve()
      .toEntity(Weather.class)
      .block()
      .getBody();
}

But when I save the file, the formatter "helps" me out by smashing all of it on as few lines as possible:

public Weather getWeather(Double lat, Double lon) {
  return webClient.get()
      .uri(uri -> uri.path("/").queryParam("lat", lat.toString()).queryParam("lon", lon.toString())
          .queryParam("units", "metric").queryParam("apiKey", apiKey).build())
      .retrieve().toEntity(Weather.class).block().getBody();
}

The solution

The solution ended up being simple, just not that well documented. VS Code Java uses a headless Eclipse not only for Intellisense and other code actions, but also for code formatting.

A helpful Gist pointed to a way of using an Eclipse settings file to configure the formatter per project. But I wanted a solution that would work across projects. Finally, I found a super helpful Stack Overflow answer that outlined how to do just that.

1. Get a formatter config XML file

You can either use a formatter like the Google Java Style Guide (which I did) or export your Eclipse profile through Preferences > Java > Code Style > Formatter.

Save the file somewhere convenient where it won't get deleted. I chose ~/.vscode/eclipse-java-google-style.xml.

2. Change the join wrapped lines property to false

In the settings XML file, find the org.eclipse.jdt.core.formatter.join_wrapped_lines property, and set its value to false. Add the property if you don't have it.

<setting id="org.eclipse.jdt.core.formatter.join_wrapped_lines" value="false"/>

3. Tell VS Code to use the format config

Open the VS Code settings (settings.json) and add the following line (remember to update the path):

"java.format.settings.url": "~/.vscode/eclipse-java-google-style.xml",

4. Profit

Restart VS Code. Change a Java file and the formatter should now produce a much nicer output.