spacemacs/layers/+checkers/syntax-checking

Syntax Checking layer

• Description
  • Features:
• Install
  • Layer
  • Enabling/Disabling tooltips
  • Disabling by default
  • Enable flycheck globally
  • Bitmaps
• Key bindings

Description

This layer adds on the fly syntax checking to all supported language layers.

Features:

• Support for automatic syntax checking with Flycheck for various language layers
• Tooltip syntax errors with popwin

Install

Layer

To use this configuration layer, add it to your ~/.spacemacs. You will need to add syntax-checking to the existing dotspacemacs-configuration-layers list in this file.

As this is a support layer you will also have to install at least one supported language layer for it to have any effect.

Enabling/Disabling tooltips

By default tooltips are enabled and used whenever it is possible. You can disable them by setting the variable syntax-checking-enable-tooltips to nil:

  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
    '((syntax-checking :variables syntax-checking-enable-tooltips nil)))

Disabling by default

By default, syntax-checking is enabled in all available major modes (except for emacs-lisp-mode) and may be toggled off with SPC t s. You can default this to off by setting the variable syntax-checking-enable-by-default to nil:

  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
    '((syntax-checking :variables syntax-checking-enable-by-default nil)))

If you want more fine-grained control, you can configure the variable flycheck-global-modes instead. Note that this variable should be manipulated in dotspacemacs/user-config.

Enable flycheck globally

Normally Spacemacs goes a long mile to enable syntax checking only where it makes sense. If syntax checking support is missing it is normally only a matter of declaring it in the layer. The best approach in this case is to open an issue and ask for syntax checking support.

Some guides on the web suggest to enable flycheck globally by setting (global-flycheck-mode) in your dotspacemacs/user-config. This is neither necessary nor is it good for the layer system. In the contrary by doing so the layer system cannot longer decide for which modes activating flycheck would bring any useful outcome. This may result in loading slow or not properly configured checkers as well as break some of the more advanced configuration settings of the layer system.

Bitmaps

If the original flycheck fringe bitmaps are more to your liking, you can set the variable syntax-checking-use-original-bitmaps to t:

  (setq-default dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
    '((syntax-checking :variables syntax-checking-use-original-bitmaps t)))

Key bindings

Key binding	Description
SPC e b	check for errors now
SPC e c	clear errors
SPC e h	describe flycheck checker
SPC e l	display a list of all the errors
SPC e L	display a list of all the errors and focus the errors buffer
SPC e s	set flycheck checker
SPC e S	set flycheck checker executable
SPC e v	verify flycheck setup
SPC t s	toggle flycheck
SPC e x	explain the error at point