| # New Line at the End of file | |
| In most cases, it is [recommended](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/729692/why-should-text-files-end-with-a-newline) to include a new line at the end of text / source files. [POSIX compliance](http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/V1_chap03.html#tag_03_206) is one historical reason, but it also ensures that tools, for example `cat`, return cleanly at the end of their output: | |
| ## Not so nice | |
| ``` | |
| $ cat file-without-newline-at-eol.js | |
| reticulateSplines() | |
| .then( stopSlackingOff ); | |
| commenceLoafing();yourcoolhostname:yourcoolproject yourcoolusername$ | |
| ``` | |
| Your prompt ends up combined with the last line as the end of the source file. | |
| ## Better! | |
| ``` | |
| $ cat file-with-newline-at-eol.js | |
| compileKernel() | |
| .then( continueBuilding ); | |
| waitForIt(); | |
| yourcoolhostname:yourcoolproject yourcoolusername$ | |
| ``` | |
| Your prompt stands alone on a new line. | |
| ## Tools | |
| - The wpcalypso eslint config [deems](https://github.com/Automattic/eslint-config-wpcalypso/blob/ff0a4e6120113c40cd432d19350497d7612fde97/index.js#L26) it an error if files do not ["end with a newline (LF)"](https://eslint.org/docs/rules/eol-last) | |
| - Prettier reformats files to add a newline at the end ["by design"](https://github.com/prettier/prettier/issues/55#issuecomment-301301268) | |
| - Most (if not all) major editors have settings to add newlines at the end of source files. For example: | |
| - nano: enabled by default. To disable, you supply the `-L` flag | |
| - Atom: enabled by default. To disable, you override settings for the core package, [`whitespace`](https://github.com/atom/whitespace) | |