How do i fix clang-format issues slowing down my C++ pull requests?

[BrianHG]

I’ve been trying to contribute to a large C++ project by fixing minor bugs, but I keep getting my pull requests rejected because my patches don’t follow the project’s specific clang-format rules. I thought getting the logic right was the hard part, but now I’m spending more time adjusting whitespace and brace placement than writing code. Has anyone else hit a wall with automated code formatting tools slowing down their initial contributions?

[OliverH]

Yep I hit that wall I felt like I was chasing whitespace ghosts I fixed a bug and the patch got rejected again because it changed indentation or line breaks I added a local clang format pass and a pre commit hook and kept the repo clang format rules but even small diffs still trigger a reformat

[Robert_J]

Same here I tried to copy a working patch to understand the style but each file had its own nuance the config seemed to drift between modules and I spent more time running format than actually coding and it felt endless.

[BenjaminD]

Do you think the problem is not the code but the review expectations sometimes reviewers want a patch that is perfect in format and tests and that can stall progress?

[David_J]

Another angle I tried was to wait until a big batch of changes and then fix formatting across the board but that slowed things down and I dropped the patch when it felt pointless