demoji

A fast CLI tool to remove or replace emoji characters from source code files. Works as a standalone tool or integrates with IDEs like Xcode and VS Code to show emoji locations as compiler warnings.

Installation

# Homebrew (macOS)
brew install dbmrq/tap/demoji

# Cargo (cross-platform)
cargo install demoji

# From source
git clone https://github.com/dbmrq/demoji.git
cd demoji && cargo install --path .

Quick Start

# Clean emojis from source files
demoji src/

# Check for emojis without modifying (for CI/linting)
demoji --check src/

# Preview changes without modifying
demoji --dry-run src/

IDE Integration

Getting Compiler Warnings in Your IDE

Use --format gcc to output in the standard compiler warning format. IDEs like Xcode and VS Code automatically parse this format and show clickable warnings at the exact emoji locations.

demoji --check --format gcc src/

Output:

/path/to/File.swift:42:15: warning: emoji found: 🎉
/path/to/File.swift:87:22: warning: emoji found: 👍

Xcode Build Phase

Add a Run Script build phase to see emoji warnings in Xcode's Issue Navigator:

1. Select your target → Build Phases → + → New Run Script Phase
2. Add this script:

if command -v demoji &> /dev/null; then
    demoji --format gcc --extensions swift,m,h,mm "$SRCROOT"
fi

Result: Emojis appear as ⚠️ warnings in the Issue Navigator. Click to jump directly to the line!

To fail the build if emojis are found (without auto-fixing):

if command -v demoji &> /dev/null; then
    demoji --check --format gcc --extensions swift,m,h,mm "$SRCROOT"
fi

VS Code

Add to .vscode/tasks.json:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Check Emojis",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "demoji",
      "args": ["--check", "--format", "gcc", "${workspaceFolder}"],
      "problemMatcher": {
        "pattern": {
          "regexp": "^(.*):(\\d+):(\\d+): warning: (.*)$",
          "file": 1,
          "line": 2,
          "column": 3,
          "message": 4
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Run the task (Cmd+Shift+P → "Run Task" → "Check Emojis") to see issues in the Problems panel.

GitHub Actions

Use --format github to get inline annotations in pull requests:

- name: Check for emojis
  run: |
    cargo install demoji
    demoji --check --format github src/

Emojis appear as annotations directly in the PR diff!

Usage

demoji [OPTIONS] [PATH]...    # Process files (writes changes by default)
demoji --check [PATH]...      # Check only, exit 1 if emojis found
demoji --dry-run [PATH]...    # Preview changes without writing
demoji watch [PATH]...        # Watch and auto-clean on save
demoji init                   # Create .demoji.toml config

Options

Option	Description
--write	Write changes to files (default behavior)
--check	Check mode - report emojis, exit 1 if found, don't modify
--dry-run	Preview changes without modifying files
--format <FORMAT>	Output format: human, gcc, json, github
--mode <MODE>	Replacement mode: smart, remove, replace, placeholder
--extensions <EXT>	File extensions to process (e.g., swift,m,h)
--exclude <PATTERN>	Patterns to exclude
--backup	Create .bak files before modifying
--placeholder <TEXT>	Custom placeholder text
-v, --verbose	Detailed output
-q, --quiet	Suppress output

Output Formats

Format	Description	Use Case
human	Colored, human-readable (default)	Terminal use
gcc	file:line:col: warning: message	Xcode, VS Code, any IDE
github	GitHub Actions annotations	CI with inline PR comments
json	Machine-readable JSON	Scripting, custom tooling

Replacement Modes

Mode	Description
smart	Replace functional emojis (✅→[OK], ❌→[X]), remove decorative ones
remove	Delete all emojis entirely
replace	Replace all emojis with ASCII equivalents
placeholder	Replace with custom text (use with --placeholder)

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success (no emojis found, or emojis cleaned successfully)
1	Emojis found (in --check or --dry-run mode)
2	Error (invalid path, permission denied, etc.)

Configuration

Create .demoji.toml in your project root:

mode = "smart"               # smart | remove | replace | placeholder
backup = false
placeholder = "[EMOJI]"
extensions = ["swift", "m", "h", "rs", "py", "js"]
ignore_patterns = ["vendor/**", "*.min.js", "Pods/**"]

More Integration Examples

Pre-commit Hook

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: local
    hooks:
      - id: demoji
        name: demoji
        entry: demoji --check
        language: system
        types: [text]

Makefile

lint:
	demoji --check --format gcc src/

fix:
	demoji src/

Git Hook

# .git/hooks/pre-commit
#!/bin/sh
demoji --check . || {
    echo "Emojis found. Run 'demoji' to clean them."
    exit 1
}

License

MIT