How can I convert tabs to spaces in every file of a directory?

Question

How can I convert tabs to spaces in every file of a directory (possibly recursively)?

Also, is there a way of setting the number of spaces per tab?

Answer 1

Use the vim-way:

$ ex +'bufdo retab' -cxa **/*.*

• ^{Make the backup! before executing the above command, as it can corrupt your binary files.}
• ^{To use globstar (**) for recursion, activate by shopt -s globstar.}
• ^{To specify specific file type, use for example: **/*.c.}

To modify tabstop, add +'set ts=2'.

However the down-side is that it can replace tabs inside the strings.

So for slightly better solution (by using substitution), try:

$ ex -s +'bufdo %s/^\t\+/  /ge' -cxa **/*.*

Or by using ex editor + expand utility:

$ ex -s +'bufdo!%!expand -t2' -cxa **/*.*

For trailing spaces, see: How to remove trailing whitespaces for multiple files?

---

You may add the following function into your .bash_profile:

# Convert tabs to spaces.
# Usage: retab *.*
# See: https://stackoverflow.com/q/11094383/55075
retab() {
  ex +'set ts=2' +'bufdo retab' -cxa $*
}