Prettier Plugin Conflicts: AI-Optimized Configuration Guide

Critical Failure Modes and Operational Intelligence

Plugin Loading Order (90% of failures)

Critical Rule: More specific plugins first, general plugins last

• Correct Order: prettier-plugin-svelte → prettier-plugin-organize-imports → prettier-plugin-tailwindcss
• Failure Impact: Wrong order = broken formatting, deleted imports, class sorting failures
• Detection: Individual plugins work, combinations fail

Version Compatibility Matrix

Working Combinations (August 2025):

{
  "prettier": "3.6.2",
  "prettier-plugin-organize-imports": "4.1.0", 
  "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "0.6.8",
  "prettier-plugin-svelte": "3.2.4"
}

Breaking Points:

• Prettier 4.x breaks most plugins (not released yet)
• organize-imports 5.x has destructive changes
• tailwindcss 0.7.x has parser conflicts

Parser Conflicts Resolution

Symptoms: Couldn't resolve parser "X" from plugin "Y"
Solution: Explicit parser overrides in configuration

{
  "overrides": [
    {"files": "*.svelte", "options": {"parser": "svelte"}},
    {"files": ["*.js", "*.jsx", "*.ts", "*.tsx"], "options": {"parser": "typescript"}}
  ]
}

VS Code Integration Failures

Common Symptoms:

• Works in CLI, fails in editor
• Intermittent formatting
• "Format Document" does nothing

Nuclear Fix:

{
  "prettier.requireConfig": true,
  "prettier.resolveGlobalModules": false,
  "prettier.useEditorConfig": false
}

Critical: Requires full VS Code restart, not just reload

Package Manager Issues

pnpm: Requires shamefully-hoist=true in .npmrc
Yarn workspaces: Needs "pluginSearchDirs": ["./node_modules", "../node_modules"]
bun: Use npm for Prettier plugins only

Configuration Templates by Use Case

React/Next.js + Tailwind + Import Sorting

{
  "plugins": [
    "prettier-plugin-organize-imports",
    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss"
  ],
  "organizeImportsSkipDestructiveCodeActions": true,
  "tailwindFunctions": ["clsx", "cn", "cva", "tw"]
}

Risk: Import organization can delete "unused" imports that are actually needed

Svelte + Tailwind (High Difficulty)

{
  "plugins": ["prettier-plugin-svelte", "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss"],
  "pluginSearchDirs": ["./node_modules"],
  "svelteStrictMode": false,
  "overrides": [{"files": "*.svelte", "options": {"parser": "svelte"}}]
}

Critical: pluginSearchDirs required for discovery, svelteStrictMode: false prevents parsing errors

TypeScript Monorepo

{
  "overrides": [
    {
      "files": ["apps/web/**/*", "packages/ui/**/*"],
      "options": {"tailwindFunctions": ["clsx", "cn"]}
    },
    {
      "files": ["apps/api/**/*"],
      "options": {"plugins": ["prettier-plugin-organize-imports"]}
    }
  ]
}

Systematic Debugging Process

Step 1: Isolate Plugin Conflicts (5 minutes)

Test Command:

npx prettier --write test.js --config='{"plugins":["single-plugin-name"]}'

Goal: Identify which plugin breaks first

Step 2: Version Compatibility Check

npm ls prettier
npm ls prettier-plugin-tailwindcss
npm ls prettier-plugin-organize-imports

Action: Lock to exact working versions if conflicts found

Step 3: CI/CD Environment Debugging

Common Failures:

• Node version mismatch (lock to same as local)
• Missing node_modules cache
• Different package managers between local/CI
• Case sensitivity on Linux CI vs local Mac/Windows

Step 4: Nuclear Reset Process

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json yarn.lock pnpm-lock.yaml
rm .prettierrc .prettierrc.json prettier.config.js
echo '{"plugins":["prettier-plugin-tailwindcss"]}' > .prettierrc.json
npm install --save-dev --exact prettier@3.6.2 prettier-plugin-tailwindcss@0.6.8

Plugin Compatibility Status

Combination	Status	Key Issues	Time Investment
Tailwind + Organize Imports	✅ Stable	Import interference	15 min setup
Svelte + Tailwind	⚠️ Fragile	Syntax parsing	1-2 hours setup
Astro + Multiple	⚠️ Complex	Parser conflicts	2-4 hours setup
Vue + Tailwind	❌ Broken	Use Volar instead	N/A

Resource Requirements

Time Investment by Complexity

• Simple (Tailwind only): 5-10 minutes
• Standard (React + Tailwind + Imports): 15-30 minutes
• Complex (Svelte/Astro + Multiple): 1-4 hours
• Debug existing broken setup: 2-8 hours

Expertise Requirements

• Basic: Copy-paste configurations, restart VS Code
• Intermediate: Debug plugin loading, understand parser conflicts
• Advanced: Custom overrides, monorepo configurations, CI/CD debugging

Critical Warnings

What Documentation Doesn't Tell You

• Plugin order is not optional - it's deterministic for functionality
• VS Code extension resolution differs from CLI resolution
• organize-imports can delete legitimately used imports
• Package manager differences cause identical configs to fail
• CI environments fail silently with different Node versions

Breaking Points and Failure Modes

• UI Performance: No direct UI impact, but build times increase with complex configs
• Build Failures: Prettier checks in CI will fail with unresolved plugin conflicts
• Developer Experience: Inconsistent formatting between team members causes constant conflicts
• Technical Debt: Broken formatting leads to inconsistent codebases over time

Migration Pain Points

• Prettier 3.x → 4.x will require plugin updates (not yet released)
• organize-imports major versions have destructive breaking changes
• Switching between import sorting plugins requires config rewrites
• Moving between package managers requires plugin resolution changes

Success Criteria for Implementation

• Plugins work identically in CLI and VS Code
• No formatting differences between team members
• CI formatting checks pass consistently
• Plugin order remains stable across dependency updates
• Import organization doesn't delete needed imports

Alternative Solutions

• Biome: Rust-based formatter with built-in import sorting, no plugin system
• dprint: Alternative formatter with simpler plugin resolution
• ESLint rules: Use ESLint for import organization instead of Prettier plugins
• Manual tooling: Separate tools for class sorting vs import organization