VSCode formatter formats binary operator as unary operator

[ChrisBlueStone]

Environment

• OS and Version: Windows 10 Pro, 10.0.19045
• VS Code Version: 1.99.3
• C/C++ Extension Version: 1.24.5
• If using SSH remote, specify OS of remote machine: N/A

Bug Summary and Steps to Reproduce

Bug Summary:
When formatting with the default VSCode formatter, custom binary multiply operators are formatted as unary operators.

Steps to reproduce:

struct A { int value; };

int operator+(const A& left, const A& right) { return left.value + right.value; }
int operator*(const A& left, const A& right) { return left.value * right.value; }

int main()
{
    auto result = A{ 3 } + A{ 5 }; // Correct
    auto result = A{ 3 } *A{ 5 }; // Incorrect (VSCode formatter formats binary operator as unary)
}

Expected behavior:

int main()
{
    auto result = A{ 3 } + A{ 5 };
    auto result = A{ 3 } * A{ 5 };
}

Configuration and Logs

-------- Diagnostics - 4/27/2025, 10:59:19 PM
Version: 1.24.5
Current Configuration:
{
    "name": "Win32",
    "includePath": [
        "${workspaceFolder}/**"
    ],
    "defines": [
        "_DEBUG",
        "UNICODE",
        "_UNICODE"
    ],
    "windowsSdkVersion": "10.0.19041.0",
    "compilerPath": "cl.exe",
    "cStandard": "c17",
    "cppStandard": "c++17",
    "intelliSenseMode": "windows-msvc-x64",
    "compilerPathInCppPropertiesJson": "cl.exe",
    "intelliSenseModeIsExplicit": false,
    "cStandardIsExplicit": false,
    "cppStandardIsExplicit": false,
    "mergeConfigurations": false,
    "recursiveIncludes": {
        "reduce": "default",
        "priority": "afterSystemIncludes",
        "order": "depthFirst"
    },
    "compilerPathIsExplicit": false,
    "browse": {
        "limitSymbolsToIncludedHeaders": true
    }
}
Modified Settings:
{
    "C_Cpp.vcFormat.indent.accessSpecifiers": true,
    "C_Cpp.formatting": "vcFormat"
}
Additional Tracked Settings:
{
    "editorTabSize": 4,
    "editorInsertSpaces": true,
    "editorAutoClosingBrackets": "languageDefined",
    "filesEncoding": "utf8",
    "filesAssociations": {},
    "filesExclude": {
        "**/.git": true,
        "**/.svn": true,
        "**/.hg": true,
        "**/.DS_Store": true,
        "**/Thumbs.db": true
    },
    "filesAutoSaveAfterDelay": false,
    "editorInlayHintsEnabled": true,
    "editorParameterHintsEnabled": true,
    "searchExclude": {
        "**/node_modules": true,
        "**/bower_components": true,
        "**/*.code-search": true
    },
    "workbenchSettingsEditor": "ui"
}
cpptools version (native): 1.24.5.0
Current database path: C:\USERS\TEST\APPDATA\LOCAL\TEMP\{BF92AA07-4564-420A-8B97-93EF3AA9C2E6}\.BROWSE.VC.DB
Translation Unit Mappings:
[ D:\main.cpp - source TU]:
Translation Unit Configurations:
[ D:\main.cpp ]
    Process ID: 7852
    Memory Usage: 50 MB
    Compiler Path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.38.33130\bin\Hostx64\x64\cl.exe
    Include paths:
        system include: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.38.33130\include
        system include: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.38.33130\atlmfc\include
        system include: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.19041.0\um
        system include: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.19041.0\ucrt
        system include: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.19041.0\shared
        system include: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.19041.0\winrt
        system include: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.19041.0\cppwinrt
    Defines:
        _DEBUG
        UNICODE
        _UNICODE
    Standard Version: ms_c++17
    IntelliSense Mode: windows-msvc-x64
Total Memory Usage: 50 MB

------- Workspace parsing diagnostics -------
Number of files discovered (not excluded): 4887

Other Extensions

No response

Additional context

No response

[ChrisBlueStone]

If I disable the setting "C_Cpp.vcFormat.space.removeAroundUnaryOperator": false, then the space to the right of the * operator does not get removed (but it will not add a space if one is not already present as it would with the + operator).

[sean-mcmanus]

@ChrisBlueStone This works correctly with the clangFormat formatting mode. I've filed an issue on the formatter implementation shared with VS at https://developercommunity.visualstudio.com/t/C-formatting-of-binary-operator-is-in/10896788 .