diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/CodeFormatterApplication.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/CodeFormatterApplication.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4c849fe0e68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/CodeFormatterApplication.java
@@ -0,0 +1,327 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2005, 2017 IBM Corporation and others.
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ * Mustafa Yuecel - initial implementation - adapted from org.eclipse.jdt.core
+ *******************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.cdt.core.formatter;
+
+import java.io.BufferedInputStream;
+import java.io.BufferedWriter;
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.io.FileWriter;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+import org.eclipse.cdt.core.CCorePlugin;
+import org.eclipse.cdt.core.ToolFactory;
+import org.eclipse.cdt.core.formatter.CodeFormatter;
+import org.eclipse.core.runtime.content.IContentType;
+import org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplication;
+import org.eclipse.equinox.app.IApplicationContext;
+import org.eclipse.jface.text.BadLocationException;
+import org.eclipse.jface.text.Document;
+import org.eclipse.jface.text.IDocument;
+import org.eclipse.text.edits.TextEdit;
+
+/**
+ * Implements an Eclipse Application for org.eclipse.cdt.core.CodeFormatter.
+ *
+ * On MacOS, when invoked using the Eclipse executable, the "user.dir" property is set to the folder
+ * in which the eclipse.ini file is located. This makes it harder to use relative paths to point to the
+ * files to be formatted or the configuration file to use to set the code formatter's options.
+ *
+ * There are a couple improvements that could be made: 1. Make a list of all the
+ * files first so that a file does not get formatted twice. 2. Use a text based
+ * progress monitor for output.
+ *
+ * @author Ben Konrath
+ * @since 6.3
+ * @noinstantiate This class is not intended to be instantiated by clients.
+ * @noextend This class is not intended to be subclassed by clients.
+ */
+public class CodeFormatterApplication implements IApplication {
+
+ private static final String ARG_CONFIG = "-config"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+ private static final String ARG_HELP = "-help"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+ private static final String ARG_QUIET = "-quiet"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+ private static final String ARG_VERBOSE = "-verbose"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+ private String configName;
+
+ @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+ private Map options = null;
+
+ private boolean quiet = false;
+
+ private boolean verbose = false;
+
+ /**
+ * Display the command line usage message.
+ */
+ private void displayHelp() {
+ System.out.println(Messages.CommandLineUsage);
+ }
+
+ private void displayHelp(String message) {
+ System.err.println(message);
+ System.out.println();
+ displayHelp();
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Recursively format the C/C++ source code that is contained in the
+ * directory rooted at dir.
+ */
+ private void formatDirTree(File dir, CodeFormatter codeFormatter) {
+
+ File[] files = dir.listFiles();
+ if (files == null)
+ return;
+
+ for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
+ File file = files[i];
+ if (file.isDirectory()) {
+ formatDirTree(file, codeFormatter);
+ } else if (hasSuitableFileExtension(file)) {
+ formatFile(file, codeFormatter);
+ }
+ }
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Format the given C/C++ source file.
+ */
+ private void formatFile(File file, CodeFormatter codeFormatter) {
+ IDocument doc = new Document();
+ try {
+ // read the file
+ if (this.verbose) {
+ System.out.println(Messages.bind(Messages.CommandLineFormatting, file.getAbsolutePath()));
+ }
+ String contents = new String(Files.readAllBytes(file.toPath())); // compatible only with Java 7+
+ // format the file (the meat and potatoes)
+ doc.set(contents);
+ TextEdit edit = codeFormatter.format(CodeFormatter.K_TRANSLATION_UNIT, contents, 0, contents.length(), 0, null);
+ if (edit != null) {
+ edit.apply(doc);
+ } else {
+ System.err.println(Messages.bind(Messages.FormatProblem, file.getAbsolutePath()));
+ return;
+ }
+
+ // write the file
+ final BufferedWriter out = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(file));
+ try {
+ out.write(doc.get());
+ out.flush();
+ } finally {
+ try {
+ out.close();
+ } catch (IOException e) {
+ /* ignore */
+ }
+ }
+ } catch (IOException e) {
+ String errorMessage = Messages.bind(Messages.CaughtException, "IOException", e.getLocalizedMessage()); //$NON-NLS-1$
+ System.err.println(Messages.bind(Messages.ExceptionSkip ,errorMessage));
+ } catch (BadLocationException e) {
+ String errorMessage = Messages.bind(Messages.CaughtException, "BadLocationException", e.getLocalizedMessage()); //$NON-NLS-1$
+ System.err.println(Messages.bind(Messages.ExceptionSkip ,errorMessage));
+ }
+ }
+
+ private File[] processCommandLine(String[] argsArray) {
+
+ ArrayList args = new ArrayList();
+ for (int i = 0, max = argsArray.length; i < max; i++) {
+ args.add(argsArray[i]);
+ }
+ int index = 0;
+ final int argCount = argsArray.length;
+
+ final int DEFAULT_MODE = 0;
+ final int CONFIG_MODE = 1;
+
+ int mode = DEFAULT_MODE;
+
+ ArrayList filesToFormat = new ArrayList();
+
+ loop: while (index < argCount) {
+ String currentArg = argsArray[index++];
+
+ switch(mode) {
+ case DEFAULT_MODE :
+ if (ARG_HELP.equals(currentArg)) {
+ displayHelp();
+ return null;
+ }
+ if (ARG_VERBOSE.equals(currentArg)) {
+ this.verbose = true;
+ continue loop;
+ }
+ if (ARG_QUIET.equals(currentArg)) {
+ this.quiet = true;
+ continue loop;
+ }
+ if (ARG_CONFIG.equals(currentArg)) {
+ mode = CONFIG_MODE;
+ continue loop;
+ }
+ // the current arg should be a file or a directory name
+ File file = new File(currentArg);
+ if (file.exists()) {
+ filesToFormat.add(file);
+ } else {
+ String canonicalPath;
+ try {
+ canonicalPath = file.getCanonicalPath();
+ } catch(IOException e2) {
+ canonicalPath = file.getAbsolutePath();
+ }
+ String errorMsg = file.isAbsolute() ?
+ Messages.bind(Messages.CommandLineErrorFile, canonicalPath):
+ Messages.bind(Messages.CommandLineErrorFileTryFullPath, canonicalPath);
+ displayHelp(errorMsg);
+ return null;
+ }
+ break;
+ case CONFIG_MODE :
+ this.configName = currentArg;
+ this.options = readConfig(currentArg);
+ boolean validConfig = false;
+ if (this.options != null && !this.options.isEmpty()) {
+ @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+ Iterator it = this.options.keySet().iterator();
+ // at least 1 property key starts with org.eclipse.cdt.core.formatter
+ while (it.hasNext()) {
+ if (it.next().startsWith(this.getClass().getPackage().getName())) {
+ validConfig = true;
+ break;
+ }
+ }
+ }
+ if (!validConfig) {
+ displayHelp(Messages.bind(Messages.CommandLineErrorConfig, currentArg));
+ return null;
+ }
+ mode = DEFAULT_MODE;
+ continue loop;
+ }
+ }
+
+ if (this.quiet && this.verbose) {
+ displayHelp(
+ Messages.bind(
+ Messages.CommandLineErrorQuietVerbose,
+ new String[] { ARG_QUIET, ARG_VERBOSE }
+ ));
+ return null;
+ }
+ if (filesToFormat.isEmpty()) {
+ displayHelp(Messages.CommandLineErrorFileDir);
+ return null;
+ }
+ return filesToFormat.toArray(new File[0]);
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Return a Properties file representing the options that are in the
+ * specified configuration file.
+ */
+ private Properties readConfig(String filename) {
+ File configFile = new File(filename);
+ try (BufferedInputStream stream = new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(configFile))) {
+ final Properties formatterOptions = new Properties();
+ formatterOptions.load(stream);
+ return formatterOptions;
+ } catch (IOException e) {
+ String canonicalPath = null;
+ try {
+ canonicalPath = configFile.getCanonicalPath();
+ } catch(IOException e2) {
+ canonicalPath = configFile.getAbsolutePath();
+ }
+ String errorMessage;
+ if (!configFile.exists() && !configFile.isAbsolute()) {
+ errorMessage = Messages.bind(Messages.ConfigFileNotFoundErrorTryFullPath, new Object[] {
+ canonicalPath,
+ System.getProperty("user.dir") //$NON-NLS-1$
+ });
+
+ } else {
+ errorMessage = Messages.bind(Messages.ConfigFileReadingError, canonicalPath);
+ }
+ System.err.println(errorMessage);
+ }
+ return null;
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Checks if given file name ends with e.g. .c .cpp or .h
+ */
+ private boolean hasSuitableFileExtension(File file) {
+ IContentType ct= CCorePlugin.getContentType(null, file.getName());
+ if (ct != null) {
+ String id = ct.getId();
+ if (CCorePlugin.CONTENT_TYPE_CSOURCE.equals(id) || CCorePlugin.CONTENT_TYPE_CHEADER.equals(id) ||
+ CCorePlugin.CONTENT_TYPE_CXXSOURCE.equals(id) || CCorePlugin.CONTENT_TYPE_CXXHEADER.equals(id)) {
+ return true;
+ }
+ }
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Runs the code formatter application
+ */
+ @Override
+ public Object start(IApplicationContext context) throws Exception {
+ File[] filesToFormat = processCommandLine((String[]) context.getArguments().get(IApplicationContext.APPLICATION_ARGS));
+
+ if (filesToFormat == null) {
+ return IApplication.EXIT_OK;
+ }
+
+ if (!this.quiet) {
+ if (this.configName != null) {
+ System.out.println(Messages.bind(Messages.CommandLineConfigFile, this.configName));
+ }
+ System.out.println(Messages.CommandLineStart);
+ }
+
+ @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+ final CodeFormatter codeFormatter = ToolFactory.createCodeFormatter(this.options);
+ // format the list of files and/or directories
+ for (int i = 0, max = filesToFormat.length; i < max; i++) {
+ final File file = filesToFormat[i];
+ if (file.isDirectory()) {
+ formatDirTree(file, codeFormatter);
+ } else {
+ formatFile(file, codeFormatter);
+ }
+ }
+ if (!this.quiet) {
+ System.out.println(Messages.CommandLineDone);
+ }
+
+ return IApplication.EXIT_OK;
+ }
+
+ @Override
+ public void stop() {
+ // do nothing
+ }
+}
diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..994215c1687
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.java
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2005, 2017 IBM Corporation and others.
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ * Mustafa Yuecel - initial implementation - adapted from org.eclipse.jdt.core
+ *******************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.cdt.core.formatter;
+
+import org.eclipse.osgi.util.NLS;
+
+/**
+ * @since 6.3
+ */
+public class Messages extends NLS {
+ public static String CommandLineConfigFile;
+ public static String CommandLineDone;
+ public static String CommandLineErrorConfig;
+ public static String CommandLineErrorFileTryFullPath;
+ public static String CommandLineErrorFile;
+ public static String CommandLineErrorFileDir;
+ public static String CommandLineErrorQuietVerbose;
+ public static String CommandLineFormatting;
+ public static String CommandLineStart;
+ public static String CommandLineUsage;
+ public static String ConfigFileNotFoundErrorTryFullPath;
+ public static String ConfigFileReadingError;
+ public static String FormatProblem;
+ public static String CaughtException;
+ public static String ExceptionSkip;
+
+ static {
+ NLS.initializeMessages(Messages.class.getName(), Messages.class);
+ }
+
+ private Messages() {
+ }
+}
diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.properties b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..35c85d167f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/formatter/Messages.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+###############################################################################
+# Copyright (c) 2006, 2017 Ben Konrath and others.
+# All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+# are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
+# which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+# http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
+#
+# Contributors:
+# Mustafa Yuecel - initial implementation - adapted from org.eclipse.jdt.core
+###############################################################################
+CommandLineStart=Starting format job ...
+CommandLineDone=Done.
+CommandLineConfigFile=Configuration Name: {0}
+CommandLineFormatting=Formatting: {0}
+
+CommandLineUsage=Usage: eclipse -application org.eclipse.cdt.core.CodeFormatter [ OPTIONS ] [ -config ] \n\
+\n\
+\ C/C++ source/header files and/or directories to format.\n\
+\ Only source/header file endings (like .c .cpp or .h) will be formatted in the given directory.\n\
+\ -config Use the formatting style from the specified properties file.\n\
+\ Refer to the help documentation to find out how to generate this file.\n\
+\n\
+\ The usage of -data for setting the workspace is not supported yet and should be avoided!\n\
+\n\
+\ OPTIONS:\n\
+\n\
+\ -help Display this message.\n\
+\ -quiet Only print error messages.\n\
+\ -verbose Be verbose about the formatting job.
+
+CommandLineErrorFileTryFullPath={0} does not exist. Please try specifying valid absolute path.
+CommandLineErrorFile={0} does not exist. Please specify only valid C/C++ source/header files.
+CommandLineErrorConfig=A problem occurred while reading the config file {0}. Expected at least one property name to start with org.eclipse.cdt.core.formatter.
+CommandLineErrorFileDir=You must specify at least one file or directory to format.
+CommandLineErrorQuietVerbose=You cannot use the options {0} and {1} together.
+
+CaughtException=Caught {0}: {1}
+ExceptionSkip= {0}\nSkipping File.
+
+ConfigFileNotFoundErrorTryFullPath=Error reading configuration file (file path: {0}, current user directory used to read the file: {1}). Try specifying absolute path.
+ConfigFileReadingError=Error reading configuration file {0}.
+
+FormatProblem=The Eclipse formatter failed to format {0}. Skipping the file.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/org.eclipse.cdt.doc.user/tasks/cdt_o_tasks.htm b/doc/org.eclipse.cdt.doc.user/tasks/cdt_o_tasks.htm
index 336973b40d7..2d916bc75f4 100644
--- a/doc/org.eclipse.cdt.doc.user/tasks/cdt_o_tasks.htm
+++ b/doc/org.eclipse.cdt.doc.user/tasks/cdt_o_tasks.htm
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@
Selection Searching for C/C++ elements
Setting Source Folders
Include paths and macros for C/C++ indexer
+Using the Formatter Application
+ Running the Formatter Application
+ Generating a Config File for the Formatter Application
+