text-formater

Text Formater

A Python CLI tool for polishing text with Chinese typography rules. Automatically formats mixed Chinese-English text, fixes em-dash spacing, normalizes ellipsis, and more.

Features

Universal Rules (All Languages)

• Ellipsis normalization: Converts . . . or . . . . to ... with proper spacing

Chinese-Specific Rules

• Em-dash spacing: Converts -- to —— with smart spacing around Chinese quotes 《》 and parentheses （）
• Quote spacing: Adds spaces around Chinese quotation marks ""
• CJK-English spacing: Automatically adds spaces between Chinese characters and English letters/numbers
• Multiple space collapsing: Reduces consecutive spaces to single space

File Type Support

• Plain Text (.txt): Direct formatting
• Markdown (.md): Preserves code blocks (fenced, indented, inline)
• HTML (.html, .htm): Formats text content while preserving tags and <code>/<pre> elements

Installation

Requirements

• Python 3.8 or higher

Install from PyPI

# Basic installation
pip install text-formater

# With HTML support (optional)
pip install text-formater[html]

Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/xiaolai/text-formater.git
cd text-formater
pip install -e .

# Or with HTML support
pip install -e ".[html]"

Verify Installation

# Check version
textformat --version

# Show help
textformat --help

# Quick test
textformat "文本English混合"
# Expected output: 文本 English 混合

Usage

Command Line

# Format text directly
textformat "文本English混合"
# Output: 文本 English 混合

# Format with em-dash
textformat "《书名》--作者"
# Output: 《书名》—— 作者

# Read from stdin
echo "文本English混合" | textformat

# Format a single file
textformat input.txt
textformat input.md --output formatted.md

# Format in-place
textformat document.txt --inplace

# Preview changes without writing (dry-run)
textformat document.txt --dry-run

# Format all files in a directory
textformat ./docs/ --inplace
textformat ./docs/ --recursive --inplace

# Format specific file types only
textformat ./docs/ --inplace -e .md -e .txt

Python API

from textformater.polish import polish_text

# Format text
text = "文本English混合，数字123也包含。"
result = polish_text(text)
print(result)
# Output: 文本 English 混合，数字 123 也包含。

# Format with em-dash
text = "《Python编程》--一本好书"
result = polish_text(text)
print(result)
# Output: 《Python 编程》—— 一本好书

from textformater.processors import process_file, find_files

# Process a single file
result = process_file(Path("document.md"))

# Find and process multiple files
files = find_files(Path("./docs"), recursive=True, extensions=['.md', '.txt'])
for file in files:
    result = process_file(file)
    # Do something with result

Configuration

Requires Python 3.11+ (uses built-in tomllib). On Python <3.11, all rules are enabled by default.

Config File Locations

Configuration is loaded with the following priority (highest to lowest):

• Custom path: textformat --config /path/to/config.toml
• Project root: ./textformat.toml
• User config: ~/.config/textformat.toml
• Defaults: All rules enabled

Quick Start

# Copy example config to your project
cp textformat.toml.example textformat.toml

# Or to user config
cp textformat.toml.example ~/.config/textformat.toml

# Edit and customize rules

Configuration Format

# textformat.toml

[rules]
# Toggle built-in rules on/off
ellipsis_normalization = true
dash_conversion = true
emdash_spacing = true
quote_spacing = true
cjk_english_spacing = true
space_collapsing = true

# Define custom regex rules
[[custom_rules]]
name = "arrow_unicode"
pattern = '->'
replacement = '→'
description = "Use Unicode arrows"

[[custom_rules]]
name = "multiply_sign"
pattern = '(\d+)\s*x\s*(\d+)'
replacement = '\1×\2'
description = "Use proper multiplication sign"

Built-in Rules

Rule	Default	Description
ellipsis_normalization	✅	Convert . . . to ...
dash_conversion	✅	Convert -- to ——
emdash_spacing	✅	Fix spacing around ——
quote_spacing	✅	Add spaces around ""
cjk_english_spacing	✅	Space between Chinese & English
space_collapsing	✅	Collapse multiple spaces

Custom Rules

Add your own regex-based transformations:

[[custom_rules]]
name = "rule_name"              # Identifier (required)
pattern = 'regex pattern'       # Regex to match (required)
replacement = 'replacement'     # Replacement text (required)
description = "What it does"    # Optional description

Examples:

# Unicode fractions
[[custom_rules]]
name = "fraction_half"
pattern = '\b1/2\b'
replacement = '½'

# Temperature symbols
[[custom_rules]]
name = "celsius"
pattern = '(\d+)\s*C\b'
replacement = '\1°C'

# Smart quotes
[[custom_rules]]
name = "double_quotes"
pattern = '"([^"]+)"'
replacement = '"\1"'

Usage with Config

# Use project config (auto-detected)
textformat input.txt

# Use specific config file
textformat input.txt --config my-rules.toml

# Show what changed (verbose mode)
textformat input.txt --verbose

# Disable a rule temporarily (edit config file)
# Set: dash_conversion = false

Validating Config Files

# Validate a config file
textformat --validate-config textformat.toml

# Example output for valid config:
# Validating: textformat.toml
# ✓ Configuration is valid

# Example output for invalid config:
# Validating: textformat.toml
# Errors:
#   ✗ Unknown rule name: 'unknown_rule'. Valid rules: ...
#   ✗ custom_rules[0] (bad_regex): Invalid regex pattern: ...

What gets validated:

• ✅ File exists and is readable
• ✅ Valid TOML syntax
• ✅ Rule names match known built-in rules
• ✅ Custom rules have required fields (name, pattern, replacement)
• ✅ Regex patterns compile successfully

Showing Effective Config

# Show which config is active and what rules are enabled
textformat --show-config

# With custom config
textformat --show-config --config my-rules.toml

# Example output:
# Effective Configuration:
#
# Config Source:
#   Project: ./textformat.toml
#
# Built-in Rules:
#   ✓ cjk_english_spacing: True
#   ✗ dash_conversion: False
#   ...
#
# Custom Rules:
#   [1] unicode_arrows
#       pattern: ->
#       replacement: →
#       description: Use Unicode right arrow

Typography Rules

Em-Dash Spacing

Before	After	Rule
text--more	text —— more	Regular text: spaces on both sides
《书名》--作者	《书名》—— 作者	After 》: no space before ——, space after
作者--《书名》	作者 ——《书名》	Before 《: space before ——, no space after
（注释）--内容	（注释）—— 内容	After ）: no space before ——, space after
内容--（注释）	内容 ——（注释）	Before （: space before ——, no space after

CJK-English Spacing

Before	After
中文English	中文 English
数字123	数字 123
100个item	100 个 item

Ellipsis Normalization

Before	After
. . .	...
wait . . . more	wait... more
end . . . .	end...

Development

Running Tests

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=textformater

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_polish.py -v

Project Structure

text-formater/
├── src/
│   └── textformater/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── polish.py        # Core polishing logic
│       ├── processors.py    # File type processors
│       └── cli.py           # Command-line interface
├── tests/
│   ├── test_polish.py       # Polish function tests
│   └── test_processors.py  # File processor tests
├── pyproject.toml           # Package configuration
└── README.md

Adding New Rules

To add a new typography rule:

• Add tests in tests/test_polish.py:

  def test_new_rule(self):
      assert polish_text("input") == "expected_output"
  

• Implement the rule in src/textformater/polish.py:

  def _new_rule(text: str) -> str:
      # Implementation
      return text
  

• Add to pipeline in polish_text():

  def polish_text(text: str) -> str:
      text = _normalize_ellipsis(text)
      text = _new_rule(text)  # Add your rule
      # ... rest of pipeline
      return text.strip()
  

Options

Option	Short	Description
--output PATH	-o	Output file path
--inplace	-i	Modify files in place
--recursive	-r	Process directories recursively
--dry-run	-n	Preview changes without writing
--extensions EXT	-e	File extensions to process (e.g., -e .txt -e .md)
--verbose	-v	Show summary of changes made
--config PATH	-c	Path to custom config file
--validate-config PATH		Validate config file and exit
--show-config		Show effective configuration and exit
--version		Show version and exit

Examples

Format Chinese-English Mixed Content

$ textformat "Python是一门编程语言，有3.11版本。"
Python 是一门编程语言，有 3.11 版本。

Format Book Titles with Em-Dash

$ textformat "《人生》--路遥著"
《人生》—— 路遥著

Batch Process Markdown Files

# Format all markdown files in docs/ and subdirectories
textformat ./docs/ --recursive --inplace -e .md

# Preview changes first
textformat ./docs/ --recursive --dry-run -e .md

Process with Preserved Code Blocks

Markdown code blocks are automatically preserved:

$ cat document.md
# 标题Title

文本English混合

\`\`\`python
# This code won't be formatted
text--more
\`\`\`

$ textformat document.md --inplace
$ cat document.md
# 标题 Title

文本 English 混合

\`\`\`python
# This code won't be formatted
text--more
\`\`\`

License

MIT License

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

• Fork the repository
• Create a feature branch
• Add tests for new functionality
• Ensure all tests pass: pytest
• Submit a pull request

Author

Created by Xiaolai for the TEPUB project.

Originally developed as part of TEPUB, a tool for EPUB translation and audiobook generation.