VSCode Snippet: Automatically Generate Your #ifndef Guards in C/C++

Why waste time rewriting header guards?

When coding in C or C++, every .h file must be protected with a header guard (#ifndef, #define, #endif) to prevent multiple inclusions.
We have all done some mechanical copy-pasting… but VSCode lets you automate it with a very simple snippet.

The magic snippet

Here is an example of a snippet to add to your VSCode User Snippets (menu Preferences > User Snippets → choose cpp.json):

"C C++ Header": {
    "scope": "c, cpp",
    "prefix": "header",
    "description": "Add #ifndef, #define and #endif",

    "body": [
        "#ifndef ${TM_FILENAME_BASE/(.*)/${1:/upcase}/}_H",
        "#define ${TM_FILENAME_BASE/(.*)/${1:/upcase}/}_H",
        "",
        "$0",
        "",
        "#endif"
    ]
}

How does it work?

• Simply type header in a .h file
• Press Tab → VSCode automatically generates:

#ifndef MYFILE_H
#define MYFILE_H

// Your code here

#endif

The file name is picked up automatically and converted to uppercase. 🚀

Time and rigor savings

• No more writing guards by hand
• Guaranteed uniformity across all your headers
• Fewer multiple-inclusion errors

A small snippet, a big everyday comfort.