Prefer Unquoted Atoms

Atoms should not be quoted unless syntactically necessary.

Avoid

case Value of
    'ok' -> done
end.

Prefer

case Value of
    ok -> done
end.

When the atom letters are lowercase and the atom is not a reserved word, quotes add noise without helping the parser.

Rationale

Unquoted atoms are the usual Erlang style when the language allows them. Removing unnecessary '...' improves readability and matches what readers expect. Atoms that must stay quoted—reserved words like maybe, uppercase names, or atoms with special characters—are not reported by this rule.

Quick fix

Use an Erlang code formatter that enforces strict rules for quoted atoms.

Options

• None.

Example configuration

{elvis_style, prefer_unquoted_atoms, #{}}