---
title: "Blank lines"
description: "Whitespace-only lines."
keywords: ["blank lines", "whitespace", "loc"]
---

**Blank** lines are whitespace-only physical lines — no code, no comment.

## What mehen emits

| Key | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `loc.blank` | int | Whitespace-only lines. |

## How it is computed

A line counts toward `loc.blank` when its full physical text is empty or whitespace-only. Lines that
contain only a comment do not count as blank — they count toward [CLOC](/metrics/code/cloc).

## When it is useful

- **Whitespace ratio** — a high blank-line ratio sometimes indicates excessive vertical separation, often
  in generated code.
- **Identity check** — `sloc == ploc + cloc + blank` should hold (within the rules of how mixed lines are
  attributed). If it doesn't, that's a parser bug.

## References

- Park, R. E. (1992). *Software Size Measurement: A Framework for Counting Source Statements.*
  CMU/SEI-92-TR-20.
  [SEI report](https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/library/software-size-measurement-a-framework-for-counting-source-statements/).

## See also

- [LOC family](/metrics/code/loc) — overview.
- [SLOC](/metrics/code/sloc), [PLOC](/metrics/code/ploc), [CLOC](/metrics/code/cloc).
