diff --git a/DEVELOPING.md b/DEVELOPING.md
index 177a34d9ae0..2a787bef11f 100644
--- a/DEVELOPING.md
+++ b/DEVELOPING.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ After cloning the following step can help you get setup:
 	- this command `go run cmd/syft/main.go alpine:latest` will compile and run syft against `alpine:latest`
 5. view the README or syft help output for more output options
 
-The main make tasks for common static analysis and testing are `lint`, `lint-fix`, `unit`, `integration`, and `cli`.
+The main make tasks for common static analysis and testing are `lint`, `format`, `lint-fix`, `unit`, `integration`, and `cli`.
 
 See `make help` for all the current make tasks.
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 094c8cddb27..fc0310c2c6e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -118,14 +118,18 @@ lint:  ## Run gofmt + golangci lint checks
 	$(eval MALFORMED_FILENAMES := $(shell find . | grep -e ':'))
 	@bash -c "[[ '$(MALFORMED_FILENAMES)' == '' ]] || (printf '\nfound unsupported filename characters:\n$(MALFORMED_FILENAMES)\n\n' && false)"
 
-.PHONY: lint-fix
-lint-fix:  ## Auto-format all source code + run golangci lint fixers
-	$(call title,Running lint fixers)
+.PHONY: format
+format:  ## Auto-format all source code
+	$(call title,Running formatters)
 	gofmt -w -s .
 	$(GOIMPORTS_CMD) -w .
-	$(LINT_CMD) --fix
 	go mod tidy
 
+.PHONY: lint-fix
+lint-fix: format  ## Auto-format all source code + run golangci lint fixers
+	$(call title,Running lint fixers)
+	$(LINT_CMD) --fix
+
 .PHONY: check-licenses
 check-licenses:  ## Ensure transitive dependencies are compliant with the current license policy
 	$(call title,Checking for license compliance)