diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index baf69cafbf8..b5b7281e5ed 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 all: deps test build-modules build
 
-.PHONY: deps test build-modules build image
+.PHONY: deps test build-modules build image format
 
 # deps will clean out the vendor directory and use go mod for a fresh install
 deps:
@@ -29,3 +29,7 @@ build: test
 # image will build a docker image
 image:
 	docker build -t prebid-server .
+
+# format runs format
+format:
+	./scripts/format.sh -f true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9b657f35db6..cb64ed9a3b1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -47,6 +47,15 @@ go build .
 ./prebid-server
 ```
 
+Run format:
+```
+make format
+```
+or
+```bash
+./scripts/format.sh -f true
+```
+
 Load the landing page in your browser at `http://localhost:8000/`.
 For the full API reference, see [the endpoint documentation](https://docs.prebid.org/prebid-server/endpoints/pbs-endpoint-overview.html)
 
diff --git a/scripts/format.sh b/scripts/format.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..d5f33e517e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/format.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+die() { echo -e "$@" 1>&2 ; exit 1;  }
+
+AUTOFMT=true
+while getopts 'f:' OPTION; do
+  case "$OPTION" in
+    f)
+      AUTOFMT="$OPTARG"
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+# Build a list of all the top-level directories in the project.
+for DIRECTORY in */ ; do
+  GOGLOB="$GOGLOB ${DIRECTORY%/}"
+done
+GOGLOB="${GOGLOB/ docs/}"
+GOGLOB="${GOGLOB/ vendor/}"
+
+# Check that there are no formatting issues
+GOFMT_LINES=`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB | tr '\\\\' '/' | wc -l | xargs`
+if $AUTOFMT; then
+  # if there are files with formatting issues, they will be automatically corrected using the gofmt -w <file> command
+  if [[ $GOFMT_LINES -ne 0 ]]; then
+    FMT_FILES=`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB | tr '\\\\' '/' | xargs`
+    for FILE in $FMT_FILES; do
+        echo "Running: gofmt -s -w $FILE"
+        `gofmt -s -w $FILE`
+    done
+  fi
+else
+  test $GOFMT_LINES -eq 0 || die "gofmt needs to be run, ${GOFMT_LINES} files have issues.  Below is a list of files to review:\n`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB`"
+fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/validate.sh b/validate.sh
index b81ade344d2..becd42ceb50 100755
--- a/validate.sh
+++ b/validate.sh
@@ -17,29 +17,7 @@ while true; do
   esac
 done
 
-die() { echo -e "$@" 1>&2 ; exit 1;  }
-
-# Build a list of all the top-level directories in the project.
-for DIRECTORY in */ ; do
-  GOGLOB="$GOGLOB ${DIRECTORY%/}"
-done
-GOGLOB="${GOGLOB/ docs/}"
-GOGLOB="${GOGLOB/ vendor/}"
-
-# Check that there are no formatting issues
-GOFMT_LINES=`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB | tr '\\\\' '/' | wc -l | xargs`
-if $AUTOFMT; then
-  # if there are files with formatting issues, they will be automatically corrected using the gofmt -w <file> command
-  if [[ $GOFMT_LINES -ne 0 ]]; then
-    FMT_FILES=`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB | tr '\\\\' '/' | xargs`
-    for FILE in $FMT_FILES; do
-        echo "Running: gofmt -s -w $FILE"
-        `gofmt -s -w $FILE`
-    done
-  fi
-else
-  test $GOFMT_LINES -eq 0 || die "gofmt needs to be run, ${GOFMT_LINES} files have issues.  Below is a list of files to review:\n`gofmt -s -l $GOGLOB`"
-fi
+./scripts/format.sh -f $AUTOFMT
 
 # Run the actual tests. Make sure there's enough coverage too, if the flags call for it.
 if $COVERAGE; then