diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 06b8dc6cbf..032b056283 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ The steps are exactly the same for everyone involved in the project (be it core
 1. Create a branch on your fork and work on the feature. For example: `git checkout -b custom-headers-akka-http`
    - Please make sure to follow the general quality guidelines (specified below) when developing your patch.
    - Please write additional tests covering your feature and adjust existing ones if needed before submitting your pull request. The `validatePullRequest` sbt task ([explained below](#the-validatepullrequest-task)) may come in handy to verify your changes are correct.
+   - Use the `verifyCodeStyle` sbt task to make sure your code is properly formatted and includes the proper copyright headers.
 1. Once your feature is complete, prepare the commit following our [Creating Commits And Writing Commit Messages](#creating-commits-and-writing-commit-messages). For example, a good commit message would be: `Adding compression support for Manifests #22222` (note the reference to the ticket it aimed to resolve).
 1. If it's a new feature, or a change of behavior, document it on the [akka-docs](https://github.com/akka/akka/tree/master/akka-docs). If the feature was touching Scala or Java DSL, make sure to document both the Scala and Java APIs.
 1. Now it's finally time to [submit the pull request](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests)!
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 42c233ded0..a53103bdac 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -9,14 +9,31 @@ enablePlugins(
   ScalafixIgnoreFilePlugin,
   JavaFormatterPlugin)
 disablePlugins(MimaPlugin)
+
+// check format and headers
+TaskKey[Unit]("verifyCodeFmt") := {
+  javafmtCheckAll.all(ScopeFilter(inAnyProject)).result.value.toEither.left.foreach { _ =>
+    throw new MessageOnlyException(
+      "Unformatted Java code found. Please run 'javafmtAll' (or use the 'applyCodeStyle' alias) and commit the reformatted code")
+  }
+
+  scalafmtCheckAll.all(ScopeFilter(inAnyProject)).result.value.toEither.left.foreach { _ =>
+    throw new MessageOnlyException(
+      "Unformatted Scala code found. Please run 'scalafmtAll' (or use the 'applyCodeStyle' alias) and commit the reformatted code")
+  }
+}
+
+addCommandAlias("verifyCodeStyle", "headerCheckAll; verifyCodeFmt")
+addCommandAlias("applyCodeStyle", "headerCreateAll; javafmtAll; scalafmtAll")
+
 addCommandAlias(
   name = "fixall",
   value =
-    ";scalafixEnable;compile:scalafix;test:scalafix;multi-jvm:scalafix;scalafmtAll;test:compile;multi-jvm:compile;reload")
+    ";scalafixEnable; compile:scalafix; test:scalafix; multi-jvm:scalafix; scalafmtAll; test:compile; multi-jvm:compile; reload")
 
 addCommandAlias(
   name = "sortImports",
-  value = ";scalafixEnable;compile:scalafix SortImports;test:scalafix SortImports;scalafmtAll")
+  value = ";scalafixEnable; compile:scalafix SortImports; test:scalafix SortImports; scalafmtAll")
 
 import akka.AkkaBuild._
 import akka.{ AkkaBuild, Dependencies, OSGi, Protobuf, SigarLoader, VersionGenerator }
@@ -321,7 +338,8 @@ lazy val protobufV3 = akkaModule("akka-protobuf-v3")
     exportJars := true, // in dependent projects, use assembled and shaded jar
     makePomConfiguration := makePomConfiguration.value
         .withConfigurations(Vector(Compile)), // prevent original dependency to be added to pom as runtime dep
-    packagedArtifact in (Compile, packageBin) := Scoped.mkTuple2((artifact in (Compile, packageBin)).value, OsgiKeys.bundle.value),
+    packagedArtifact in (Compile, packageBin) := Scoped
+        .mkTuple2((artifact in (Compile, packageBin)).value, OsgiKeys.bundle.value),
     packageBin in Compile := ReproducibleBuildsPlugin
         .postProcessJar((assembly in Compile).value), // package by running assembly
     // Prevent cyclic task dependencies, see https://github.com/sbt/sbt-assembly/issues/365