diff --git a/src/MANYBODY/pair_sw.cpp b/src/MANYBODY/pair_sw.cpp
index bac65a2464..239b125f93 100644
--- a/src/MANYBODY/pair_sw.cpp
+++ b/src/MANYBODY/pair_sw.cpp
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ void PairSW::read_file(char *file)
 
   if (comm->me == 0) {
     PotentialFileReader reader(lmp, file, "sw", unit_convert_flag);
-    char * line;
+    char *line;
 
     // transparently convert units for supported conversions