Blinter for VS Code

Blinter is a linter and debug companion for batch scripts (.bat, .cmd). It runs the bundled Blinter.exe and surfaces diagnostics in VS Code Problems, hover tooltips, decorations, and a dedicated output view

At a glance

• Windows only (win32)
• Works with .bat and .cmd
• Run and debug through blinter-debug (F5)
• Quick fixes for suppression comments and command casing

Release notes summary

• For user-facing changes, see CHANGELOG.md.

Table of contents

• Installation
• Quick start
• Core features
• Commands
• Configuration
• Suppression workflow
• Output and troubleshooting
• Developer setup
• Testing
• Packaging
• License

Installation

Option 1: Install from VSIX

1. Build or download a .vsix package.
2. In VS Code, open Extensions.
3. Select the ... menu and choose Install from VSIX....
4. Select the VSIX file.

Option 2: Run from source (development)

1. Clone this repository.
2. Install dependencies:

npm ci

3. Ensure vendor assets are present:

.\setup-vendor.bat

4. Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host.

Quick start

1. Open a workspace containing a .bat or .cmd file.
2. Open Run and Debug (Ctrl+Shift+D).
3. Use Launch Batch (Blinter) and run with F5.
4. Review diagnostics in Problems and the Blinter Output view.
5. Use Quick Fix (Ctrl+.) for suppression/comment assistance.

Example launch.json:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Launch Batch (Blinter)",
      "type": "blinter-debug",
      "request": "launch",
      "program": "${file}"
    }
  ]
}

Features

• Registers blinter-debug for Run and Debug workflows
• Streams diagnostics while the script runs
• Highlights critical issues in-editor
• Shows grouped issue summaries in Blinter Output
• Adds quick fixes for:
  • command casing normalization
  • suppression comments (LINT:IGNORE)
  • optional Copilot handoff
• Supports blinter.ini creation and status-bar visibility

Commands

• Blinter: Run
• Blinter: Run and Debug
• Blinter: Create Config File
• Blinter: Ask Copilot About Diagnostic
• Blinter: Remove All Suppressions

Configuration

Linting behavior

• blinter.enabled (boolean, default true)
• blinter.runOn (onSave | onType, default onSave)
• blinter.debounceDelay (number, default 500)
• blinter.followCalls (boolean, default false)
• blinter.minSeverity (all | performance | style | warning | error, default all)
• blinter.enabledRules (string[], default [])
• blinter.disabledRules (string[], default [])
• blinter.useConfigFile (boolean, default true)
• blinter.maxLineLength (number, default 100)
• blinter.noRecursive (boolean, default false)

Presentation

• blinter.quickFixCodes (string[])
• blinter.criticalHighlightColor (string, default #5a1124)
• blinter.encoding (string, default utf8)

Suppression comments

• blinter.suppressionCommentStyle (REM | ::, default REM)
• blinter.showAskCopilotQuickFix (boolean, default false)

Suppression workflow

When a Blinter diagnostic appears:

1. Use Quick Fix (Ctrl+.).
2. Choose Blinter: Suppress ... on this line.
3. Blinter inserts a LINT:IGNORE comment above the target line.
4. Existing LINT:IGNORE codes on the previous line are merged.

You can remove all suppression comments via:

• Command Palette: Blinter: Remove All Suppressions
• Blinter Output view title button

Output and troubleshooting

• Open View -> Output -> Blinter for command, stdout, and stderr logs.
• If diagnostics do not appear:
  • confirm blinter.enabled is true
  • confirm file language is bat or cmd
  • verify the bundled executable exists under vendor/Blinter/Blinter.exe
• If the debug session closes early, inspect output logs first.

Developer setup

The repository keeps vendor artifacts out of source control where possible. Use:

.\setup-vendor.bat

to populate the required core assets under vendor/Blinter.

Testing

Common commands:

npm run lint
npm run test:unit
npm run test:integration
npm run test:matrix

test:matrix runs unit, integration, system packaging, UAT checks, regression, performance, security, smoke, sanity, and exploratory suites with reports in test/reports/.

Packaging

Build a VSIX package:

.\build.bat

or

npm run package:vsix

See PACKAGING.md for release flow details.

License

• Project: MIT (LICENSE)
• Blinter core linter: https://github.com/tboy1337/Blinter