Verse Nodegraph Editor — VS Code extension (prototype)

The visual, Blueprint-style node editor for Verse, in VS Code — beside the .verse files you already edit for UEFN. Wire a node graph, get clean plain-text Verse.

Why VS Code (the pivot)

Per .thinking/next-level/gtm-strategy-v2.md: a Fab code plugin can't reach Verse authors — UEFN is Verse-only/sandboxed (no custom C++), and mainstream Unreal has ~no Verse users until UE6 (~2027–28). The place Verse is actually written today is VS Code (Epic ships the official Verse language extension). So the reachable form factor is a VS Code extension that reuses the existing hosted engine — no new IP exposure (parser/emitter stay server-side, same as the web app).

What this prototype does

Two commands (both available from a .verse editor — title-bar button and right-click):

• Verse: Open Visual Node Editor — opens the hosted visual editor in a panel beside your file, two-way bound: the graph seeds from the open .verse file, and edits in the graph write clean Verse back into the file. (The panel loads the hosted app in an iframe with ?vscode=1; a small relay bridges it to VS Code via the vv postMessage protocol — see src/vscodeBridge.ts in the web app. First-run modals are auto-suppressed in this embedded mode.)
• Verse: Format via Engine (round-trip) — sends the active .verse file through the hosted engine (/api/parse → /api/emit) and rewrites it with the normalized Verse.

Config (Settings → Verse Nodegraph Editor): verseNodegraph.editorUrl, verseNodegraph.apiBaseUrl.

Run it

No build step (plain JS). In VS Code:

1. File → Open Folder… → this vscode-extension/ folder.
2. Press F5 ("Run Extension") → a second VS Code window (Extension Development Host) opens.
3. Open any .verse file → click Open Visual Node Editor in the title bar, or right-click → Format via Engine.

Package for sharing later: npx @vscode/vsce package → a .vsix you can install or publish.

Status / what's next

• Two-way sync works. Verified with a headless browser test against the dev editor: load seeds the graph from host text, and a graph edit sends emitted Verse back through the vv protocol. The extension.js relay side passes node --check; run via F5 to exercise the full VS Code loop (no VS Code available in the build environment to auto-test the host side).
• Points at production by default (verseNodegraph.editorUrl / apiBaseUrl). For development, point them at a local dev server (http://localhost:5173/, http://localhost:8787). The hosted app must include the vscodeBridge (shipped in the web src/; deploy the client to use production).
• AI-in-the-graph (planned moat): let AI draft the graph from a prompt, shown as editable nodes before it becomes code — "AI writes it, you can actually read it."

Note on the hosted API

The public API gates non-browser user-agents; this extension sends a browser-like UA on its fetch calls. The webview editor runs in a Chromium context, so its own API calls are unaffected.

Independently built by Adam Hafez. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Epic Games. "Verse", "UEFN", and "Unreal Engine" are trademarks of Epic Games, Inc.