SPICE Language Support

Language support for SPICE circuit simulation netlists, powered by the spice-lsp language server.

Quick start

1. Install this extension from the Marketplace (no separate language-server install).
2. Open a netlist — any .cir, .sp, .spf, .net, or .ckt file. VS Code should show the language mode SPICE in the status bar.
3. Watch the Problems panel (View → Problems) for syntax errors and semantic warnings as you type — for example an unclosed .subckt, a duplicate instance name, or a reference to an undefined model.
4. Use the outline (View → Outline, or Explorer → Outline) to jump between .subckt, .model, .param, and instances.
5. Navigate with Go to Definition (F12) on a subcircuit or model name, and Find All References (Shift+F12) to list every use.

That is enough for day-to-day editing. The matching spice-lsp binary for your platform is bundled; leave spiceLsp.serverPath empty unless you are developing the server yourself.

If nothing happens after opening a file, check Output → SPICE Language Server, then run SPICE LSP: Restart Server from the Command Palette. That Output channel is created as soon as the extension activates.

To switch dialect, use SPICE LSP: Set Dialect… (or the status-bar dialect chip). Requires extension 0.2.10+. If VS Code says the command is not registered, update/reload the extension.

Features

• Syntax highlighting — comments (* / ; / $), directives, instances, and numbers
• Syntax diagnostics — unclosed .subckt blocks, parse errors, and related issues
• Semantic warnings — duplicate component names, undefined model/subcircuit references
• Document outline — hierarchical view of subcircuits, models, parameters, and instances
• Go to definition — jump from subcircuit references to .subckt definitions
• Find references — list all usages of a subcircuit, model, or parameter
• Dialect-aware hover — documentation for directives and elements from the active dialect (default HSPICE)

Supported file extensions: .cir, .sp, .spf, .net, .ckt. Toggle Comment uses * (VS Code allows one line-comment marker); ; and $ still highlight as comments.

Bundled platforms

The extension includes a prebuilt spice-lsp binary for:

Other platforms (or older Linux glibc) need a spice-lsp binary on your PATH, or set spiceLsp.serverPath to an absolute path and run SPICE LSP: Restart Server.

Settings

Use SPICE LSP: Set Dialect… (or the status-bar dialect chip) to switch. Hover tips come from the curated reference/ corpus for the active dialect.

Documentation

Project docs: spice-lsp book

License

MIT — see the repository for details.