TUFLOW Path Validator

Lightweight VS Code extension that validates file paths referenced in TUFLOW control files and surfaces missing references as diagnostics in the Problems panel.

Features

• Validates file paths on Command == Value lines and reports missing files in the Problems view.
• Resolves relative paths from the current file, honors |-separated lists, and ignores GeoPackage selectors after >>.
• Skips tokens and macros that remain unresolved (any <<...>> sequence) while still analyzing other paths.
• Recursively checks referenced control files and summarizes issues discovered in nested dependencies.
• Warns when scenario/event tokens <<~s1~>>-<<~s9~>> or <<~e1~>>-<<~e9~>> appear in a value but are missing from the filename.
• When a versioned TCF/TGC/TBC/ECF is the latest in its folder, referenced files with numeric versions (e.g., v07, 011, Model12) are checked for newer alternatives or ambiguous updates.
• Validates Set Variable Version tokens against the current filename and surfaces whether the token matches (info) or is missing (warning).
• Configurable minimum diagnostic severity (default: hint) and focus on path validation rather than a full TUFLOW grammar.
• Quick Fixes help add ignore comments for a specific line or the entire file when issues should be suppressed, and offer to update versioned references when a Set Variable Version header is present in a .tcf.

Supported control files

• .tcf
• .tgc
• .tbc
• .trd
• .tef
• .ecf
• .qcf

Installation

Marketplace

1. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X).
2. Search for "TUFLOW Path Validator".
3. Click Install.

Manual

1. Download the .vsix from a release.
2. Go to Extensions → ... → Install from VSIX.

Usage

Open any supported control file and diagnostics appear automatically as you edit. Example:

Read GIS Z Shape == gis/terrain.gpkg >> contours
Read GIS BC == missing/bc_01.shp | bc/valid_02.shp

Activation note: the extension activates only when a workspace contains at least one .tcf file.

Ignoring issues

Use comments to suppress diagnostics when needed.

• Ignore a specific line: append ! tpf-ignore.

  Read GIS Z Shape == missing_file.shp ! tpf-ignore
  

• Ignore an entire file: add ! tpf-ignore-file anywhere in the file (commonly at the top).

  ! tpf-ignore-file
  Read GIS Z Shape == missing_file.shp
  

Quick Fixes

Click a diagnostic to see Quick Fixes that automatically insert ! tpf-ignore or ! tpf-ignore-file comments so you do not need to edit the file manually.

• Update to latest version (TUFLOW): When the diagnostic says the referenced file is not the latest version, the Quick Fix replaces the numeric token with the latest version.

Settings

• tuflowValidator.diagnosticLevel: error, warning, info, hint (default), or none.
• tuflowValidator.enableLatestVersionChecks: Enable latest-version checks for versioned filenames (default: true).
• tuflowValidator.analyzeAllControlFiles: Analyze all supported control files in the workspace (default: false).

Latest TCF behavior

Latest-version checks run only for the "latest" TCFs in each folder. A TCF is considered latest when it is either:

1. The highest-numbered file in a versioned series (files containing a number contribute to a versioned series).
2. An unversioned file (no number) that stands on its own.

Multiple latest TCFs can coexist in a folder when different series or unversioned files are present.

Example:

file.tcf       # latest (no version token)
file_01.tcf
file02.tcf     # latest (highest in its series)
king05.tcf
king08.tcf     # latest (highest in its series)

Limitations and non-goals

• Macros and variables like <<OutputRoot>> or <<~s1~>> are ignored if they cannot be resolved.
• This extension does not implement a full TUFLOW grammar; it focuses on file-path validation.
• It does not validate dataset contents, layer names, or runtime options.

Development

npm run compile
npm run test:container
npm run package:vsix