ARM64 Assembly (GNU AS) — VS Code Extension
The most complete ARM64/AArch64 editor support available — built for programmers
who write just assembly: no libc, no runtime, just the hardware and Linux syscalls.
What this extension does
Writing ARM64 is already hard. Your editor shouldn't make it harder.
This extension brings first-class GNU Assembler support to VS Code: full syntax
highlighting tuned for AArch64, inline documentation for every register and macro,
and navigation features that actually understand ARM64 structure — labels, .macro
definitions, and local labels included.
Everything works out of the box. No language server to configure, no extra tools to
install, no libc required.
Features
Syntax Highlighting
Complete TextMate grammar — works with all VS Code themes.
| Token |
Examples |
| Registers (GPR 64-bit) |
x0 x8 x29 x30 |
| Registers (GPR 32-bit) |
w0 w8 wzr wsp |
| Registers (FP/SIMD) |
v3.8b q0 d15 s0 |
| Registers (system) |
nzcv daif vbar_el1 tpidr_el0 |
| Instructions — branch |
b.eq bl cbz ret |
| Instructions — memory |
ldr str ldp stp ldar stlr |
| Instructions — arithmetic |
add sub mul udiv madd |
| Instructions — logical |
and orr eor lsl ror |
| Instructions — SIMD/FP |
fmul fadd dup tbl zip1 |
| Instructions — system |
svc mrs msr isb dsb |
| GNU AS directives |
.macro .include .equ .section .cfi_startproc |
| Numeric literals |
#0xFF #0b101 #0644 #42 |
| Labels |
START: .Lloop: .fail: |
| Macro parameters |
\param |
| Comments |
// line @ line /* block */ |
Inline Decimal Hints
Hex, octal, and binary literals show their decimal value inline — no mental
arithmetic needed when reading memory flags, syscall numbers, or permissions.
mov x2, [#0102](https://github.com/Felipenguim/vscode-arm64-assembly/issues/0102) // x2 = O_CREAT | O_RDWR → 66
mov x3, [#0644](https://github.com/Felipenguim/vscode-arm64-assembly/issues/0644) // x3 = permissions rw-r--r-- → 420
Macro Hover Documentation
Hover over any macro call to see its full documentation: signature, description,
parameters, return behavior, and the actual implementation body.
_exit // hover → (macro) void _exit(int code)
// Terminates the process with the given exit code.
// @param code X0 — exit code (0–255)
// @return NEVER — does not return
// Implementation: mov x8, [#93](https://github.com/Felipenguim/vscode-arm64-assembly/issues/93) / svc [#0](https://github.com/Felipenguim/vscode-arm64-assembly/issues/0) / .endm
Register Hover Documentation
Hover over any register to see its ABI role and calling convention.
| Register |
Hover |
x0 |
Argument 1 / return value. Caller-saved. |
x8 |
Indirect result / Linux syscall number. Caller-saved. |
x29 |
Frame pointer (FP). Callee-saved. |
sp |
Stack pointer. Must be 16-byte aligned at public interfaces. |
v3.8b |
128-bit vector register. Arrangements: .8b .16b .4h .8h .2s .4s .1d .2d |
vbar_el1 |
Vector base address register EL1 — base of the EL1 exception vector table. |
Covers all ~200 AArch64 registers: x0–x30, w0–w30, v0–v31, q/d/s/h/b 0–31,
sp, lr, fp, xzr, wzr, and a comprehensive set of system registers.
Go-to-Definition
Press F12 or Ctrl+Click on any label or macro reference to jump to its
definition. Supports standard labels (START), local labels (.Lloop, .fail),
and macro definitions across workspace files.
Who this is for
This extension is built for ARM64 programmers who like to have some fun coding only in assembly:
Requirements
- VS Code 1.95.0 or later
- Files with
.s or .S extension are automatically detected as arm64-asm
Quick Start
- Install from the VS Code Marketplace (search "ARM64 Assembly")
- Open any
.s or .S file — syntax highlighting activates automatically
- Hover a register or macro to see inline documentation
- Ctrl+Click a label to jump to its definition
Learning Resources
For a deep dive ARM64/x86_64 assembly
programming really from basics to hard stuff — check out:
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.
If you find a missing instruction, register, or directive, please open an issue —
ARM64 has a large ISA and contributions are very much appreciated.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for dev setup and guidelines.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
