Web2py IntelliSense

The VS Code extension that web2py never had.
Autocomplete · Hover docs · Go to Definition · Typo detection
One index per application. Zero configuration.

Why this exists

web2py injects db, session, request, response, auth, T, and hundreds of other names into every controller and model at runtime. No editor understands this — Pylance flags everything red, autocomplete offers nothing, and Go to Definition doesn't work.

This extension fixes all of it. It indexes your web2py project the way web2py itself sees it, and gives you the IDE experience every other framework gets out of the box.

Install

From the Marketplace — Extensions panel → search Web2py IntelliSense → Install.

Or from the command line:

code --install-extension IbraDevx.web2py-intellisense

Then open your web2py folder — the one containing applications/ — as your workspace. That's it, no configuration.

Install from a .vsix instead

Download the latest .vsix from Releases
VS Code → Extensions panel → … menu → Install from VSIX…
Select the downloaded file, then reload the window

Features

Autocomplete

You type	You get
`db.`	Every table in the current application
`db.employee.`	Fields with type, `requires`, and default value
`db['employee'].`	Same fields — subscript and call access resolve too
`record.`	Fields of the table a local `.select().first()` came from
`db[t][f].`	Full Field API — `belongs`, `lower`, `cast`, `contains`, …
`Field(`	Kwarg completion — multiline-aware, filters already-used kwargs
`session.`	Every key assigned anywhere in the app, with file and line
`request.vars.`	Vars keys used across the app
`IS_IN_`	All validators with signature and usage example
`app_settings.`	Keys from model settings containers
`TwoDimensionalView.`	Methods and attributes with full parameter list
`Field`, `DAL`, `Rows`	325+ pydal/gluon names with signatures, straight from the source

Every completion item shows the signature and a one-line summary beside the label — you see what something does without opening the docs popup.

Local record variables are tracked across multiline statements, for row in rows: loops, and db[table_name] where table_name is a string literal.

Go to Definition (F12 / Ctrl+Click)

Click on	Jumps to
A model function or class	Its definition in `models/`
A table name	The `define_table` call
A validator or HTML helper	The line in `pydal/validators.py` or `gluon/html.py`
A settings key	The file and line where the key was assigned
A controller variable	Its assignment in the models
A controller string value	The controller file
Any pydal/gluon name	The source file

Hover documentation

Hover any name for its full signature, all parameters, and the complete docstring — inherited docs included. Works across model code, pydal, gluon, validators, HTML helpers, and settings.

Diagnostics

Name typos in red — Fiel → did you mean Field?
Kwarg typos — typ= → type
Syntax errors via Python's ast.parse
Ctrl+. quick fixes — one keypress correction
Star-import files are skipped — no false positives

Pylance integration

Automatically suppresses reportUndefinedVariable for web2py's injected globals. No more yellow underlines on db, session, auth, or T.

Built for large installations

Applications are indexed lazily — the first time you open a file in them, not all at once at startup. Diagnostics are debounced on save. A workspace with dozens of applications under applications/ stays responsive.

Coverage

The extension covers every name available at runtime in a web2py application.

Source	Names	Method
`list_globals.py`	130+	`dir()` over 21 gluon modules at startup
`list_api.py`	325+	AST parse of pydal/gluon source — no imports needed
`list_members.py`	session, request, response, Field members	`inspect` on live objects
Indexer	tables, fields, model functions, settings containers	Static analysis of your code

100% of what Python's dir() returns is known to the extension, with signatures and documentation.

Commands

Command	What it does
Web2py: Rebuild Index	Re-indexes all applications in the workspace
Web2py: Scan All Files for Errors	Runs diagnostics across every `.py` file
Web2py: Show Index for This File	Prints every global, container, key and class member — debug tool for missing completions

All accessible via Ctrl+Shift+P.

Requirements

VS Code 1.85 or newer
A web2py 2.x installation opened as the workspace root (the folder containing applications/)
Python on PATH — used for the startup introspection scripts

Architecture

src/
  extension.ts      activation, completion, hover, Go to Definition
  parser.ts         tables, fields, functions, classes, settings containers
  indexer.ts        one AppIndex per application, merges models + controllers + modules
  diagnostics.ts    name/kwarg typo detection, syntax errors
  kwargcomplete.ts  Field() / define_table() kwarg completion
  quickfix.ts       Ctrl+. code actions

scripts/
  list_globals.py   dir() over gluon → runtime names with signatures and docs
  list_api.py       ast walk over pydal/gluon source → every function/class/method
  list_members.py   members of session/request/response/Field via inspect
  generate_stubs.py .pyi stub for Pylance

See DEVELOPMENT.md for the full developer guide.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/IbraDevx/web2py-intellisense.git
cd web2py-intellisense

npm install
npx tsc -p ./
npx vsce package

This produces web2py-intellisense-<version>.vsix:

code --install-extension web2py-intellisense-0.18.0.vsix

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. Run the test suite before submitting:

node test-fixture/test-full-diagnostics.js
node test-fixture/test-precision.js
node test-fixture/test-functions.js
node test-fixture/test-members.js
node test-fixture/test-global-objects.js
node test-fixture/test-class-members.js
node test-fixture/test-api-extract.js

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Developed by Ibrahem Darwish