Productivity tools for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central development in VS Code.
Automate XLIFF translations, generate AL test codeunits and use professional code snippets — all without leaving the editor.
Features
🌍 XLIFF Translation Automation
Automatically fills <target> tags in your .g.xlf translation files by reading Developer Notes embedded directly in your AL code.
How it works:
Add translations in your AL labels using language codes in the Comment field:
Caption = 'My Field', Comment = 'ESP="Mi Campo", DEU="Mein Feld", FRA="Mon Champ"';
Run BTC: Generar Traducciones XLIFF from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
The extension processes your .g.xlf base file and generates one translated file per language (e.g. MyProject.es-ES.xlf, MyProject.de-DE.xlf).
An Output panel shows a summary of languages detected and translations applied.
⚙️ Per-Project Language Configuration
Run BTC: Configurar Idiomas de Traducción to create a languages.json file inside your project's .vscode/ folder.
This file lets you define which languages to target, fully customizable per project:
{
"es": { "note_code": "ESP", "bcp47": "es-ES", "label": "Español" },
"fr": { "note_code": "FRA", "bcp47": "fr-FR", "label": "Francés" },
"de": { "note_code": "DEU", "bcp47": "de-DE", "label": "Alemán" }
}
🧪 AL Test Codeunit Generator
Open any .al file and run BTC: Generar Codeunit de Test to instantly scaffold a test codeunit following the standard [SCENARIO]/[GIVEN]/[WHEN]/[THEN] pattern:
codeunit 0 "MyObjectTest"
{
Subtype = Test;
[Test]
procedure TestPageVisibility()
begin
// [SCENARIO] Check behavior of Page "My Object"
// [GIVEN] Initial preconditions
// [WHEN] Action is performed
// [THEN] Expected result
end;
}
✂️ AL Snippets
A professional snippet library for Business Central development, available in all .al files. Covers:
- Table & TableExtension patterns
- Page & PageExtension patterns
- Codeunit skeletons
- Test patterns with
[Test] and [HandlerFunctions]
Requirements
- VS Code
1.93.0 or higher
- Python 3.x must be installed and available in your system
PATH (used internally for XML processing)
- A Business Central AL project with the
TranslationFile feature enabled in app.json
Extension Settings
This extension does not contribute VS Code settings. Configuration is managed via the languages.json file generated inside your project's .vscode/ folder.
Known Issues
- The translation command requires the project to be compiled first so that the
.g.xlf base file exists in the Translations/ folder.
- Python must be accessible from the terminal for the translation script to run.
Release Notes
See CHANGELOG for a full history of changes.
Inspiration
This project has been developed based on and referenced by the "AL Language Tools" extension of Clip Dynamics.
The goal has been to evolve its original functionality to adapt it to current Business Central standards (2026) and improve the developer experience through smarter snippets and optimized translation management.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Junpeng Jin for his support and contributions during the development of this extension.
