Header File Generator

A Visual Studio Code extension that automatically generates C/C++ header files (.h) from source files (.c / .cpp).

Features

• One command — generate a complete .h file from any open .c or .cpp file
• Smart parsing — extracts function prototypes, class declarations, structs, enums, typedefs, and macros using robust regex-based analysis
• Include guards — always generates proper #ifndef / #define / #endif guards
• C++ class support — preserves public: / private: / protected: sections, virtual methods, pure virtual methods, static methods
• C extern linkage — wraps C headers in #ifdef __cplusplus extern "C" { } blocks automatically
• Include inference — detects usage of common standard library functions and adds the right #include lines
• Update in place — re-running the command overwrites an existing header with fresh content
• Multiple triggers — Command Palette, right-click context menu (editor + Explorer), keyboard shortcut, and status-bar button

Triggers

What Gets Generated

For C files (.c)

/**
 * @file example.h
 * @brief Auto-generated header for example.c
 * ...
 */
#ifndef EXAMPLE_H
#define EXAMPLE_H

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif /* __cplusplus */

/* ─── Includes ─── */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

/* ─── Constants / Macros ─── */
#define MAX_NAME_LEN 128

/* ─── Typedefs ─── */
typedef unsigned int uint;

/* ─── Enumerations ─── */
typedef enum Status {
    STATUS_OK = 0,
    STATUS_ERROR,
    ...
} Status;

/* ─── Structures ─── */
typedef struct Point {
    float x;
    float y;
} Point;

/* ─── Function Prototypes ─── */
Point point_create(float x, float y);
float point_distance(Point a, Point b);
Status process_data(const char* input, char* output, size_t output_size);

#ifdef __cplusplus
} /* extern "C" */
#endif /* __cplusplus */

#endif /* EXAMPLE_H */

For C++ files (.cpp)

• Full class declarations with access specifiers preserved
• Virtual / pure-virtual / static / const method qualifiers preserved
• Inheritance chains (class Circle : public Shape) preserved
• #include lines for standard library headers inferred from usage

Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• VS Code 1.80+

1. Clone / download the extension folder

git clone <repo-url>
cd header-file-generator

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Compile TypeScript

npm run compile

Or start the watcher (recompiles on every save):

npm run watch

Running the Extension (Development / F5)

1. Open the header-file-generator folder in VS Code:

   code .
   

2. Press F5 (or go to Run → Start Debugging).
3. A new Extension Development Host window opens.
4. In that window, open one of the sample files:
   • test-samples/example.c
   • test-samples/example.cpp
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+H (or use Command Palette → Generate Header File).
6. The generated .h file opens side-by-side.

Testing

Open either test sample and run the command:

test-samples/
├── example.c      ← C sample with structs, enums, typedefs, functions
└── example.cpp    ← C++ sample with class hierarchy, virtual methods

Expected output files will be created as example.h in the same directory.

Expected output for example.c

• #ifndef EXAMPLE_H include guard
• extern "C" wrapper block
• Macros: MAX_NAME_LEN, VERSION_MAJOR, VERSION_MINOR
• Typedef: uint, string_t
• Enum: Status with 4 values
• Structs: Point, Rectangle, Node
• 7 public function prototypes (static helpers clamp and is_valid_name are excluded)

Expected output for example.cpp

• #ifndef EXAMPLE_H include guard
• Includes: <iostream>, <string>, <vector>, <memory>
• Enum: Direction
• Classes: Shape (abstract), Circle : public Shape, Rectangle : public Shape
• Method signatures with virtual, = 0, override, const, static preserved
• Free function prototypes (non-static only)

Project Structure

header-file-generator/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts        ← Entry point; registers command, status bar
│   ├── parser.ts           ← C/C++ source parser (regex-based)
│   └── generator.ts        ← Header content generator
├── test-samples/
│   ├── example.c
│   └── example.cpp
├── .vscode/
│   ├── launch.json         ← F5 debug configuration
│   └── tasks.json          ← Build task (tsc watch)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Parser Capabilities

Packaging for Distribution

npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package
# produces: header-file-generator-1.0.0.vsix

Install the .vsix:

code --install-extension header-file-generator-1.0.0.vsix

License

MIT