Cicode for VS Code
A VS Code extension providing syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and navigation for Cicode, the scripting language used in AVEVA Plant SCADA (Citect).
Disclaimer: This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by AVEVA. It is a community-driven tool to improve the Cicode development experience in VS Code.
Features
Syntax Highlighting
Full syntax highlighting for .ci files including:
- Keywords, operators, and control flow
- Function declarations and calls
- Variables and type annotations
- Strings with escape sequences
- Comments (line
//, !, | and block /* */)
- Doc comments (Doxygen XML commands with
/** **/ and /// style)
- Format picture specifiers (
:###,##0.00)
IntelliSense
- Autocompletion for functions (built-in and user-defined)
- Signature help with parameter documentation
- Hover information showing function signatures and docs
Navigation
- Go to Definition for functions and variables
- Find All References across your workspace
- Rename Symbol for variables and parameters
- Document Outline showing functions in the current file
- Workspace Symbol Search (
Ctrl+T) to find any function
Diagnostics
- Undefined function warnings
- Argument count validation
- Duplicate function detection
- Unused variable warnings
- Line length and indentation checks
- Basic code formatter with configurable options
- Consistent indentation for control blocks
Built-in Functions
- Automatically parses function documentation from your Plant SCADA installation
- Falls back to packaged builtins if Plant SCADA is not installed
- Hover over built-in functions to see docs with a link to open the full help page
Installation
- Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or
- Download the
.vsix file and install via Extensions: Install from VSIX...
Configuration
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
cicode.avevaPath |
C:/Program Files (x86)/AVEVA Plant SCADA |
Path to AVEVA Plant SCADA installation. The extension auto-finds help files. |
cicode.diagnostics.enable |
true |
Enable diagnostics (undefined functions, duplicates) |
cicode.diagnostics.ignoredFunctions |
[] |
Function names to exclude from checks |
cicode.format.enable |
true |
Enable the code formatter |
cicode.format.maxConsecutiveBlankLines |
1 |
Max blank lines to allow |
cicode.hover.showHelpLink |
true |
Show "Open full help" link in hovers |
cicode.indexing.excludeGlobs |
["**/node_modules/**"] |
Patterns to exclude from indexing |
cicode.lint.enable |
true |
Enable lint diagnostics |
cicode.lint.maxLineLength |
140 |
Warn when lines exceed this length |
cicode.lint.warnMixedIndent |
true |
Warn on mixed tabs/spaces |
cicode.lint.warnUnusedVariables |
true |
Warn about unused variables |
cicode.lint.warnMissingSemicolons |
true |
Warn when declarations lack semicolons |
cicode.lint.warnKeywordCase |
false |
Suggest uppercase keywords |
cicode.lint.warnMagicNumbers |
false |
Warn about hardcoded numbers |
cicode.documentation.docskeleton.useBlockComment |
Block comment |
Style of comments used for the doc comment skeleton, where comments can either be surrounded by /** ... */ or each line begins with /// |
cicode.documentation.docskeleton.doxygenStyle |
XML Doxygen commands |
The style of Doxygen commands to be used by the doc comment skeleton, which can be either XML style commands, Javadoc commands (@), or regular Doxygen commands (\) |
Commands
| Command |
Description |
Cicode: Rebuild Builtin Functions |
Re-parse built-in functions from help files |
Cicode: Reindex All Files |
Rebuild the workspace index |
Cicode: Open Help for Symbol |
Open AVEVA help page for the symbol under cursor |
Cicode: Insert Doc Skeleton |
Insert a doc comment template above the current function |
Keybindings
| Key |
Command |
Ctrl+Alt+D |
Insert Doc Skeleton (when in a Cicode file) |
The extension supports both Doxygen XML, and regular Doxygen commands doc comments for documenting your functions:
// Example of XML style doc comment
/// <summary>
/// Calculates the area of a rectangle.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="width">The width of the rectangle.</param>
/// <param name="height">The height of the rectangle.</param>
/// <returns>The calculated area.</returns>
FUNCTION CalculateArea(REAL width, REAL height)
RETURN width * height;
END
// Example of Javadoc style doc comment
/**
* @brief Calculates the area of a rectangle.
* @param width The width of the rectangle.
* @param height The height of the rectangle.
* @returns The calculated area.
*/
FUNCTION CalculateArea(REAL width, REAL height)
RETURN width * height;
END
Use Ctrl+Alt+D to automatically generate a doc skeleton for the function at your cursor.
The style of doc comment can be configured in the cicode.documentation.docskeleton.useBlockComment and cicode.documentation.docskeleton.doxygenStyle configuration options.
Debugger
The extension includes a debugger that lets you set breakpoints and inspect local variables in Cicode while a Plant SCADA runtime is running.
Requirements
- AVEVA Plant SCADA must be running on the same machine
- The Cicode runtime must be running
How to use
- Open the Run and Debug panel (
Ctrl+Shift+D)
- Add a launch configuration of type "Cicode: Attach to SCADA Runtime" (VS Code will offer to add one automatically)
- Click Start Debugging (or press
F5)
- Set breakpoints by clicking the gutter in any
.ci file
- Trigger the Cicode function in the runtime. Execution will pause at your breakpoint
- Inspect local variables in the Variables panel
- Use Continue (
F5), Step Over (F10), Step Into (F11), or Step Out (Shift+F11) to control execution
What it can do
- Set and remove breakpoints
- Conditional breakpoints with simple comparisons against local variables (e.g.
myVar == 5, myVar = "SomeCoolString")
- Pause at breakpoints and inspect local variable values
- Step over, into, and out of functions
- Show the current stopped location in the editor
What it cannot do
- Evaluate arbitrary expressions or watch expressions
- Modify variable values at runtime
- Complex conditions in breakpoints (only simple
==, !=, <, > comparisons against local variables)
- Debug across multiple machines
- Pause the runtime
Note: Removing a breakpoint while execution is paused will take effect when you next continue. The debugger reconnects in the background to clear the runtime breakpoint.
Requirements
- VS Code 1.88.0 or higher
- For built-in function docs: AVEVA Plant SCADA installation (optional, packaged fallback available)
Links
