The UIAC VS Code Extension is a powerful developer productivity tool designed to create a seamless workflow between your local VS Code environment and the NucliOS backend.
It brings the entire UIAC (User Interface Application Code) development lifecycle—from browsing remote applications to editing, testing, and comparing code—directly into your favorite editor.
✨ Features
The extension is built around a central UIAC Browser sidebar and a set of powerful commands.
🔑 Authentication & Session Management
UIAC: Login with SSO (uiac-plugin.ssoLogin)
Securely authenticate with the NucliOS server using your company's Azure AD single sign-on. This is the recommended method.
UIAC: Login (uiac-plugin.login)
Authenticate with a traditional username and password.
UIAC: Logout (uiac-plugin.logout)
End the current session and clear all authentication tokens.
UIAC: Reload Connection (uiac-plugin.reload)
Forces a fresh logout and login sequence to re-establish the connection.
🖥️ Integrated Sidebar Browser
As soon as the extension is installed, the UIAC Browser icon appears in the Activity Bar. It's your central hub for interacting with NucliOS.
Welcome View: Guides new users to log in and get started.
Code Browser: After loading an application with UIAC: Load App by ID, you can navigate a tree view of your remote application's screens, widgets, actions, and filters.
App Variables: View a list of all server-side variables for the loaded application.
App Functions: View a list of all server-side functions for the loaded application.
UIAC: Fetch Code from Browser (uiac-plugin.fetchCodeFromTree)
Simply click on any code file (.py) in the Code Browser to fetch its content and save it to your local workspace.
🚀 Live Testing & Execution
UIAC: Run Visualization (uiac-plugin.runVisualization)
Execute the UIAC code from your currently active editor on the NucliOS server. The formatted JSON output and any server-side logs are displayed directly in the VS Code "Output" panel.
UIAC: Manage Test Filters (uiac-plugin.manageFilters)
Create or edit a screen-specific .jsonc file to provide input values and test data for your Run Visualization command.
🔄 Code Comparison & Merging
UIAC: Compare with Server (Safe Diff) (uiac-plugin.safeDiff)
Opens a side-by-side diff editor to prevent conflicts:
Left Pane: Your current local file.
Right Pane: The current version of the file on the server.
UIAC: Apply Merged Changes (uiac-plugin.applyMergedChanges)
After editing the server version in the right-hand pane of the diff view, use this command to save those merged changes back into your local file.
🚀 Getting Started: A Typical Workflow
Install the Extension: Install the .vsix file. The UIAC Browser icon will appear in the Activity Bar.
Login: Open the UIAC Browser and click one of the login links. Login with SSO is recommended.
Load an Application: After a successful login, you'll be prompted to enter an App ID. Enter one to load its structure into the sidebar.
Fetch Code: Navigate the Code Browser tree and click on a widget or function file (.py) to download and open it.
Edit Code: Make your desired changes to the local file.
Configure Test Data: Click the Filter icon (Manage Test Filters) in the editor's title bar to define input values for your test.
Run & Test: Click the Play icon (Run Visualization) in the editor's title bar. Check the "Output" panel for the JSON result and logs.
Repeat: Continue editing and running until the code is working as expected.
Stay in Sync (Optional): Before making major changes, use Compare with Server (Safe Diff) to see if anyone else has updated the code on the server.
🛣️ Upcoming Features
The following enhancements are planned for future releases:
Safe Push to Server
A new command to securely push your perfected local code changes back to the NucliOS server, with pre-flight checks to prevent overwriting team members' work.
In-Editor Linting & Validation
Real-time feedback and validation of dynamically generated JSON directly inside the code editor.
Improved Conflict Resolution
Smarter conflict detection and a guided merge workflow for the "Safe Push" feature.
Enhanced Status Bar
More detailed real-time indicators for connection status, server sync state, and the active App ID.
