MESA Inlist — VS Code extension

Syntax highlighting, validation, hover documentation and autocomplete for MESA stellar-evolution inlist files (inlist, inlist_project, project_inlist, inlist_pgstar, …). Built and verified against MESA 26.4.1.

The extension turns MESA inlists from plain text into a checked, color-coded configuration language:

• Valid controls are highlighted with theme-consistent colors (control names, namelist sections, strings, numbers, logicals, comments).
• Invalid controls are marked red — unknown control names, controls in the wrong namelist section, and values of the wrong type all get an error squiggle plus a red foreground on the offending name.
• Type checking ("semi-compiler"): every control knows whether it expects a logical, integer, real or string, and whether it is an array. Wrong types are flagged.
• Value checking: string controls that document their allowed options (e.g. MLT_option, energy_eqn_option, atm_option, overshoot_scheme) warn when you use an unknown value.
• Hover documentation: hover a control or value to see its type, default value, allowed options and the MESA documentation.
• Autocomplete: press Ctrl+Space inside a namelist to list all controls of that section, or after = to complete logicals and documented string options.

What is recognised as an inlist?

Any file whose name contains inlist (for example inlist, inlist_project, project_inlist, inlist_pgstar, inlist_zams), plus any *.inlist file. To switch a file manually, run MESA Inlist: Treat current file as a MESA inlist.

Features in detail

Syntax highlighting

Colors follow the active VS Code theme automatically (standard TextMate scopes).

Validation (the "semi-compiler")

The control database is generated by parsing the actual MESA source:

1. star/defaults/*.defaults, binary/defaults/*.defaults, astero/defaults/*.defaults, eos/defaults/eos.defaults, kap/defaults/kap.defaults, colors/defaults/colors.defaults — for names, defaults, docs and documented option lists.
2. The Fortran *.inc / *_ctrls_io.f90 declaration files — for exact types (real / integer / logical / character) and array dimensions.
3. The Fortran namelist /.../ declarations — the authoritative list of valid control names (catches controls that are settable but missing from the documentation).

Each assignment in an inlist is checked against its namelist section:

• Unknown control → error.
• Control used in the wrong section → error with a hint pointing at the correct section.
• Wrong value type → error (e.g. a string assigned to a real control).
• Unknown string option → warning (only when the control documents its options).

Note: MESA itself is case-insensitive for control names, and the validator is too. Logical literals are accepted with or without the trailing dot (.true and .true. both work).

Settings

Commands

• MESA Inlist: Reload control database from MESA_DIR — re-parse a MESA tree (set mesaInlist.mesaDir first). Lets the extension work with any MESA version.
• MESA Inlist: Treat current file as a MESA inlist — force the language on the active file.

Building from source

npm install
npm run compile            # compile TypeScript to out/
npm run generate -- /path/to/mesa   # regenerate the control database
npx @vscode/vsce package  # produce mesa-inlist-*.vsix

Installing

Build the .vsix and run Extensions: Install from VSIX… in VS Code, or copy the project folder into ~/.vscode/extensions/ (name it mesa-inlist).

License

MIT