KAIJU.NC

KAIJU.NC is the world’s first kaiju-themed Visual Studio Code extension for numerical control programming.

Developed for Fanuc-style G-code and macro-heavy machining, it turns Visual Studio Code into a command center for machining development. Syntax highlighting, diagnostics, visualization, motion analysis, and macro inspection tools designed for engineering beast mode programs.

KAIJU Machine Mode

KAIJU Machine Mode sets the active document's machine profile so KAIJU.NC can interpret motion using the correct defaults.

Choose the machine mode from the editor's right-click menu:

• Mill
• Lathe - Radius
• Lathe - Diameter

Changing the mode keeps KAIJU Vision, KAIJU Sense, and KAIJU Chronoblade aligned. It synchronizes their X-axis interpretation and selects the appropriate default feed behavior: feed per minute for mills or feed per revolution for lathes. Explicit program codes such as G94 and G95 still take precedence.

KAIJU Highlighting

KAIJU.NC highlights common CNC program elements to help you lock on to your target:

• Program numbers, such as O1000
• Block numbers, such as N100
• G-codes and M-codes
• Axis and address words, including X, Y, Z, U, V, W, A, B, C, I, J, K, R, F, S, T, H, L, P, Q
• Macro variables, such as #100, #500, and named-style macro references
• Macro logic keywords, including IF, THEN, WHILE, DO, END, GOTO
• Math and comparison operators, including EQ, NE, GT, GE, LT, LE, SIN, COS, SQRT, ABS, ROUND, FIX, FUP
• Gutter markers that show which tool is active in each section of the program

Fanuc-style parenthesis comments are highlighted, such as (ROUGHING PASS).

Special comment styles are also recognized:

• (- SECTION COMMENT)
• (/ META COMMENT)
• (MAIN COMMENT [SUBCOMMENT])

In-Editor Example

KAIJU Alias

KAIJU Alias makes macro-heavy programs easier to read by temporarily converting numbered macro variables into readable aliases.

• Command: KAIJU Alias
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+A

The command scans setup comments before the first executable G or M code.

Standalone alias notes:

(#140 = FINISH ALLOWANCE DIA)
(#141 = ROUGHING FEED)

Inline assignment comments:

[#140](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/140) = 0.20 (FINISH ALLOWANCE DIA)
[#141](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/141) = 0.30 (ROUGHING FEED)

When activated, KAIJU Alias toggles numeric macros into readable names:

Before

G1 X[10.00 + [#140](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/140)] F#141

After

G1 X[10.00 + #FINISH_ALLOWANCE_DIA] F#ROUGHING_FEED

Run the command again to restore the original numeric macros.

Alias names are generated automatically by converting comment text into lowercase underscore-separated names.

KAIJU Reconstructor

KAIJU Reconstructor is the NC formatting and cleanup command for KAIJU.NC. It normalizes spacing, repairs common layout issues, formats decimal values, and can optionally normalize tool codes.

Named alias macros such as #finish_allowance are preserved during formatting.

• Command: KAIJU Reconstructor
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+R

Before:

g1x1.z-2.5f.2
T9
T606

After:

G01 X1.000 Z-2.500 F0.200
T09
T0606

KAIJU Rangefinder

KAIJU Rangefinder quickly selects useful sections of the active NC program without changing the code.

• Command: KAIJU Rangefinder
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+F / Cmd+Alt+F

Rangefinder can select:

• The current tool range
• A tool range chosen from the program
• The span between two N labels
• The current N block

KAIJU Vision

KAIJU Vision opens a live 2D toolpath preview for the active NC program or selected section.

Vision projects sampled G0, G1, G2, and G3 motion onto X-Z, X-Y, or Z-Y planes with direction-aware toolpaths, endpoint labeling, and machine-position visualization.

• Command: KAIJU Vision
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+V

Vision walks the active document before drawing so that modal state, macro assignments, feeds, and arc context are resolved before preview generation begins.

In-Editor Example

KAIJU Orphan Killer

KAIJU Orphan Killer hunts down and kills orphaned macro variables and unresolved macro usage inside the active NC document.

It helps expose hidden mistakes, dead setup values, and missing variables before they turn into production issues.

• Command: KAIJU Orphan Killer
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+O

The inspection reports:

• Undefined macro usage
• Unused macro definitions

Example:

[#100](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/100) = 1.0
[#101](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/101) = 2.0

G1 X#100 Z#150

KAIJU Orphan Killer would report:

Undefined macro usage:
[#150](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/150)

Unused macro definitions:
[#101](https://github.com/The-paulster/kaiju.nc/issues/101)

Macro-like text inside comments and protected angle-bracket ranges is ignored automatically. Configured macro ranges can also be excluded from inspection with kaijuNC.orphanKiller.ignoredMacros.

In-Editor Example

KAIJU Decomposition

KAIJU Decomposition tears apart macro-heavy NC programs and generates a temporary flattened inspection copy for analysis.

Built to dissect dense production code, it tracks macro assignments, resolves expressions, and strips away resolved macro logic to expose the underlying motion path more clearly.

• Command: KAIJU Decomposition
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+D

The generated output is automatically formatted with KAIJU Reconstructor and includes KAIJU flow comments where jumps, conditionals, and loops affected the decomposed path.

When required values cannot be resolved automatically, KAIJU prompts for manual numeric input and records those assumptions in the generated file.

Decomposed output can also be inspected directly with KAIJU Vision, making it easier to visualize complex macro-generated toolpaths.

KAIJU Sense

KAIJU Sense is the quick diagnostic system for KAIJU.NC.

Hover over explicit G0, G1, G2, and G3 moves to inspect motion geometry, cutting data, timing estimates, spindle state, and modal information directly inside the editor.

Kaiju Sense exposes motion behavior, macro logic, and assists identifying weaknesses in your NC code.

Sense can display:

• Start and end coordinates
• Axis deltas
• Path length
• Linear move angle
• Arc direction, radius, sweep, center, and endpoint deltas
• Estimated motion time
• Feed and spindle state
• RPM range during CSS cutting

Sense also includes macro-assist features for advanced NC workflows:

• Hover lookup for macro variables
• Alias-aware macro inspection
• Bracket expression highlighting
• Address-aware macro expression parsing
• Hover details and amber line highlighting for GOTO label references
• Ctrl+Click navigation from a GOTO reference to its matching N label

KAIJU Sense also provides a cursor-state status bar readout showing the active modal codes at the current line, such as motion mode and coolant state. It can display descriptive labels like G00 (Rapid) and M08 (Coolant on), or compact codes such as G00 M08.

Example:

#FINISH_ALLOWANCE_DIA = 0.20

G1 X[#FINISH_ALLOWANCE_DIA + 1.00]
Z[#FINISH_Z - 0.50]
F#ROUGHING_FEED

KAIJU Sense walks the active document to resolve modal state, spindle behavior, feed mode, CSS conditions, and previous machine position before generating hover analysis.

In-Editor Example

G01

Macro

KAIJU Chronoblade

KAIJU Chronoblade cuts through wasted motion and expose the inefficiences hiding inside large NC programs.

Chronoblade opens a cycle-time analysis panel where it breaks down machine motion to help identify where cycle time is used.

• Command: KAIJU Chronoblade
• Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+C

Chronoblade reports:

• Motion timing
• Tool-change timing
• Start and end positions
• Feed and spindle state
• RPM range during CSS cutting
• Estimated cycle contribution by operation

For CSS cutting, KAIJU.NC samples along the motion path so RPM clamp conditions from G50 and diameter changes are reflected in the estimated timing output.

In-Editor Example

KAIJU Alert

KAIJU.NC includes live diagnostics for common NC patterns that can lead to ambiguous, misleading, or dangerous code.

The inspection system can detect:

• Missing macro-expression brackets
• Misplaced address words inside expressions
• Suspicious motion values without decimal points
• GOTO targets without a matching N label
• Duplicate N sequence numbers
• Out-of-order N sequence numbers
• Mixed KAIJU Alias mode, where aliases and their original numbered macros are both used
• Undefined KAIJU Alias names
• Nested or separate parenthesis-comment pairs

Every KAIJU Alert check can be toggled on or off individually in the KAIJU.NC settings.

Example:

G1 X[#PART_OD + #FINISH_ALLOWANCE

G01 U4.000 [F#121 * 0.600]

Corrected:

G01 U4.000 F[#121 * 0.600]

Before:

G1 X100 Z-20 F5

After:

G1 X100. Z-20. F5.

Supported File Types

Supports common NC and G-code file extensions .nc, .cnc, .tap, .gcode, .gco, .gc, .ngc, .ncc, .eia, .iso, .min, .mpf, .spf, .dnc, .sub

Example File

The repository includes a showcase program at examples/kaiju-showcase.nc.

Use it to try the main extension tools:

• Hover over setup macros such as #100, #104, or #500 to see macro definition lookup
• Run KAIJU Alias to toggle numbered macros into readable names by right-clicking in the editor or using Ctrl+Alt+A
• Run KAIJU Reconstructor on the marked FIX THIS AREA section by right-clicking in the editor or using Ctrl+Alt+R
• Run KAIJU Orphan Killer to find the deliberately unused and undefined macros near the bottom by right-clicking in the editor or using Ctrl+Alt+O
• Hover over G00, G01, and G02 moves to try KAIJU Sense geometry and timing hovers
• Select one operation and run KAIJU Vision with Ctrl+Alt+V to preview that section's path
• Run KAIJU Chronoblade with Ctrl+Alt+C to compare motion and tool-change timing rows
• Run KAIJU Decomposition with Ctrl+Alt+D to inspect a temporary flattened version of the macro loop
• Look at the marked alert demo lines to see missing-bracket and missing-decimal warnings

Important Safety Note

This extension provides editor assistance only. It does not simulate toolpaths, verify machine state, check collisions, validate setup safety, or guarantee that a CNC program is safe to run.

Always verify CNC programs using proper simulation, machine checks, dry runs, and your shop's approved procedures before running code on a machine.

License

MIT