Gherkin Step Navigator for RobotCode

Go to Definition and Hover support for Gherkin steps in Robot Framework projects.

Companion Extension: This extension is designed to work alongside RobotCode GherkinParser Support, providing enhanced navigation features for Gherkin-based BDD testing with Robot Framework.

Navigate directly from Gherkin feature files to their Robot Framework keyword implementations.

Features

Go to Definition

Ctrl+Click (or F12) on any Gherkin step to jump directly to its keyword implementation in .resource files.

Feature: User Login
  Scenario: Successful login
    Given I am on the login page      # Ctrl+Click to jump to keyword
    When I enter valid credentials
    Then I should see the dashboard

Hover Information

Hover over any Gherkin step to see:

• Keyword signature
• File location with clickable link
• Arguments and types
• Tags
• Documentation

Smart Matching

• Exact matching — Direct keyword name matches
• Variable patterns — Handles ${variable} placeholders in keywords
• Flexible quotes — Matches steps with or without quoted strings

Installation

1. Install RobotCode for Robot Framework support
2. Install RobotCode GherkinParser Support for Gherkin syntax support
3. Install this extension from the VS Code Marketplace

How It Works

The extension:

1. Scans your workspace for Robot Framework .resource files
2. Parses the *** Keywords *** sections to find keyword definitions
3. Matches Gherkin steps to keywords using exact and pattern matching
4. Caches results for 30 seconds for fast navigation

File Structure

The extension looks for keywords in:

• **/steps/**/*.resource — Primary location (recommended)
• **/*.resource — Fallback for all resource files

Example

Feature file (login.feature):

Given a user named "Alice" with password "secret123"

Keyword file (steps/auth.resource):

*** Keywords ***
a user named "${name}" with password "${password}"
    [Documentation]    Create a test user with credentials
    [Arguments]        ${extra_args}=
    Create User    ${name}    ${password}

Result: Ctrl+Click on the step navigates to line 3 of auth.resource.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.82.0 or later
• RobotCode — Robot Framework support for VS Code
• RobotCode GherkinParser Support — Gherkin syntax support for RobotCode
• Robot Framework keyword files (.resource)

Compatibility

This extension is designed to work as a companion to RobotCode GherkinParser Support:

• Provides navigation features (Go to Definition, Hover) that complement the GherkinParser
• Does not register language grammars or syntax highlighting (handled by GherkinParser)
• Works seamlessly with existing RobotCode extensions

Contributing

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue on GitHub.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.