KVX — Key Value Matrix for VS Code

First-class editor support for the canonical Key Value Matrix language: ordered [section] / key = value documents stored as .kvx.

This extension is declarative. It runs no workspace code, makes no network requests, collects no telemetry, and works in untrusted and virtual workspaces.

Features

Modern .kvx registration and a dedicated KVX file icon.
Spec-grounded highlighting for section headers, opaque keys, assignment, comments outside quoted strings, lists, strings, and ${ENV} interpolation.
Helpful value highlighting for booleans, numbers, dates, timestamps, durations, byte sizes, percentages, hashes, paths, file-line references, URIs, state words, and operators. These are visual conventions: KVX keeps values opaque.
Snippets for sections, pairs, quoted values, lists, and interpolation.
Optional Key Value Matrix Icons theme with KVX and common development file/folder icons.
Bracket colorization, comment toggling, auto-closing pairs, and KVX-aware word selection.

Language boundary

KVX is only the specgen-derived Key Value Matrix language described by the KVX 1.0 specification. This extension intentionally does not register historical MatrixScript, retired dense formats, or Argus. Argus uses .agi and has its own extension.

# A deterministic workflow document.

[meta]
name    = "Example [#1](https://github.com/Sidiora-Labs/codify/issues/1)" # comments outside quotes
enabled = true
source  = ${WORKSPACE}/spec

[task.1]
title    = "Compile the plan"
requires = ["bootstrap", "schema"]
timeout  = 30s
status   = PENDING

Install

Install a published VSIX:

code --install-extension kvx-lang-VERSION.vsix

Or build the extension from this directory with Node.js 20 or newer:

npm ci
npm test
npm run package -- --out kvx-lang-1.1.0.vsix
code --install-extension kvx-lang-1.1.0.vsix

Optional icon theme

The KVX file icon is registered with the language even when another file-icon theme is active. To use the bundled theme for the whole Explorer:

Open the Command Palette.
Run Preferences: File Icon Theme.
Select Key Value Matrix Icons.

The broader icon set is derived from Devicon under the MIT License; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Snippets

Prefix	Result
`section`	Section header and first pair
`pair`	Key/value pair
`quoted`	Pair with a quoted value
`list`	Pair with a list value
`env`	Environment interpolation

Customize syntax colors

All scopes end in .kvx. For example:

{
  "editor.tokenColorCustomizations": {
    "textMateRules": [
      {
        "scope": "entity.name.section.kvx",
        "settings": { "foreground": "#004CED", "fontStyle": "bold" }
      },
      {
        "scope": "variable.other.key.kvx",
        "settings": { "foreground": "#82AAFF" }
      },
      {
        "scope": "variable.other.environment.kvx",
        "settings": { "foreground": "#C792EA" }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Development

npm ci                 # install pinned development tools
npm test               # offline structure + real TextMate tokenization
npm run list           # inspect the exact VSIX payload
npm run package -- --out /tmp/kvx-lang.vsix

The dependency-free repository gate is also available from the monorepo root:

make kvx-vscode-check

Please report defects through the monorepo issue forms and follow the project security policy.

KVX — Key Value Matrix

Sidiora Labs