Tally for Visual Studio Code
A better place to write your first lines of code.
Tally is a beginner-friendly programming language made for learning by doing. This extension brings Tally into Visual Studio Code with readable syntax highlighting, useful code snippets, and editor support for .tally files.
Whether you're experimenting with your first loop or building a drawing with code, the editor should help you focus on the ideas—not fight the syntax.
What you get
- Syntax highlighting for Tally commands, conditions, functions, numbers, strings, comments, and more.
- Automatic language detection when you open a
.tally file.
- Code snippets for common tasks, including loops, functions, user input, and drawing.
- Smart indentation after block statements ending in
:.
- Comment toggling with
#, plus automatic bracket and quote pairing.
- Theme-friendly colors that follow your VS Code color theme.
No complicated setup is needed to start editing Tally programs.
See Tally in action
# Draw your first square
set pen color to "purple"
set pen size to 3
repeat 4 times:
move forward 100
turn right 90
say "My first square!"
Tally uses readable commands such as say, set, repeat, and ask to make programming concepts easier to understand.
Here's another example using input, variables, and conditions:
ask "What's your name?" and store in name
say "Welcome, {name}!"
set score to 5
if score >= 5:
say "You did it!"
otherwise:
say "Keep trying!"
Getting started
- Install this extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.
- Open or create a file ending in
.tally.
- Start writing Tally code. The language mode should show Tally in the status bar.
- Type a snippet prefix, then choose it from the suggestions to insert a code template.
- Run your program using a Tally interpreter or runner. This extension provides editor support, not a built-in runtime.
If a file isn't recognized automatically, click the language indicator in VS Code's bottom-right corner and select Tally.
Included snippets
Type a prefix in a .tally file and select the matching suggestion:
| Prefix |
Inserts |
if |
An if block |
ifelse |
An if / otherwise block |
repeat |
A repeat loop |
while |
A conditional loop |
foreach |
A loop over a list |
func |
A function definition |
ask |
A user-input prompt |
square |
A square-drawing example |
For example, repeat expands to:
repeat 4 times:
say "Hello!"
Highlighting support
The extension recognizes the main parts of the Tally language, including:
| Category |
Examples |
| Variables and output |
set, add, subtract, append, say |
| Decisions and loops |
if, otherwise, repeat, while, for each |
| Functions |
function, return, function calls |
| Drawing |
set pen color to, go to, pen down, move forward |
| Built-in helpers |
random(), range(), length(), sqrt() |
| Values |
Numbers, strings, true, false, nothing |
| Comments |
# This is a comment |
The extension also highlights variables inside interpolated strings, such as "Hello, {name}!".
Your VS Code theme controls the actual colors. Highlighting may look different from one theme to another.
About Tally
Tally is designed to help beginners—especially students—learn programming and logical thinking through simple, readable instructions and hands-on projects.
Feedback and contributions
If highlighting looks wrong or a snippet doesn't behave as expected, open an issue in this extension's GitHub repository. A short .tally example and a description of the expected behavior are especially helpful.
Contributions to the grammar, snippets, editor configuration, examples, and documentation are welcome, subject to the repository's contribution and licensing terms.
Tally — Learn to code. Learn to think.
