C# Proto Navigation

Navigate seamlessly from generated gRPC C# code to protobuf definitions in VS Code.

Features

Automatically intercepts "Go to Definition" (F12/Ctrl+Click) in C# files and redirects to protobuf sources when appropriate.

Fields: request.UserId → UserRequest.user_id
Enums: Status.Active → STATUS_ACTIVE
Enum Prefixes: UserType.AdminUser → USER_TYPE_ADMIN_USER
RPC Methods: client.GetUserAsync → UserService.GetUser
Services: Grpc.User.UserClient → service UserService
Messages: UserRequest → message UserRequest

How It Works

Intercepts all "Go to Definition" requests in C# files
Delegates to C# language server first
Detects if result points to generated files (.pb.cs, Grpc.cs, etc.)
Inserts protobuf definition if found, otherwise returns or jump to original result

Benefits:

✅ No interference with normal C# navigation
✅ Leverages C#'s intelligence
✅ Works in monorepos and complex projects

Installation

Install from VS Code Marketplace: TechyChan.csharp-proto-nav

Configuration

{
  "csharpProtoNav.enableDebugLogging": false,
  "csharpProtoNav.protoFilePatterns": ["**/*.proto"]
}

Requirements

VS Code 1.74.0+
Protobuf files in workspace

Architecture

Components

ProtoDefinitionProvider: Intercepts definition requests
ProtoCache: Indexes protobuf symbols for fast lookup
NameConverter: Handles C# ↔ protobuf name conversions

Generated File Detection

Paths: /obj/, /bin/, .pb.cs, Grpc.cs, .g.cs, .designer.cs

Name Conversions

PascalCase ↔ snake_case: UserId ↔ user_id
Enum values: Active → ACTIVE
Enum prefixes: UserType.Admin → USER_TYPE_ADMIN
Async methods: GetUserAsync → GetUser
gRPC services: Grpc.User.UserClient → UserService

Development

git clone https://github.com/TechyChan/csharp-proto-nav
cd csharp-proto-nav
npm install && npm run compile && npm run package
code --install-extension ./csharp-proto-nav-*.vsix --force

License

MIT License - see LICENSE.md

TechyChan