Prima for Visual Studio Code

Language support for Prima, a symbol-first scientific computing language.

The extension covers the editor surface statically — syntax highlighting, a .pra file icon, language configuration, and snippets — and, when the prima toolchain is on your PATH, surfaces its prima check diagnostics directly in the editor.

Features

• Static checking — when a prima binary is available, the extension runs prima --json check on demand and on save, and maps the toolchain's diagnostics into VS Code problems. Codes (error[E0010], warning[W0003], …), notes, and = help: suggestions are shown; the status bar reflects the latest result and re-checks every open .pra file when clicked.
• Syntax highlighting — a full TextMate grammar (source.prima) covering:
  • keywords and reserved words (let, fn, class, self, match, parfor, config, import, async/trait, ...);
  • the numeric tower and container types (Integer, Rational, Number, Complex, F64, I8..U128, Array<T>, Dict, Set, Result<A, B>, Fn(...) -> T, ...);
  • string family: "...", '...', raw r"..."/r'...', f-strings f"..."/f'...'/rf"..." (with {expr} interpolation), and TeX literals tex"...";
  • number literals (decimal, 0x/0b, floats);
  • operators including ^, @/@., ../..=, :=, ->/=>, ∪/∩;
  • annotations @builtin, @jit, @gpu, @parallel, @c_api::extern;
  • enum variants (Some/None/Ok/Err) and comments (/// docs, //! module docs, //, /* */).
• File icon — a lightweight Prima Icons theme (File icon theme → Prima Icons) gives .pra files the Prima mark; everything else keeps the default icon set.
• Language configuration — // / /* */ comments, bracket auto-closing/surrounding, and { / } indentation rules.
• Snippets — fn, class, for, while, if/if-else, match, import, config, parfor, println, and more.

Requirements

• The Prima toolchain is optional — syntax highlighting, icons, and snippets work without it. The check commands and diagnostics need a prima binary (0.4 or newer, for the --json diagnostic stream) on your PATH; point the extension at a different location with the prima.command setting.

Install

• From the VS Code Marketplace (once published): search Prima.
• From a .vsix: code --install-extension prima-lang-0.2.0.vsix.

Usage

Open any .pra file (or set the language to Prima). The .pra extension is registered automatically; to use the custom file icon, select Prima Icons in the command palette (Preferences: File Icon Theme) or run Prima: Enable .pra File Icons.

.pra files are checked automatically on save when a prima binary is found. The following commands are available from the command palette:

• Prima: Check Current File — run prima check on the active editor.
• Prima: Check All Open Files — check every open .pra document.
• Prima: Enable .pra File Icons — switch to the Prima Icons theme.
• Prima: Show Version — report the extension version.

Settings

• prima.command — the prima executable path or command name used for prima check (default: prima).

Development

The JavaScript toolchain is Bun:

bun install
bun run compile       # tsc -> out/
bun run package       # vsce package -> prima-lang-*.vsix
bun run test          # @vscode/test-electron suite (headless: xvfb-run -a bun run test)

CI (.github/workflows/ci.yml) compiles, runs the test suite, and packages a .vsix on every push and PR.

Publishing

Pushing a v* tag compiles, tests, and packages the extension, then attaches the resulting .vsix to a matching GitHub Release — CI holds no credentials:

# bump the version in package.json and CHANGELOG.md first, then:
git tag v0.2.0
git push origin v0.2.0

The tag must equal the version in package.json — plain major.minor.patch, because the Marketplace rejects semver pre-release suffixes — and the workflow fails otherwise. The tag also selects the channel: an even minor version (v0.2.0) is a stable release, an odd minor version (v0.3.0) is a pre-release, and the GitHub Release is flagged accordingly. That is the recommended convention, which keeps a release ahead of the pre-release it supersedes. The release workflow can also be started manually from the Actions tab, passing an existing tag.

Publishing to the Marketplace

Putting the extension on the VS Code Marketplace is a deliberate, manual step — CI holds no publish credentials. Build the .vsix and publish that same artifact, so the Marketplace build matches the release:

bun run package
bunx vsce publish --no-dependencies --packagePath prima-lang-<version>.vsix
# odd minor (pre-release): add --pre-release

vsce can authenticate two ways:

• Personal access token — bunx vsce login TickPoints once; the token needs the Marketplace → Manage scope. Azure DevOps retires global PATs on 2026-12-01, so this is a stopgap.
• Microsoft Entra ID — after az login with an account that is a member of the TickPoints publisher, pass --azure-credential. Preferred once PATs are gone, and no app registration is needed for local use.

Roadmap

• Language server protocol client + prima-backed server (hover from stdlib docs, completion, go-to-definition; prima check already covers diagnostics).
• prima fmt on save.

License

MIT