This is an extension to help you when editing LilyPond files in VS Code. It provides:-
Syntax highlighting
Tab-completion of built-in commands
Build tasks for engraving in preview/publish modes
Problem parser highlights warnings and errors in context in the source file
An auto-updating preview of the output PDF
Hovering/clicking an item in the PDF highlights/selects the relevant text in the .ly file. Your cursor or selection in the .ly file highlight the relevant notation in the PDF.
Detects old \version and can run convert-ly for you.
I made this because I've been using Frescobaldi for years, but I want the full power of VS Code's text editor. None of the existing LilyPond extensions had working point-and-click sync between the PDF and .ly file. I hope to grow this extension to eventually match all the capabilities of a LilyPond-specific editor like Frescobaldi with refactoring actions and better diagnostics for common errors.
Requirements
For most functionality you will need LilyPond installed. You can get it from https://lilypond.org/
In the settings, set lilypondStudio.executablePath to the path to your LilyPond executable.
Open a .ly file.
Hit ctrl-shift-b to "run build task" and then choose "Engrave (Preview)" from the list. You can also set it as the default build task if you like.
Preview mode embeds point-and-click information in the generated PDF, so you can click on notes to go to the right place in the source file, and vice-versa. This makes the file much larger, and it gives away the path to the source file on your computer. When making a PDF to distribute or keep, use "Engrave (Publish)".
The PDF will automatically open next to the input file and update live whenever it is updated on disk.
Edit the file and hit ctrl-shift-b again. E
Known issues and limitations
Embedding LilyPond inside scheme (using #{…#}) doesn't quite work yet.
Creating the build tasks gets a bit confused with multi-root workspaces but it seems to work fine regardless.
It does the "highlight all uses of the symbol under the cursor" for every pitch, which can be a bit distracting.
The build task always puts the output file next to the input. I want to add more customization for people with more complex file layouts, but I need to hear from you to know what kind of settings would be useful.
You can use snippets if you like, but the extension doesn't ship with any. If you find some useful, please let me know and I'll include them!
Commands/variables you define don't get tab-completed.
Only tested on Windows. MacOS and Linux users, please send me your feedback. I'm also interested in whether anyone would want this in web (vscode.dev) instead of desktop.
