ZeroSyntax v2 for VS Code

ZeroSyntax adds diagnostics, completion, navigation, refactoring, semantic highlighting, and quick fixes for Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour INI files. The platform-specific extension package includes the language server, so there is nothing else to install.

Install

Download the .vsix for Windows x64 or Linux x64 from the latest release.
In VS Code, open Extensions, choose Views and More Actions …, then select Install from VSIX….
Open the downloaded file and reload VS Code if prompted.
Open your map or mod folder and start editing an .ini file.

You can also install from a terminal:

code --install-extension zerosyntax-vscode-<platform>-<version>.vsix

Recommended setup

Open the folder containing your project rather than a single file. ZeroSyntax indexes the workspace so definitions, references, rename, and completion work across its INI files.

When you first open an INI file, click Select Game Folder in the setup notification and browse to your Zero Hour installation folder. You can also run ZeroSyntax: Select Game Folder from the Command Palette at any time to add a game or mod folder. The folder is added to zerosyntax.baseIniRoots without replacing existing entries, and indexing starts automatically without a restart. It is saved in user settings for reuse across projects, unless the workspace already overrides this setting; in that case, the workspace setting is updated.

Use ZeroSyntax v2: Base Ini Roots in Settings to manage additional roots, reorder or remove entries, or add individual .big archives that load before map.ini or solo.ini. This prevents false unresolved-reference warnings and enables W3D model, bone, WAV/MP3 audio, and TGA/DDS texture checks. Configure every loaded game/mod root; asset warnings activate per kind once any matching asset is indexed. DDS-only textures are offered using the engine-compatible stem.tga spelling.

While completing Model =, move the active selection with the keyboard or mouse to see a textured W3D thumbnail in VS Code's suggestion-details pane. The preview is loaded only for the selected entry. If the pane is collapsed, press Ctrl+Space again or use the suggestion widget's details control. Disable zerosyntax.preview.enable to avoid model rendering and cached images on lower-end hardware. Use zerosyntax.preview.imageWidth to change the thumbnail/pane content width and zerosyntax.preview.zoomPercent to change the model framing.

Settings

Setting	Default	Purpose
`zerosyntax.baseIniRoots`	`[]`	Base game/mod directories and `.big` archives used for INI and game-asset checks; changes reindex.
`zerosyntax.progress.mode`	`indexing`	Shows indexing progress by default; `verbose` also reports settings-driven diagnostic refreshes, and `off` hides status progress while keeping Output logs.
`zerosyntax.schema.path`	empty	Custom schema JSON; changes reparse and reindex, with invalid files falling back to the built-in schema.
`zerosyntax.analysis.modelMemberStrictness`	`compatible`	Disables member warnings, accepts any applicable model, or requires every model; applies immediately.
`zerosyntax.analysis.allowPercentagesWithoutSign`	`false`	Allows engine-compatible percentage values without a trailing `%`; applies immediately.
`zerosyntax.analysis.mapOrderingDiagnostics`	`true`	Warns about source-proven forward-order problems in `map.ini` and `solo.ini`; applies immediately.
`zerosyntax.analysis.debounceMs`	`250`	Delay before diagnostics/index refresh after typing; applies to future edits immediately.
`zerosyntax.preview.enable`	`true`	Enables rendered W3D model completion previews; disable on lower-end hardware.
`zerosyntax.preview.imageWidth`	`160`	Displayed W3D thumbnail width in pixels; applies to newly resolved previews immediately.
`zerosyntax.preview.zoomPercent`	`100`	Default W3D preview camera zoom; applies to newly resolved previews immediately.
`zerosyntax.format.enable`	`false`	Enables indentation formatting immediately when the client supports dynamic registration.
`zerosyntax.server.path`	empty	Uses a custom `zerosyntax-lsp` binary instead of the bundled one; changing it restarts the server.
`zerosyntax.trace.server`	`off`	Logs LSP traffic for troubleshooting.

Formatting is intentionally off by default. Enable it only when you want Format Document or format-on-save to normalize indentation.

Runtime settings reload without restarting. Schema and base-root changes show phased progress through discovery, indexing, activation, and diagnostics unless zerosyntax.progress.mode is off; only changing the server executable path requires a normal VS Code language-server restart.

INI file association

The extension associates .ini files with Generals INI. If your workspace also contains unrelated INI files, keep those as plain text and override the association only for the folders you want ZeroSyntax to handle:

{
  "files.associations": {
    "**/*.ini": "plaintext",
    "Data/INI/**/*.ini": "generals-ini",
    "Maps/**/*.ini": "generals-ini"
  }
}

Use the language selector in VS Code's status bar to change an individual file.

Troubleshooting

If the server cannot be found, reinstall the .vsix for your platform. A source checkout does not contain a bundled server until it is built.
If map references are reported as missing, configure zerosyntax.baseIniRoots and check that the paths point to the required INI folders or .big archives.
Start with the operational log under Output → ZeroSyntax v2 Language Server. Set zerosyntax.trace.server to verbose for protocol traffic. For internal cache, parse, and diagnostic decisions, launch VS Code with RUST_LOG=zerosyntax_lsp=debug (PowerShell: $env:RUST_LOG = "zerosyntax_lsp=debug"; code .).

Report reproducible problems through GitHub Issues with a minimal INI sample, your OS, VS Code version, and ZeroSyntax version.

Contributor build and packaging instructions are in the VS Code development guide.

ZeroSyntax v2