Ignition Dev Tools

Full IDE support for Inductive Automation's Ignition SCADA platform in Visual Studio Code.

Provides completions, hover documentation, diagnostics, go-to-definition, script decode/encode, and a project browser for Ignition projects — whether you're working with gateway exports, ignition-git-module repos, or raw project files.

Features

Language Server (ignition-lsp)

• Completions for all system.* APIs (14 modules, 239+ functions) with parameter signatures
• Hover documentation — full API docs inline as you type
• Diagnostics — real-time linting for Jython scripts via ignition-lint
• Go-to-definition — jump to system.* function definitions and project scripts
• Java/Jython completions — java.lang, java.util, javax.swing, and more
• Python stdlib completions — standard library functions available in Jython

The LSP is installed automatically on first activation. No manual setup required.

Script Editing

• CodeLens — "Edit Script" actions appear above embedded Python scripts in JSON resource files
• Decode/Encode — extract scripts from Ignition's JSON format into editable Python buffers, then save them back
• Decode All — extract every script in a file at once
• Auto tab conversion — automatically converts space indentation to tabs (Ignition convention) when opening Python files

Project Browser

A sidebar view that mirrors the Ignition Designer's project tree:

• Discovers Ignition projects by finding project.json files
• Shows resource types: Script Libraries, Perspective Views, Vision Windows, Named Queries, and more
• Click any resource to open its primary file (code.py, view.json, etc.)
• Supports both standard Ignition project format and ignition-git-module format (com.inductiveautomation.* directories)

Tag Browser

Browse tags from ignition-git-module tag exports:

• Displays tag providers, folders, and individual tags
• Shows tag metadata: data type, value source, UDT type
• UDT types and instances expand to show member tags
• Right-click to copy the full Ignition tag path (e.g., [WHK01]WH/Distillery01/Temperature)

Component Tree

Inspect Perspective view component hierarchies:

• Open any view.json file to see the component tree
• Decode embedded scripts directly from the tree
• Navigate complex nested views visually

Kindling Integration

• Right-click .gwbk, .modl, or .idb files to open them with Kindling

Quick Start

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open a folder containing an Ignition project (with a project.json file)
3. The extension activates automatically and prompts to install the language server
4. Start editing — completions, hover docs, and diagnostics work immediately on Python and JSON files

Configuration

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "Ignition" to see all available commands:

• Ignition: Decode Script at Cursor — extract the script under cursor into an editable buffer
• Ignition: Decode All Scripts in File — extract all scripts in the current JSON file
• Ignition: List All Scripts in Workspace — find and list all scripts across the project
• Ignition: Format JSON — format Ignition JSON files
• Ignition: Convert Indentation to Tabs — manually convert spaces to tabs
• Ignition: Search Resources — search across project resources
• Ignition: Copy Qualified Script Path — copy the full script path for use in Ignition
• Ignition: Open with Kindling — open .gwbk/.modl files with Kindling

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85 or later
• Python 3.8+ (for automatic LSP installation)

Part of the Whiskey House Ignition Developer Toolkit

• Ignition Dev Tools — VS Code + Neovim IDE support (this extension)
• ignition-lint — static analysis for Ignition Python scripts
• ignition-git-module — native Git inside Ignition Designer

License

MIT