AXIS Language Support for VS Code

VS Code extension for the AXIS programming language (v1.3.0).

Features

Syntax Highlighting

Keywords — func, return, when, else, while, loop, repeat, break, stop, continue, skip, match, for, in, syscall
Labels — @label on loops, plus stop @label / skip @label
Type definitions — field, enum with type name + underlying type coloring
Modifiers — update, copy, const
Cast operator — as (e.g. x as i64)
Logical operators — and, or, not
Built-in types — i8–i64, u8–u64, bool, str, ptr, void
Array types — (i32; 5), (Vec2; 3) etc.
Mode declarations — mode script, mode compile
Copy expressions — copy.runtime, copy.compile
Built-in functions — write, writeln, input, range, and the {var}_input_failed() helper
Variable declarations — name: type colored (both built-in and user-defined types)
Function definitions — func name(params) -> type: with parameter highlighting
Function parameters — param: type, update param: type, copy param: type
Return type annotations — -> i32, -> MyType
Enum access — Color::Red and Color.Red
Member access — point.x, r.origin.x
Numbers — Decimal, Hex (0xFF), Binary (0b1010), _ separators
Strings — Double-quoted with escape sequences (\n, \t, \\, \", \0, \r)
Comments — // and # line comments
Operators — Full set including ->, .., compound assignment (+=, -=, etc.)
Punctuation — Commas, colons, semicolons, brackets all scoped

Editing Support

Indentation-based folding — Collapse blocks automatically (like Python)
Auto-indent — After colon-terminated lines (functions, loops, conditionals, fields, enums)
Bracket matching — (), [] with colorized bracket pairs
Auto-closing — Brackets, quotes, string-aware
Smart commenting — Toggle line comments with Ctrl+/

Snippets

Type a prefix and press Tab:

Prefix	Expands to
`func`	Function definition
`main`	`func main() -> i32:` template
`var`	Variable declaration with type
`when`	Conditional block
`whene`	When/else block
`while`	While loop
`repeat`	Infinite loop with stop
`for`	For-in-range loop
`match`	Match with arms + wildcard
`field`	Field (struct) definition
`enum`	Enum definition
`wl`	`writeln(...)`
`wr`	`write(...)`
`arr`	Array declaration
`compile`	Full compile mode template
`script`	Full script mode template
`return`	`return ...` value
`const`	Immutable constant
`input`	`input(...)` with cast
`lbl`	Labeled loop (`@outer`)

Linter

The extension runs axis check in the background and shows any errors it reports inline, in the Problems panel, and as squiggles on the affected lines. It runs:

when a .axis file is opened,
after a save,
and (debounced) while typing, so unsaved edits are checked against the in-memory buffer.

Use the command palette entry AXIS: Check current file to trigger a run manually, or AXIS: Clear all diagnostics to wipe the markers.

IntelliSense

Completion for keywords, primitive types, booleans, built-in functions (write, writeln, input, range, syscall), and a handful of block snippets (main, whenelse, forrange, matchblock).
Hover documentation for keywords, primitive types, and the built-ins above, including a short code example for each function.

Configuration

Setting	Default	Purpose
`axis.compilerPath`	`""` (auto-detect)	Path to `axis` / `axis.exe`. When empty, the extension looks for `<workspace>/axcc/axis` first, then falls back to the `PATH`.
`axis.useWsl`	`false`	On Windows, invoke the compiler through `wsl` (useful when `axcc` is built for Linux only). Paths are translated automatically.
`axis.enableLinter`	`true`	Turn the linter on or off without disabling the extension.
`axis.lintOnType`	`true`	Re-lint while typing. Disable to lint only on save.
`axis.lintDelay`	`500`	Debounce interval (ms) for lint-on-type.
`axis.checkArgs`	`[]`	Extra arguments appended after `check`, e.g. `["--all"]`.

Installation (Local)

Option 1: Extension Host (Development Mode)

Open VS Code in the axis-vscode folder:
```
cd axis-vscode
code .
```
Press F5 → starts Extension Development Host
Open a .axis file in the new window
Syntax highlighting is active!

Option 2: Manual Installation

Copy the axis-vscode folder to:
- Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions\
- macOS/Linux: ~/.vscode/extensions/
Rename to: axis-language-0.5.0
Restart VS Code
Open a .axis file

Build Integration (Optional)

To compile AXIS files with Ctrl+Shift+B:

In your main workspace (not in axis-vscode!), create .vscode/tasks.json:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Build AXIS",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "axis",
      "args": [
        "build",
        "${file}",
        "-o",
        "${fileDirname}/${fileBasenameNoExtension}"
      ],
      "group": {
        "kind": "build",
        "isDefault": true
      },
      "presentation": {
        "reveal": "always",
        "panel": "shared"
      },
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "Run AXIS Script",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "axis",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "${file}"
      ],
      "group": "test",
      "presentation": {
        "reveal": "always",
        "panel": "shared"
      },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Open a .axis file
Press Ctrl+Shift+B → select "Build AXIS"

Usage

// test.axis
func main() i32:
    x: i32 = 42
    return x

Compile:

axis build test.axis -o test
./test
echo $?  # 42

Structure

axis-vscode/
├── package.json                    # Extension manifest
├── language-configuration.json     # Brackets, comments, folding, indentation
├── syntaxes/
│   └── axis.tmLanguage.json       # TextMate grammar (full coverage)
├── snippets/
│   └── axis.json                  # Code snippets
└── README.md

Roadmap

[ ] LSP (Language Server Protocol)
[ ] IntelliSense / Autocomplete
[ ] Error Diagnostics
[ ] Go to Definition
[ ] Hover Info (Type Display)

License

MIT

AXIS Programming Language (axcc)

AXIS Language