BioScript DNA Compiler & Runtime for VS Code

First-class editing and execution support for the BioScript nucleotide DSL.

Features

.bio file detection and BioScript syntax highlighting
# comment toggling and region folding
snippets for complete programs and every instruction
instruction and base-4 register IntelliSense
hover documentation with opcode, ATP cost, and operand decoding
live diagnostics for source size, strict-mode characters, incomplete codons, missing operands, and executable junk codons
editor CodeLens, title-bar, context-menu, and Command Palette actions
safe Compile and Run commands using a direct Python process rather than a shell
runtime output, execution status, and a Stop command
automatic workspace .venv Python discovery on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Quick start

Install the BioScript Python package in your project environment.
Open a folder containing .bio files.
Open a .bio file and choose Run BioScript from the editor title bar, or run BioScript: Run Current File from the Command Palette.

The extension first checks the workspace's .venv:

Windows: .venv\Scripts\python.exe
macOS/Linux: .venv/bin/python3, then .venv/bin/python

If no workspace environment is present, it uses python. Set bioscript.runtime.pythonPath when your interpreter lives elsewhere.

Language

Codon	Opcode	ATP	Description
`AUG`	`STRT`	0	Allocate a frame and start
`UAA`	`HALT`	0	Halt the current strand
`CTC`	`MTBL`	2	Metabolize a bytes packet
`GAG r`	`REPL`	5	Replicate register `r`
`CAC r`	`IMMU`	3	Verify and repair register `r`
`GGC r`	`EXPR`	1	Decode and output register `r`
other	`JUNK`	1	Warn and advance

Register operands are base-4 codons: A=0, C=1, G=2, and T/U=3. Therefore AAA is register 0, AAC is register 1, and TTT is register 63.

Commands

BioScript: Compile Current File
BioScript: Run Current File
BioScript: Stop Active Program
BioScript: Show Runtime Output

Compile and Run save dirty files first. Only one runtime process is allowed per extension host, and execution is disabled in untrusted workspaces.

Settings

Setting	Default	Purpose
`bioscript.runtime.pythonPath`	auto	Python executable
`bioscript.runtime.workingDirectory`	workspace	Process working directory
`bioscript.runtime.maxWorkers`	`4`	Runtime worker count
`bioscript.runtime.seed`	`0`	Deterministic mutation seed
`bioscript.runtime.implicitHalt`	`false`	Permit end-of-program without `UAA`
`bioscript.validation.enabled`	`true`	Live diagnostics
`bioscript.validation.strictSource`	`false`	Strict source characters and CLI parsing
`bioscript.validation.warnOnJunk`	`true`	Junk-codon warnings
`bioscript.validation.maxSourceBytes`	`1048576`	Editor source-size limit
`bioscript.validation.delay`	`200`	Edit-to-diagnostic delay in milliseconds

Both path settings support ${workspaceFolder}. Relative paths are resolved against the file's workspace folder.

Install a local VSIX

Build the extension:

pnpm install
pnpm run test
pnpm run lint
pnpm run package

Then open VS Code's Command Palette, select Extensions: Install from VSIX..., and choose the generated bioscript-language-support-0.1.0.vsix.

Extension development

Open this directory in VS Code, run pnpm install, and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host. The pre-launch task compiles the TypeScript source.

Limitations

Runtime commands require VS Code Desktop or a remote workspace extension host; browser-only virtual workspaces are not supported.
Live diagnostics intentionally mirror compilation structure but the Python compiler remains authoritative.
Cross-strand runtime output order remains concurrent and may vary.