Sonic Pi 5 for VS Code

Write and run Sonic Pi code in VS Code. Syntax highlighting, completions, hovers for samples, synths, FX and commands, a log channel, and Run/Stop straight to a running Sonic Pi 5 server.

Fork of s00500/vscode-sonic-pi, targeting Sonic Pi 5. Linux is the tested platform. See Fork notes.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.144 or newer.
• Sonic Pi 5.x installed on the same machine. Check that Sonic Pi plays sound on its own first.

Install

1. Download the .vsix from Releases.
2. In VS Code, open the Extensions view, click the ... menu, choose Install from VSIX…, and pick the file.

Getting started

1. Open a .pi file. For a .rb file, run Change Language Mode and choose Sonic Pi. The server starts automatically when a Sonic Pi file is open.
2. Press F5 or Alt+R to run the file, Alt+S to stop.
3. The editor shows controls above the code: ▶ Run / ■ Stop above the first line, ▶ Run cell above each block that plays something, and ⟳ Load def above define blocks. Load def reloads that function into the running session, so a running loop picks up your edit on its next cycle. A ▶ button also sits at the top right of the editor tab. Turn all of this off with sonic-pi.showEditorControls.
4. While code plays, the lines that are currently making sound light up, like in the Sonic Pi app. Turn it off with sonic-pi.showPlayingLineHighlight.

Run cell runs only that block in its own run. Variables from other blocks are not visible there. Share state with defined functions or set/get, or run the whole file.

Commands

All commands are in the Command Palette under the Sonic Pi category: Start Server, Check Install, Open Examples, Open Tutorial, Run, Run selected text, Stop, Toggle recording, and the notebook commands (create notebook, run cell, stop).

Settings

Settings use the vscode-sonic-pi. prefix. The full table with defaults lives in docs/SETTINGS.md. The ones you are most likely to touch:

• sonic-pi.sonicPiRootDirectory: set this only if your Sonic Pi install is not in the platform default location (/usr/lib/sonic-pi on Linux, /Applications/Sonic Pi.app/Contents/Resources on macOS, C:\Program Files\Sonic Pi on Windows).
• sonic-pi.showEditorControls: the Run/Stop/Run cell controls.
• sonic-pi.showPlayingLineHighlight: the playing-line highlight.
• sonic-pi.safeMode: synth argument checking. Keep it on; turning it off lets bad synth argument values produce loud or uncomfortable sounds.

Troubleshooting

If there is no sound or the server never comes up, check that Sonic Pi itself plays sound. Then read the Log and Cues output channels in VS Code, plus the files in ~/.sonic-pi/log/: daemon.log for startup, spider.log for run errors, supersonic.log for the audio engine.

If VS Code says the Sonic Pi root path is not properly configured, set sonic-pi.sonicPiRootDirectory, for example /usr/lib/sonic-pi on Linux.

If Run and Stop do nothing, check the language mode in the status bar; the shortcuts need a Sonic Pi editor. Notebooks have their own bindings.

To check that the extension loaded, run Sonic Pi: Check Install.

Fork notes

Tested against Sonic Pi 5.0.0 on Linux (pacman layout, daemon under app/server/ruby/bin/). The Linux root path defaults to /usr/lib/sonic-pi, both daemon layouts are detected, and the Sonic Pi 5 token line is parsed (6 values, negative tokens kept, unparsable line aborts the start). Editor controls and the playing-line highlight are this fork's additions. Full change history: CHANGELOG.md.

License and credits

MIT, see LICENSE. Builds on the work of Jackson Kearl, Luis Lloret and the s00500 fork. Bundled tutorial content is copyright Scott Aaron.