Spectre Language Support for VS Code

Spectre™ is a netlist syntax used by the circuit simulator from Cadence Design Systems. The syntax is also used by other industry circuit simulators from various EDA vendors.

This extension provides comprehensive language support for Spectre netlists, including intelligent navigation, syntax highlighting, and connectivity visualization. It applies to files with the .scs extension.

Features

Navigation & Intelligence

• Go to Definition (F12) - Jump to subcircuit definitions from instances
• Find All References (Shift+F12) - Find all instances of a subcircuit across the workspace
• Inlay Hints - Visual port-to-net mapping annotations showing connectivity inline
  • Displays portName: before each net name in instance declarations
  • Supports multi-line instances with continuation characters (\ and +)
  • Includes built-in devices (resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc.)

Syntax Highlighting

• Semantic Tokens Provider - Advanced context-aware syntax highlighting
  • Accurate highlighting across multi-line continuations
  • Proper recognition of subcircuit names, instance names, parameters, and nets
• Code Folding - Fold subcircuit and section blocks

Code Structure

• Outline View - Navigate subcircuits and sections via document outline

Language Features

• Multi-line instance support with backslash (\) and plus (+) continuations
• Workspace-wide symbol search (up to 500 files)
• Built-in device definitions for common primitives

Usage

• Navigate to subcircuit definitions: Place cursor on an instance name and press F12 or right-click → "Go to Definition"
• Find all instances: Place cursor on a subcircuit name and press Shift+F12 or right-click → "Go to References"
• View port connectivity: Inlay hints automatically appear in instance declarations showing which port connects to which net

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• spectre.inlayHints.enabled: Enable/disable inlay hints for port-to-net mapping (default: true)

Release Notes

0.6.0

• Added Reference Provider for finding all subcircuit instances
• Added Semantic Tokens Provider for enhanced syntax highlighting
• Added Inlay Hints Provider for port-to-net connectivity visualization
• Improved multi-line instance parsing with shared parser
• Added built-in device support (resistors, capacitors, transistors)
• Enhanced workspace-wide search capabilities

0.5.1

• Initial Go to Definition support
• Basic syntax highlighting
• Code folding for subcircuits

See also

• Spectre Extension on VS Code Marketplace