Edit PDF-compatible Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files without leaving VS Code.
This extension follows the React webview and esbuild architecture used by
lerobot-viewer, while registering a real VS Code custom editor for .ai files.
Features
Opens .ai files by double-clicking them in the Explorer
Renders every PDF-compatible artboard/page
Extracts live PDF text into selectable, movable, editable text objects
Select/move, text, rectangle, ellipse, line, and freehand pen tools
Fill, stroke, stroke width, opacity, and font size controls
Exports the original artwork plus edits to a new PDF
Data safety
Illustrator's private editing stream is proprietary and can be damaged by a
third-party PDF writer. Ai Illustrator File Editor therefore keeps the source .ai untouched.
Cmd/Ctrl+S saves editable overlay data to <file>.ai.ai-editor.json.
Export PDF writes a new <file>.edited.pdf.
Text that remains live in the PDF is editable. Text converted to vector
outlines in Illustrator remains part of the locked artwork background.
Only PDF-compatible .ai files can be rendered. In Illustrator, enable
Create PDF Compatible File when saving.
Development
npm install
npm run check
npm run build
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host, then open an
.ai file.
