VS Code extension for decoding RouterOS \XX hex-encoded UTF-8 sequences in .rsc configuration exports.
Features
Hover Preview — hover over any quoted string containing hex sequences to see the decoded UTF-8 text (toggleable)
Inline Decoration — decoded text displayed inline before the closing quote (toggleable)
Multiline Support — correctly handles RouterOS backslash-continued strings across multiple lines
Comment Search — search decoded UTF-8 text in comment= values, optionally including the entire text of source= scripts in the current .rsc file
Configurable — customize hover title visibility and inline delimiters via Settings
Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl+Alt+R
Toggle hover preview on/off
Ctrl+Alt+D
Toggle inline decoded text on/off
Ctrl+Alt+F
Find text in decoded comments and scripts (switch scope using the filter button)
These shortcuts are active only when editing .rsc files.
Settings
Open File → Preferences → Settings and search for RouterOS Hex Decoder, or edit settings.json directly:
Setting
Default
Description
routerosHexDecoder.showHoverTitle
true
Show "Decoded:" header in hover preview
routerosHexDecoder.inlinePrefix
(→
Opening delimiter for inline decoded text
routerosHexDecoder.inlineSuffix
)
Closing delimiter for inline decoded text
routerosHexDecoder.searchLeadingCharacters
space, "'([{=,:;.!?#
Characters treated as a space before the searched text
routerosHexDecoder.searchTrailingCharacters
space, "')]}=,:;.!?
Characters treated as a space after the searched text
The start and end of a value also count as boundaries, even if you remove all characters from these lists. Change the two lists independently in File → Preferences → Settings; each character in a list is an alternative to a query-edge space, not a sequence to match.
Changes apply immediately without reloading.
Usage
Open any .rsc file in VS Code
Hover over hex-encoded strings (e.g., "\D0\94\D0\B8\D0\B0\D0\BF\D0\B0\D0\B7\D0\BE\D0\BD LAN") to see decoded preview
Press Ctrl+Alt+R to toggle hover previews or Ctrl+Alt+D to toggle inline decoded text display
Run RouterOS HD: Find Text in Comments from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) or press Ctrl+Alt+F, then type a query. Search includes both comment= and the entire source= text by default. Click the filter button in the search box to switch to comments only (or back) without clearing the query. Select a result to highlight its exact source bytes (including \XX sequences). Search is case-insensitive and covers only the active .rsc file; scripts include all text, not only # comments. A leading or trailing space in the query matches a configurable delimiter or the start/end of a value. For example, lan finds comment="LAN", comment="[LAN=", and comment="LAN)", but not comment="HomeLAN" or comment="LAN-222". Delimiters actually present in a match are included in the highlighted result; literal query characters remain literal ( lan= requires =). Configure leading and trailing delimiter characters separately under File → Preferences → Settings using RouterOS Hex Decoder: Search Leading Characters and Search Trailing Characters.
