MForge MUMPS & VistA IDE

A modern VS Code IDE toolkit for MUMPS, GT.M/YottaDB, InterSystems-style M code, and VistA/Hakeem development.

Version: 0.6.2
VS Code: ^1.90.0
License: MIT

MForge is designed to work out of the box for common MUMPS routine trees. Open a .m file, switch to MForge Dark, and use normal VS Code actions such as Ctrl+Click, F12, Peek Definition, Shift+F12, Outline, and Command Palette commands.

Feature Overview

Core Language Support

• Syntax highlighting for labels, commands, postconditionals, intrinsics, globals, strings, comments, numbers, operators, and routine references.
• MUMPS language configuration for comments, brackets, auto-closing pairs, word boundaries, and indentation-friendly editing.
• Semantic highlighting for labels, commands, intrinsic functions, system variables, globals, local variables, parameters, FileMan/VistA APIs, and routine references.
• MForge Dark theme with distinct colors for MUMPS symbols and clear navigable versus unresolved routine references.
• Snippets for common MUMPS, FileMan, VistA RPC, and routine workflows.

Editing

• Conservative formatter for routine cleanup without aggressive rewrites.
• Auto indentation for labels, commands, comments, and dot-blocks.
• Dot-block aware formatting for nested VistA-style command blocks.
• Trailing whitespace cleanup through formatter and diagnostics.
• Safe parsing for strings/comments so navigation, diagnostics, and highlighting avoid quoted text and comments.

Diagnostics

MForge includes basic MUMPS diagnostics plus optional VistA/UJO standards checks.

• Unterminated strings.
• Invalid labels.
• Suspicious or unknown commands.
• Parenthesis balance warnings.
• VistA/UJO standards diagnostics when mforge.standards.profile is vista, ujo, or custom:
  • routine header checks,
  • namespace checks,
  • label length checks,
  • local variable naming checks,
  • ^TMP safety checks,
  • ^% global protection checks.

Navigation

• Ctrl+Click navigation.
• F12 Go To Definition.
• Peek Definition.
• Document Symbols / Outline for routine labels.
• Workspace Symbols for routines, labels, and LABEL^ROUTINE entries.
• Local label navigation.
• Cross-routine LABEL^ROUTINE navigation.
• Routine-side and label-side navigation within the same reference.
• Same-document local variable navigation.

Find References

Use Shift+F12 or Find All References for:

• local labels,
• cross-routine references,
• common FileMan/VistA APIs,
• same-document local variables.

IntelliSense

• Hover for MUMPS commands.
• Hover for intrinsic functions.
• Hover for system variables.
• Completion for commands.
• Completion for intrinsics.
• Completion for system variables.
• Completion for labels and routines from the current document and routine index.
• Signature help for common intrinsic functions.

Routine Indexing

MForge builds a routine index for navigation and references while avoiding broad, slow scans by default.

• Auto-detects common routine folders.
• Gives localr priority over routines when duplicate routines exist.
• Uses routines as fallback source folders.
• Maintains incremental cache data for repeated indexing.
• Uses lazy/cached index behavior for normal navigation startup.
• Provides navigation diagnostics and index health commands.
• Supports MForge: Rebuild Routine Index and MForge: Show Navigation Diagnostics.

Normally you do not need to edit settings.json. MForge auto-detects common Hakeem/YottaDB routine folders and can apply recommended Hakeem settings from the Command Palette.

Templates

• Routine Header Template: inserts a legacy-compatible EHS/VistA-style routine header with namespace, patch, date, version, and build metadata.
• Patch Change Block Template: inserts a patch marker block with author, patch number, date, fix type, reason, optional scope, and start/end sentinels.

Debugging

MForge contributes a VS Code debug type named mumps and carries forward the legacy MDEBUG.m helper routine for sites using that workflow.

• Launch/Attach configuration for debug type mumps.
• Packaged MDEBUG.m helper routine.
• Direct debug commands:
  • ZSTEP,
  • ZSTEP INTO,
  • ZSTEP OUTOF,
  • ZCONTINUE,
  • ZWRITE,
  • ZSHOW,
  • ZBREAK,
  • ZPRINT @$ZPOSITION,
  • Send Raw Debug Command.

Live MDEBUG connector hardening is still under active improvement. Direct debug commands fail safely with a clear warning if no active mumps debug session is connected.

Supported Files

• .m
• .M
• .mumps
• .mps
• .rou
• .int

Quick Start

1. Install MForge MUMPS & VistA IDE.
2. Open a .m file.
3. Select MForge Dark from Preferences: Color Theme.
4. Ctrl+Click a LABEL^ROUTINE reference such as D EN^XUP.
5. If navigation needs help, run MForge: Show Navigation Diagnostics.
6. For common Hakeem systems, run MForge: Apply Recommended Hakeem Settings only if auto-detection needs a nudge.

MUMPS / VistA Examples

D EN^XUP
S X=$$GET1^DIQ(200,DUZ,.01)
D FILE^DIE("","FDA","ERR")
I '$D(ASKINGVC)!'$$GET^XPAR("SYS","XU VC CASE SENSITIVE") S X=$$UP^XLFSTR(X)

Use Ctrl+Click, F12, Peek Definition, or Shift+F12 on labels, variables, FileMan APIs, and LABEL^ROUTINE calls when the target routine is open, in the workspace, configured, or auto-detected.

Commands

Important Settings

Most users do not need to edit settings.json manually. Use MForge: Apply Recommended Hakeem Settings and MForge: Show Navigation Diagnostics first.

Recommended Hakeem settings applied by command:

{
  "mforge.routineSearchPaths": [
    "/var/worldvista/prod/hakeem/localr",
    "/var/worldvista/prod/hakeem/routines"
  ],
  "mforge.indexExtensionlessRoutines": false,
  "mforge.autoDetectRoutinePaths": true,
  "mforge.autoRebuildIndexOnActivation": true,
  "mforge.trace.level": "info"
}

MForge Dark Theme

MForge Dark uses a professional dark background with semantic colors tuned for MUMPS:

• labels: warm yellow,
• commands: blue,
• intrinsics: purple,
• system variables: red,
• globals: cyan,
• locals: muted gold,
• parameters: green,
• strings: soft orange,
• comments: green,
• numbers: pale green,
• FileMan/VistA APIs: teal,
• navigable routine references: underlined gold,
• unresolved routine references: italic purple.

This makes GET1^DIQ, FILE^DIE, normal intrinsics, and navigable routine links visually distinct.

Troubleshooting

Extension not activating

Open a supported MUMPS file (.m, .M, .mumps, .mps, .rou, or .int). Confirm the language mode is MForge MUMPS or MUMPS.

Routine not indexed

Run MForge: Show Navigation Diagnostics. If the routine folder is outside the workspace and not auto-detected, run MForge: Apply Recommended Hakeem Settings or add the exact routine folder to mforge.routineSearchPaths.

Navigation slow

Avoid broad parent folders such as /var/worldvista/prod/hakeem. Prefer focused folders such as localr and routines. Run MForge: Apply Recommended Hakeem Settings for the common Hakeem layout.

Ctrl+Click not working

Run MForge: Rebuild Routine Index, then try Ctrl+Click or F12 again. If the target remains unresolved, run MForge: Show Routine Index Status and confirm the target routine appears under key routines or indexed source folders.

MDEBUG not connected

Direct debug commands require an active VS Code debug session of type mumps. If no session is active, MForge shows a safe warning and writes details to MForge MUMPS Debug output.

Remote container paths

Use paths as seen inside the remote container or Remote SSH host. For Hakeem containers, /var/worldvista/prod/hakeem/localr and /var/worldvista/prod/hakeem/routines are preferred when they exist.

Reset or rebuild index

• Run MForge: Rebuild Routine Index to rebuild routine navigation data.
• Run MForge: Reset MForge Settings To Defaults to remove only MForge setting overrides.
• Reload VS Code if a remote filesystem provider changes paths underneath the extension.

Release / Local VSIX

From Src/:

npm install
npm run compile
npm run test
npm run package
code --install-extension mforge-mumps-vista-ide-0.6.2.vsix

Roadmap Notes

MForge 0.6.2 is release polish. It does not start new Stage 5 features such as Rename Symbol, Call Hierarchy, or Dependency Graph. Those remain planned follow-up work after indexing and runtime hardening.

Author

Musab Alzoubi
GitHub: https://github.com/MusabAlzoubi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/musabmalzoubi/