VBA Runner — VS Code Extension

A VS Code extension for VBA development. When you open .bas / .cls / .frm files, rich editing support powered by LSP (Language Server Protocol) becomes available.

日本語 | CHANGELOG | VBA Runner Project | Documentation hub

Audience: package users. For goal-oriented guides, see the documentation hub.

Installation

Install from the VS Code Marketplace by searching for VBA Runner, or run:

code --install-extension jca02266.vba-runner

For development (when cloning the repository):

1. Open this repository in VS Code
2. Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host
3. Open a .bas / .cls / .frm file in the new window

Supported File Types

Editor Support (LSP)

Hover

Hovering over a symbol (Sub / Function / variable / constant / class / event) shows its signature in a popup.

Sub CalcSum(a As Integer, b As Integer)
'         ↑ Hover here → "Sub CalcSum(a As Integer, b As Integer)"

Signature Help

When you type ( or , inside a function call, a popup shows the parameter names and the current parameter position. Works for built-in VBA functions (MsgBox, Format, etc.) as well as your own Sub / Function declarations.

Go to Definition

Place the cursor on a symbol and press F12 to jump to its declaration.

Find References

Place the cursor on a symbol and press Shift+F12 to list all locations where it is referenced.

Rename Symbol

Place the cursor on a symbol and press F2 to rename it across the file. All references are updated at once.

Code Completion

Suggestions for VBA keywords, built-in functions, and procedures defined in your source files appear as you type.

Member Completion (.)

Typing . after a variable shows members specific to its declared type. Supports:

Cross-module completion is also supported: classes declared in other open .bas / .cls files in the workspace are recognized automatically.

Chain Access Resolution

Member completion works across chained accesses. The return type of each member is tracked, so subsequent . completions resolve correctly:

Dim ws As Worksheet
ws.Cells.         ' → Range members (Cells returns Range)
ws.Range("A1").Offset(1, 0).  ' → Range members (Offset returns Range)
ws.Parent.        ' → Workbook members (Parent returns Workbook)

With Block Completion

Inside a With block, typing . at the start of a line shows the members of the With object:

With ws
    .Cells.       ' → Range members
    .Name         ' → "Name" property of Worksheet
End With

Snippets

Document Symbols (Outline)

The outline panel (Ctrl+Shift+O) and the workspace symbol search (Ctrl+T) list all Sub / Function / Property / class members defined in your VBA files.

Section divider comments using ' --- Name --- or ' === Name === are also recognized as Namespace symbols in the outline, making large modules easier to navigate.

' ─── Initialization ───────────────────────────────
Public Sub Initialize()
    ...
End Sub

' === Data Processing ===
Public Function Process(data) As Long
    ...
End Function

Diagnostics

The following diagnostic rules are reported as you type:

Quick Fixes are provided for:

• VBA013 — Add 'Option Explicit': inserts Option Explicit at the top of the file
• VBA016 — Add 'TypeName' to vba-types.json: appends a placeholder entry for the type
• VBA016 — Initialize vba-types.json with all COM type definitions: creates vba-types.json pre-populated with all built-in COM types (shown when the file does not yet exist)

Lint rules (VBA001, VBA009, VBA014, etc.) are off by default. Enable them via settings:

{ "vba-runner.lint.enabled": true }

or selectively:

{ "vba-runner.lint.enabledCodes": ["VBA009", "VBA014"] }

External Type Definitions (vba-types.json)

To add member completion for types not built into the extension — such as custom COM objects, mock classes, or Excel types not yet listed — create vba-types.json in your workspace root:

{
  "MyComObject": [
    { "label": "DoWork",  "kind": "Method",   "detail": "DoWork(arg As String) As Boolean" },
    { "label": "Status",  "kind": "Property", "detail": "Status As Long" }
  ],
  "MyHelper": [
    { "label": "Compute", "kind": "Function", "detail": "Compute(x As Long) As Double", "returnType": "myresult" }
  ]
}

Fields:

Initialization via Quick Fix:

When a VBA016 diagnostic appears for an unknown type, the Quick Fix menu offers:

• Add 'TypeName' to vba-types.json — adds a placeholder entry for that type
• Initialize vba-types.json with all COM type definitions — creates the file pre-populated with all built-in types (Scripting.Dictionary, Range, Worksheet, etc.)

vba-types.json entries take priority over the built-in definitions, so you can override any built-in type's member list.

The file is reloaded automatically whenever it changes.

Code Lens

Inline action buttons appear above each procedure declaration.

Formatting

Press Shift+Alt+F (or right-click → Format Document) to auto-format the file. Also works with "editor.formatOnSave": true in VS Code settings.

Formatting rules include:

• Consistent indentation for Sub / Function / If / For / With / Select Case
• Case labels are aligned with the Select Case keyword
• Keyword casing is normalized to the standard VBA style

Refactoring

Available from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) or via Code Lens.

Call Graph

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run:

• VBA: Show Call Graph — Display the call graph starting from the procedure at the cursor
• VBA: Show in Call Graph — Highlight the procedure at the cursor in the full graph

Testing

Test Stub Generation

Click the Untested Code Lens button to generate a Test_<ProcedureName> stub. On first use, you will be asked where to place tests:

• Same file — Appends the stub to the end of the current .bas file
• Separate file — Creates <FileName>Test.bas and appends there

The choice is saved to workspace settings (vba-runner.test.location).

Inline Test Results

After running tests with the ▶ Run Code Lens on a test procedure, the result is shown inline:

• ✓ 3ms — test passed in 3 ms
• ✗ Expected 1 but got 2 — test failed with the first line of the assertion message

Mock Skeleton Generation

Run VBA: Generate Mocks from the Command Palette to analyze Excel object dependencies (Worksheet, Range, etc.) in the source file and generate a mock skeleton at __mocks__/ExcelObjects.bas.

VBA Debugger Integration

With a .bas file open, press F5 to launch the file with the VBA Runner debugger (no launch.json required).

Debug.Print Output

Debug.Print output is directed to a dedicated VBA Debug Output Channel (separate from the VBA Runner log), which opens automatically when output is produced.

Settings

Documentation

• Documentation hub — Goal-oriented guides (users / developers)
• LSP.md — LSP design and implementation (for developers)
• REFERENCE.md — Detailed specs
• README.md — Project overview

Repository

github.com/jca02266/vba-runner