Panache

A language server for Markdown, Quarto, and R Markdown.

Quick start

1. Install the Panache extension.
2. Open a regular Markdown (.md, Pandoc-style), Quarto (.qmd), or R Markdown (.Rmd, .rmd) file.
3. The extension starts panache lsp automatically.

By default, the extension downloads a platform-specific panache binary from GitHub releases on first use.

Features

• Starts panache lsp automatically when you open supported documents.
• Formats documents using Panache's formatter, including Pandoc-style constructs such as fenced divs, tables, math, citations, and attributes.
• Surfaces Panache diagnostics and code actions in the editor (including auto-fixable lint rules such as heading hierarchy).
• Works for regular Markdown (.md, Pandoc-style), Quarto (.qmd), and R Markdown (.Rmd, .rmd).

Commands

• Panache: Restart Server --- stops and restarts the Panache language server (re-reads settings and re-resolves the binary). Useful if the LSP gets wedged or after changing settings such as panache.version or panache.executablePath.

Binary Installation

By default, the extension uses a panache binary that ships inside the extension itself (one platform-specific VSIX per OS/architecture). No download, no GitHub round-trip, and the language server starts on first activation even on restricted or offline networks. Behavior is controlled by panache.executableStrategy:

• bundled (default) --- use the binary that ships inside the extension. If you're on a platform without a platform-specific build (or you've installed the universal VSIX), the extension falls back to downloading a matching binary from GitHub releases.
• environment --- look for panache on the system PATH.
• path --- use the binary at panache.executablePath.

If you set panache.version or panache.releaseTag explicitly, the bundled binary is skipped and the requested version is downloaded from GitHub. When panache.version is latest, the extension automatically skips component-only tags and selects the most recent stable CLI release that contains a matching platform asset.

You can also provide your own path to the binary:

{
  "panache.executableStrategy": "path",
  "panache.executablePath": "/usr/local/bin/panache"
}

Common setup examples

Use a local binary at a fixed path:

{
  "panache.executableStrategy": "path",
  "panache.executablePath": "/usr/local/bin/panache"
}

Use whatever panache is on your PATH:

{
  "panache.executableStrategy": "environment"
}

Pin to a specific release from a specific repository:

{
  "panache.version": "2.20.0",
  "panache.githubRepo": "jolars/panache"
}

Use panache.releaseTag only if you need an exact tag override:

{
  "panache.releaseTag": "v2.20.0"
}

Requirements and troubleshooting

• NixOS: the bundled binary won't run because of the dynamic loader path. Set panache.executableStrategy to path (with panache.executablePath) or environment if panache is on your PATH. On the legacy panache.downloadBinary path the auto-download is also skipped on NixOS by default.
• Offline / restricted networks / proxies: the bundled-binary default works without network access. Only the explicit-version download paths (panache.version / panache.releaseTag) require GitHub connectivity.
• If a download fall-through fails, the extension shows a warning and falls back to looking up panache on the system PATH.
• The extension contributes quarto (.qmd) and rmarkdown (.Rmd, .rmd) language registrations, so it works even without installing a separate Quarto extension. If Quarto is also installed, both can coexist.

Settings

Panache registers itself as the default formatter for [quarto] and [rmarkdown] files. Plain [markdown] is left alone --- opt in with "editor.defaultFormatter": "jolars.panache" in your settings if you want it.

• panache.executableStrategy: how to locate the panache binary --- bundled (default), environment, or path.
• panache.executablePath: path to the binary, used only when executableStrategy is path.
• panache.version: version to install (default: "latest")
• panache.releaseTag: advanced exact tag override (takes precedence if explicitly set)
• panache.githubRepo: GitHub repo for downloads (default: "jolars/panache")
• panache.downloadBinary (deprecated): superseded by panache.executableStrategy.
• panache.commandPath (deprecated): superseded by panache.executablePath (with executableStrategy set to path).
• panache.serverArgs: extra args after panache lsp
• panache.serverEnv: extra environment variables
• panache.extraPath: extra PATH entries prepended for the language server process
• panache.logLevel: log level for the language server, mapped to RUST_LOG (off, error, warn, info, debug, trace; unset by default). panache.serverEnv.RUST_LOG overrides this if both are set.
• panache.trace.server: LSP trace level (off, messages, verbose)
• panache.experimental.incrementalParsing: enable experimental incremental parsing in LSP (default: false)
• panache.symbols.document.enable: publish document symbols (the outline panel, breadcrumbs, and Go to Symbol in File) from the Panache language server (default: true). Set to false when another extension (such as Quarto) provides a preferred outline for the same documents.
• panache.symbols.workspace.enable: publish workspace symbols (Go to Symbol in Workspace) from the Panache language server (default: true). Set to false to defer to another extension that indexes the same documents.

If external tools (for example air for R code chunks) work in your terminal but not inside the editor, set panache.extraPath to include their install directory:

{
  "panache.extraPath": ["C:\\Users\\<you>\\.local\\bin"]
}

Security and trust

When panache.executableStrategy is bundled (the default), the extension prefers the binary that shipped inside the VSIX. If no bundled binary is available, or panache.version / panache.releaseTag is set explicitly, it downloads from GitHub releases configured by panache.githubRepo (default jolars/panache).