esi Helper for TestPit

Syntax highlighting, validation, IntelliSense, and refactoring for TestPit .esi test scripts.

esi Helper for TestPit turns VS Code into a first-class editor for TestPit test scripts. It validates scripts as you type, highlights unknown identifiers, autocompletes connections / fields / enums from your project's TestPit XML configs, and formats .esi files with bus-aware indentation — so you spend less time chasing typos and more time writing tests.

Highlights

• Live validity check against the configured TestPit.exe — errors surface in the Problems panel while you type.
• Component IntelliSense for 429_…, 1553_…, DIS_…, Mem_…, VORILS<N>_…, PART_<partition>_<port>, and ED_… (External Data) tags. Connections, fields, enum values, and %VARIABLE% references are completed and hover-documented from the active profile's TestPit XML configs. Re-indexes automatically when the XMLs change.
• CSV-cell validation: field = file.csv line:N col:M reads the referenced cell and validates its value against the field's enum table.
• Enum value validation by name or number — SDI = INSTALLATION_NUMBER_ONE and SDI = 1 are both accepted, while an out-of-table value is flagged (matching TestPit's resolver). Macros/CSV/file references are skipped.
• Structural & conformance checks (need no profile — they run even before you pick one): unbalanced/mismatched section tags; duplicate keys within a message block; A708 messages, MANUAL_VERIFY/EXTERNAL_VERIFY, or output-only fields (occurrence/synchronize/match) placed under [STEP INPUTS]; out-of-grammar occurrence/match values; and numeric values outside a field's MinValue/MaxValue. These mirror TestPit's own validator and are deliberately skipped for %macro%/CSV/include-sourced values, so they never false-positive. The tag reader matches TestPit's own, including the one-liner [NAME/] form and the sloppy shapes it repairs ([[NAME]], [//NAME], [NAME] junk, [NAME).
• Rich syntax highlighting — distinct, theme-overridable colours for section tags, message fields, keys, enum values, %MACRO% references, file/folder paths, quoted strings, numbers, constants and comments. Resolved component identifiers carry a defaultLibrary semantic modifier so unknown/stale ones stand out.
• Auto-formatting with ESI-aware indentation and = alignment: [TAG]…[/TAG] contents indent in 4-space steps; field assignments in a section align their = to one column (esihelper.alignmentScope = section or tier), including <pre> openers whose bodies stay under the aligned <pre>. Runs via Format Document (Shift+Alt+F) or on save (esihelper.refactorDocumentOnSave); tabs → 4 spaces on every save.
• Quick-fix code actions for unknown enum values — pick the right one from a lightbulb menu.
• Multi-profile support driven by TestPit's own settings: profiles and their config files are read from the Windows registry (HKCU\Software\ESEN\TestPit). The status-bar item (bottom-right) shows the active profile; click to switch via QuickPick.
• Snippets for [STEP], [STEP DEFINITION], [STEP INPUTS], [STEP OUTPUTS], [VARIABLES], [FUNC_*], [PART_*], [CMD_EXECUTE], [MANUAL_VERIFY], [EXTERNAL_VERIFY], [STEP GET_DUMP].
• Step renumbering (sequential 10, 20, 30, …) and Goto step (Ctrl+G).
• Open with TestPit — launches the active script in the configured TestPit.exe.

Getting started

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Open any .esi file. On first use you're prompted to pick your TestPit.exe (the console build, used for validation) — or run ESI Helper: Pick TestPit Executable any time.
3. The status bar (bottom-right) shows the active TestPit profile, read from TestPit's own registry settings. Click it to switch profiles, or run ESI Helper: Reload TestPit Settings after you change config paths in the TestPit GUI.

How configuration works

The extension reads the profiles and their config-file paths straight from TestPit's Windows registry settings at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ESEN\TestPit — the same settings the TestPit GUI manages. There is nothing to wire up per project:

• Settings\SettingPrefix lists the profiles; element [0] is the active one.
• Each <Profile>\Executer\*ConfigFile value supplies a config path by role (ConfigFile→cable, A429ConfigFile, 1553ConfigFile, DiscreteConfigFile, PartitionConfigFile, VORILSConfigFile, EDConfigFile); element [0] is the live file.

On first use this is exported once and cached in the extension's global storage; switching profiles reads the cache, and Reload TestPit Settings re-exports it. The TestPit.exe path is not in the registry, so it's picked once via a dialog and remembered.

Both configuration formats are read. TestPit v1.3.6.19 introduced a second shape for the message configuration files — one attribute per value instead of one child element, Version="2" on the root, and the states that repeat across a file defined once under <Common><CommonEnums> and taken by Ref. Files in either shape index identically, so there is nothing to change either way, and a converted and unconverted project behave the same. Note that Run Validity Check hands the script to your configured TestPit.exe: a format 2 configuration needs TestPit v1.3.6.19 or newer, and an older executable will report one as unreadable even though the editor reads it fine.

Settings

All esihelper.* settings are user-scoped (machine-wide) — they live in your VS Code User settings, never in .vscode/settings.json.

Commands

Development

npm install
npm run compile     # tsc → out/
npm run lint        # ESLint (flat config)
npm test            # mocha unit tests
npm run coverage    # c8 coverage report

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host. CI runs lint + compile + test on Ubuntu / macOS / Windows × Node 22 for every push to main and every PR.

See CLAUDE.md for an architecture overview and contribution conventions, and CHANGELOG.md for release history.

Author

M. Serdar Karaman — GitHub · LinkedIn · karaman.dev

License

Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Copyright © 2020 M. Serdar Karaman