LUA-NAR VSCode Extension

A full-featured Visual Studio Code extension for writing LUA-NAR scripts — the Lua scripting mod for Kerbal Space Program.

Includes syntax highlighting, autocomplete with docs, live diagnostics, snippets, and a one-click deploy to your KSP install.

Features

Syntax Highlighting

Each API category is coloured differently so you can spot what your script is doing at a glance:

Colour	Category	Examples
Teal	Navigation	`getLatitude`, `addManeuverNode`, `getTimeToApo`
Yellow	Flight Control	`setSAS`, `setThrottle`, `activateStage`
Purple	Autopilot	`apStartAscent`, `apAbort`, `apGetState`
Green	Vessel State	`getFuelPercent`, `isLanded`, `getOrbitApoapsis`
Orange	UI	`guiCreate`, `guiButton`, `guiLabel`
Red	Core Hooks	`onTick`, `setTickRate`, `logToFile`

Autocomplete

Start typing any LUA-NAR function and IntelliSense fills it in with tab-stop snippets. Complex functions like setSASMode auto-offer valid string values; setWarp offers levels 0–7.

Hover Documentation

Hover over any LUA-NAR function to see its full signature, return type, parameter descriptions, and usage notes — without leaving your editor.

Live Diagnostics

The extension warns you about common mistakes as you type:

Using flightPathAngle (removed from KSP) → suggests getAngleToHorizon()
setThrottle() value outside 0.0–1.0
setWarp() level outside 0–7
actionGroup() index outside 1–10

Snippets

Type nar- to get full script templates:

Prefix	What it generates
`nar-tick`	Basic `onTick` loop
`nar-ascent`	Full ascent-to-orbit autopilot script
`nar-hud`	Live telemetry GUI overlay
`nar-stage`	Auto-staging monitor
`nar-maneuver`	Maneuver node setup
`nar-gui`	GUI window with buttons
`nar-warp`	Time-warp until apoapsis
`nar-report`	Print full orbital parameter report

Deploy to KSP

Right-click any .lua file → LUA-NAR: Deploy Script to KSP — copies it straight to your GameData/LUA-NAR/Scripts folder. Set the path once in Settings.

Status Bar

A 🚀 LUA-NAR button appears in the status bar whenever you edit a .lua file. Click it for a searchable API picker that inserts any function at your cursor.

Installation (from .vsix file)

If you downloaded the .vsix directly:

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+X to open the Extensions panel
Click the ··· menu (top right of the Extensions panel)
Select Install from VSIX...
Pick the lua-nar-1.0.0.vsix file
Reload VS Code when prompted

Or from the terminal:

code --install-extension lua-nar-1.0.0.vsix

Publishing to the VS Code Marketplace

Follow these steps to put the extension on the public Marketplace so anyone can install it by searching.

Step 1 — Microsoft Account + Azure DevOps

Go to https://dev.azure.com and sign in with your Microsoft account (or create one free). If you don't have an organisation, create one — the name doesn't matter.

Step 2 — Create a Personal Access Token (PAT)

In Azure DevOps, click your profile picture (top right) → Personal access tokens
Click New Token
Give it a name (e.g. vsce-publish)
Set Organization to All accessible organizations
Set expiry to whatever you like (up to 1 year)
Under Scopes → Custom defined → scroll to Marketplace → tick Manage
Click Create
Copy the token now — you cannot see it again after closing the dialog

Step 3 — Create a Publisher

Go to https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage and click Create Publisher.

Pick a publisher ID — this is permanent and becomes part of your extension's unique ID (e.g. if your ID is suddo, the extension becomes suddo.lua-nar). Use something like your username.

Step 4 — Update package.json

Open package.json and set two fields:

"publisher": "your-publisher-id-here",
"repository": {
  "type": "git",
  "url": "https://github.com/yourusername/lua-nar-vscode"
}

The repository field is optional but the Marketplace listing looks much better with it. If you don't have a GitHub repo yet, just push the folder there — it's free.

Step 5 — Install vsce

npm install -g @vscode/vsce

vsce login your-publisher-id-here

It will ask for the PAT you copied in Step 2. Paste it in.

Step 7 — Publish

From inside the extension folder (where package.json lives):

vsce publish

The extension usually appears on the Marketplace within a few minutes and becomes searchable within about 15 minutes.

Updating Later

Bump the version and republish:

vsce publish patch   # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1
vsce publish minor   # 1.0.0 → 1.1.0
vsce publish major   # 1.0.0 → 2.0.0

Extension Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`luanar.enableDiagnostics`	`true`	Turn on/off live error checking
`luanar.scriptsFolder`	`""`	Path to your `GameData/LUA-NAR/Scripts` folder for one-click deploy

To set the scripts folder: Ctrl+, → search luanar → paste your KSP scripts path, e.g.:

C:\KSP\GameData\LUA-NAR\Scripts

Full API Reference

Function	Returns	Description
`getLatitude()`	number	Latitude in degrees
`getLongitude()`	number	Longitude in degrees
`getHeading()`	number	Compass heading 0–360
`getPitchAngle()`	number	Pitch relative to horizon
`getRollAngle()`	number	Roll angle in degrees
`getOrbVelocity()`	number	Orbital speed m/s
`getSurfVelocity()`	number	Surface-relative speed m/s
`getOrbPeriod()`	number	Orbital period in seconds
`getTimeToApo()`	number	Seconds to apoapsis
`getTimeToPe()`	number	Seconds to periapsis
`getSOI()`	number	Sphere of influence radius m
`getBodyRadius()`	number	Body equatorial radius m
`getBodyGravity()`	number	Gravitational parameter μ
`getBodyAtmHeight()`	number	Atmosphere top altitude m
`hasAtmosphere()`	boolean	Body has atmosphere
`getAngleToHorizon()`	number	Flight path angle γ in degrees
`getOrbitEcc()`	number	Orbital eccentricity
`getSemiMajorAxis()`	number	Semi-major axis in metres
`addManeuverNode(ut, pro, nrm, rad)`	void	Add maneuver node
`clearManeuverNodes()`	void	Remove all maneuver nodes
`getUniversalTime()`	number	Universal time in seconds

Vessel State

Function	Returns	Description
`getOrbitApoapsis()`	number	Apoapsis altitude m
`getOrbitPeriapsis()`	number	Periapsis altitude m
`getOrbitInclination()`	number	Orbital inclination degrees
`getFuelPercent()`	number	Liquid fuel remaining %
`getElectricPercent()`	number	Electric charge remaining %
`isInAtmosphere()`	boolean	Inside atmosphere
`isLanded()`	boolean	Landed or splashed
`getAlt()`	number	Altitude above sea level m
`getSpeed()`	number	Surface speed m/s
`getVertSpeed()`	number	Vertical speed m/s
`getMET()`	number	Mission elapsed time s
`getMach()`	number	Mach number
`getGForce()`	number	G-force
`getDynPressure()`	number	Dynamic pressure Pa
`getBodyName()`	string	Current body name

Flight Control

Function	Returns	Description
`setSAS(bool)`	void	Enable/disable SAS
`setRCS(bool)`	void	Enable/disable RCS
`setGear(bool)`	void	Deploy/retract gear
`setBrakes(bool)`	void	Apply/release brakes
`setLights(bool)`	void	Lights on/off
`activateStage()`	void	Fire next stage
`setThrottle(0–1)`	void	Set main throttle
`getThrottle()`	number	Current throttle 0–1
`setPitch(-1–1)`	void	Set pitch input
`setYaw(-1–1)`	void	Set yaw input
`setRoll(-1–1)`	void	Set roll input
`setPitchYawRoll(p,y,r)`	void	Set all three at once
`clearControls()`	void	Zero pitch/yaw/roll
`setWarp(0–7)`	void	Set time warp level
`getSASMode()`	string	Current SAS mode
`setSASMode(string)`	void	Set SAS hold mode
`getStage()`	number	Current stage number
`isEngineFlame()`	boolean	Any engine producing thrust
`getMaxThrust()`	number	Max vacuum thrust kN
`getCurrentThrust()`	number	Current thrust kN
`getTWR()`	number	Thrust-to-weight ratio
`getMass()`	number	Total mass tonnes
`actionGroup(1–10, bool)`	void	Toggle action group

Autopilot

Function	Returns	Description
`apStartAscent(altM)`	void	Start ascent to altitude
`apAbort()`	void	Abort autopilot, cut throttle
`apGetState()`	string	Current AP state
`apGetStatus()`	string	Human-readable status
`apIsRunning()`	boolean	AP actively running
`apCircularise()`	void	Start circularisation burn
`apSetTargetAlt(altM)`	void	Set target altitude
`apGetTargetAlt()`	number	Get target altitude

UI

Function	Returns	Description
`showGUI(text)`	void	Show simple popup
`hideGUI()`	void	Hide simple popup
`guiCreate(id,title,x,y,w,h)`	void	Create named window
`guiShow(id)`	void	Show named window
`guiHide(id)`	void	Hide named window
`guiSetTitle(id, title)`	void	Change window title
`guiClear(id)`	void	Remove all widgets
`guiLabel(id, text)`	void	Add text label
`guiButton(id, label, fn)`	void	Add button with callback
`guiSpace(id, px)`	void	Add vertical space
`guiSeparator(id)`	void	Add horizontal line
`guiMove(id, x, y)`	void	Move window on screen

Core

Function	Returns	Description
`onTick()`	—	Main callback (define this)
`setTickRate(seconds)`	void	How often onTick fires
`logToFile(msg)`	void	Write to LUA-NAR log file
`print(msg)`	void	Print to KSP console

Building from Source

If you want to modify the extension:

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode (recompiles on save)
npm run watch

# Package into .vsix
npx vsce package --no-yarn

Requirements: Node.js 18+, npm

Project Structure

lua-nar-vscode/
├── src/
│   └── extension.ts        # All extension logic (autocomplete, hover, diagnostics)
├── syntaxes/
│   └── lua-nar.tmLanguage.json   # TextMate grammar for syntax highlighting
├── snippets/
│   └── lua-nar.json        # Code snippet templates
├── out/                    # Compiled JS (generated by tsc)
├── package.json            # Extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json           # TypeScript config
└── language-configuration.json  # Bracket matching, comments

LUA-NAR for KSP

lua-nar