Resource Bundle Studio for VS Code

A full-featured editor for Java .properties resource bundle files, bringing every capability of the classic Eclipse ResourceBundle Editor plugin into VS Code — plus extras like CSV export, drag-and-drop reordering, and a dedicated sidebar explorer.

Features

Feature	Detail
Side-by-side grid	All locale files in one table. Edit any cell inline.
Missing detection	Red highlight + badge count per locale column.
Similar detection	Yellow highlight when a value matches the reference locale.
Add / Rename / Duplicate / Remove	Atomic — applied to every locale file at once.
Drag-and-drop reorder	Drag rows to reorder keys; all files stay in sync.
Tree view	Groups keys by dot-prefix with collapse / expand.
Quick filter	Live-narrow by key name or value text.
Sort keys	On-demand or automatically on every save.
Unicode conversion	Non-ASCII ↔ `\uXXXX` on-demand or on save.
New bundle wizard	Creates base + locale files from one dialog.
Add locale	Generates a skeleton `.properties` from all existing keys.
Export / Import CSV	Full bundle round-trip through a single CSV file.
Find missing	Populates the VS Code Problems panel with warnings.
Find duplicates	Lists duplicate keys per locale in Quick Pick.
Sidebar explorer	Groups all workspace bundles by base name.
Comment preservation	`#` / `!` comment blocks survive parse → serialize round-trips.
Multi-line values	Handles backslash line-continuation transparently.
Auto-refresh	Editor reloads when files change on disk.

Getting Started

Install

# From the VS Code Marketplace
ext install resource-bundle-studio

# Or build locally
git clone https://github.com/your-org/resource-bundle-studio
cd resource-bundle-studio
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host

Open a bundle

Click any .properties file — the grid editor opens automatically.
Or right-click a .properties file → Open as Resource Bundle.
Or use the Resource Bundles sidebar in the Explorer panel.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Double-click` / `Enter` / `F2`	Start editing a cell
`Enter` (in editor)	Commit edit
`Shift+Enter` (in editor)	Insert newline in value
`Escape`	Cancel edit
`Tab` / `Shift+Tab`	Move to next / previous cell
`Ctrl+N` / `Cmd+N`	Add new key
`F2` (row selected)	Rename selected key

Configuration

All settings live under resourceBundleStudio.* in VS Code Settings.

Setting	Default	Description
`defaultLocale`	`"en"`	Reference locale — shown first, used for similarity comparison
`highlightMissing`	`true`	Red background for empty/missing cells
`highlightSimilar`	`true`	Yellow background when value equals the reference locale
`sortKeysOnSave`	`false`	Sort keys alphabetically on every save
`convertUnicodeOnSave`	`false`	Convert non-ASCII to `\uXXXX` on every save
`keyGroupingSeparator`	`"."`	Separator for tree-view grouping
`lineWrapLength`	`0`	Wrap values at this column width (0 = off)
`showStatisticsBar`	`true`	Toggle the bottom status bar

Bundle Detection

Files are grouped into a bundle when they share the same base name and folder.

File	Base name	Locale
`messages.properties`	`messages`	(default)
`messages_en.properties`	`messages`	`en`
`messages_en_US.properties`	`messages`	`en_US`
`messages_zh_CN.properties`	`messages`	`zh_CN`

CSV Format

The exported CSV uses the key as the first column, followed by one column per locale:

key,en,fr,de
button.save,Save,Enregistrer,Speichern
button.cancel,Cancel,Annuler,Abbrechen
error.required,Required,,Pflichtfeld

Empty cells represent missing translations.

Architecture

Extension host (Node.js)                Webview (sandboxed browser)
-------------------------               ----------------------------
ResourceBundleStudioProvider            main.ts
  └- openCustomDocument()    --init--▶  renderGrid()
  └- resolveCustomEditor()   ◀--edit--  startEdit() → commitEdit()
  └- handleWebviewMessage()  --update▶  renderGrid()
       │
       ├- PropertiesParser      (parse .properties → PropertiesFile)
       ├- PropertiesSerializer  (PropertiesFile → string on disk)
       └- bundleUtils           (merge keys, sort locales, stats)

ResourceBundleExplorer   → sidebar TreeView
registerCommands         → palette + context-menu commands

Contributing

Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
npm install then npm run watch to compile in watch mode.
Press F5 in VS Code to open the Extension Development Host.
Open any folder containing .properties files to test.
Run npm run lint before submitting a pull request.

Resource Bundle Studio

maj2c