Neo4j for VS Code Preview

Getting started

After installing the extension from the VS Code Marketplace, open a file with a .cypher to start using the extension. To enable database aware features (such as completing labels/functions), set up a connection to a Neo4j instance using the database connection pane and any settings described in the settings section below.

Feature Highlights

Our extension preview provides a rich set of features for working with Cypher, the query language for Neo4j databases, including:

• Syntax highlighting
• Syntax checking - both simple and semantic errors (e.g. type errors, unknown labels, etc)
• Autocompletion for Cypher keywords, functions, labels, properties, database names and more
• Signature help for functions - shows the signature of the function while typing

It also provides a basic database connection management pane and syntax highlighting embedded in other languages, namely Markdown, Java, Python, Javascriopt, .NET and Go. This is possible having a multiline string that starts with //cypher or /*cypher*/ or a single line string starting with /*cypher*/. We also support a templated string /*cypher*/{{query here}}` in Javascript. Examples:

Markdown

```cypher
MATCH (n) RETURN n
```

Java

String a = """//cypher
    MATCH (n)
    RETURN n
"""

String b = """/*cypher*/
    MATCH (n)
    RETURN n
"""

String c = "/*cypher*/ MATCH (n:Label) RETURN function(n.property)"

Javascript / Typescript

const a = /* cypher */ `
    MATCH (n)
    RETURN n
`;

const b = `//cypher
    MATCH (n)
    RETURN n
`;

const c = `/*cypher*/
    MATCH (n)
    RETURN n
`;

const d = '/*cypher*/ MATCH (n) RETURN n';

Managing connections

You can launch the connection pane from the Neo4j icon in the Activity Bar, or by using the Neo4j: Manage Connection command from the Command Palette.

From here you can manage, connect to, or disconnect from your database connections.

Once a connection is added, and a connection to your Neo4j instance is established, you will be able to use database aware features of the extension.

Upcoming features

We're working on adding more features to the extension, such as:

• Improved database connection management
• Embedded cypher support in other file types
• Query exectution and result visualization
• Automatic query formatting

Extension settings

The following settings are available in VS Code once the plugin is installed, which can be set either through the Settings menu on VS Code or by editing your .vscode/settings.json file.

Debug

• neo4j.trace.server: Traces the communication between VS Code and the language server for debugging purposes

Contributing

We welcome your suggestions, ideas, bug reports and contributions on our github.

To build the project locally, see the CONTRIBUTING.md file at the root of the git repository.