RASCI DSL for VS Code

Write RASCI responsibility matrices as plain text and get immediate visual feedback while you edit.

This extension provides language support and live preview for the RASCI DSL.

Features

• Syntax highlighting for .rasci and .rasci-rules
• Markdown fenced code block highlighting for ```rasci
• Live HTML preview for RASCI files
• Preview commands in Command Palette and editor title bar
• Auto-refresh preview on document changes
• Inline parse errors and configurable validation handling in the preview panel

Quick Start

1. Create or open a .rasci file.
2. Open the Command Palette and run:
   • RASCI: Show Preview
   • RASCI: Show Preview to the Side
3. Keep editing your DSL file and watch the preview update automatically.

Commands

• RASCI: Show Preview
• RASCI: Show Preview to the Side

Keybinding

• macOS: Cmd+Shift+V
• Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+V

Available when the active editor language is rasci.

Settings

• rasci.preview.validationMode:
  • warn (default): render preview and show validation warnings
  • strict: show validation errors only, skip rendering
  • ignore: render preview without validation messages

Parse errors always stop rendering.

RASCI in Markdown

RASCI code fences are highlighted in Markdown files:

```rasci
roles:
  PO "Product Owner"
  DEV "Developer"

tasks:
  "Implement feature":
    PO[A] DEV[R]
```

Install

Marketplace

Install from the VS Code Marketplace:

• https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=nihilor.rasci-language

Or search for RASCI DSL in VS Code Extensions.

Manual (VSIX)

1. Open Extensions view.
2. Select ... (more actions).
3. Choose Install from VSIX....
4. Select the .vsix file.

Limitations

• Preview commands are active only for RASCI editors.
• The extension keeps one preview panel per RASCI document.
• Preview rendering uses the bundled core; run a build when developing locally.

Development

Developer notes: README.developers.md

From vscode-extension/:

npm install
npm run build

Launch Extension Development Host in VS Code (F5) and open a .rasci file.

Packaging and Publishing

Create a .vsix package:

npm run package

This runs build + vsce package.

Related

• Main project repository: https://github.com/nihilor/rasci
• RASCI live editor: https://nihilor.github.io/rasci/

Live Preview Details

Beyond this VS Code preview panel, the main repository ships a browser live preview site and component demo:

• Live editor page: https://nihilor.github.io/rasci/
• Live editor source: ../docs/index.html
• Web component showcase: https://nihilor.github.io/rasci/web-component-demo.html
• Showcase source: ../docs/web-component-demo.html

The browser site uses docs-local module copies of the parser and renderers:

• ../docs/src/parser.js
• ../docs/src/renderer.html.js
• ../docs/src/renderer.markdown.js

Those docs modules are synced from the main ../src directory via the docs build flow.

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Mark Lubkowitz

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.