Overt for VS Code
Syntax highlighting and editor configuration for the Overt programming
language. Activates on any
file with the .ov extension.
Overt is an agent-first language designed to be written, read, and
maintained primarily by LLM agents. The extension makes Overt source
readable in the editor for the human-in-the-loop review and audit
roles that the language explicitly accommodates.
Features
Syntax highlighting via a TextMate grammar. The grammar is updated
alongside the language; if a recent language addition isn't colored,
the extension is behind and a refresh is in order.
- Comments:
// line comments and /* ... */ block comments.
- String literals with escape sequences and string interpolation:
"hello, ${name}" and the bare $name form both highlight inside
the string body.
- Numeric literals: decimal, hexadecimal (
0x...), binary
(0b...), and floating-point with optional exponent.
- Keywords: control flow (
if, else, match, for, in,
while, loop, break, continue, return, parallel, race,
trace, with), declarations (fn, let, mut, record,
enum, type, module, use, as, pub, extern, unsafe,
where, await), and constants (true, false, Ok, Err,
Some, None).
- Effect rows:
!{io}, !{io, async}, !{E}. Concrete effect
names (io, async, inference, fails) and effect-row
variables (uppercase identifiers) get distinct scopes.
- Annotations:
@doc("..."), @csharp("..."), @derive(...),
and any other @name-prefixed marker.
- Postfix
.await: highlighted as a single syntactic unit, the
way Rust and JavaScript editors color it.
- Operators: pipe (
|>), pipe-propagate (|>?), propagate
(?), arrows (->, =>), comparison, logical, arithmetic.
- Discard target: bare
_ in let _ = expr and pattern
positions.
- Built-in types:
Int, Int64, Float, Bool, String,
Unit, Option, Result, List, Map, Set, Task,
IoError, and the standard error and FFI-boundary types.
- Built-in functions: prelude calls (
println, eprintln,
map, filter, fold, all, any, try_map, par_map,
size, length, len, args).
- Module-qualified stdlib calls:
String.chars(...),
Int.range(...), List.at(...), and similar shapes get a
function-call scope distinct from plain field access.
Editor configuration via language-configuration.json:
- Auto-closing pairs for
{}, [], (), and "...".
- Surrounding pairs for the same set, so selecting text and typing
( wraps the selection.
- Comment toggling for
// and /* */ via the standard VS Code
shortcut.
- Indent / outdent rules tied to
{ and }.
- A
wordPattern so double-click selects identifiers cleanly without
breaking on dots or operators.
Installation
From the Marketplace: search for "Overt" under publisher
paulmooreparks, or use the command palette: Extensions: Install Extensions then search.
From a local .vsix:
bash scripts/build-vsix.sh # wraps `vsce package`
code --install-extension vscode-extension/overt-language-<version>.vsix
The repository's vscode-extension/ directory contains the source
for the extension. The scripts/build-vsix.sh wrapper (with a
PowerShell twin) installs vsce on demand and produces the .vsix at
the version listed in package.json.
Every push to main that touches vscode-extension/ rebuilds the
.vsix in CI and uploads it as a workflow artifact under
Actions → vscode-extension,
so a fresh build is always one click away even without local
Node.js.
Releasing a new version
The Marketplace rejects duplicate versions, so before each publish
the patch in vscode-extension/package.json must be bumped (e.g.
0.1.1 → 0.1.2). Add a corresponding entry to CHANGELOG.md,
push, then either drag the artifact onto
Marketplace → manage
or run vsce publish with a logged-in publisher.
Status
The extension is intentionally minimal. A full language server
(diagnostics, hover, go-to-definition, rename) is scoped in
docs/tooling/lsp.md
and will land as a separate Overt.LanguageServer companion when the
language stabilizes enough to justify the investment.
Links
License
Apache 2.0. See LICENSE.
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