Modular MC

VS Code extension providing syntax highlighting and IntelliSense for ModularMC — a Regolith filter for structured Minecraft Bedrock addon development.

Features

TypeScript Syntax Highlighting in JSON

Any JSON string value prefixed with :: is highlighted as TypeScript:

{
  "identifier": "::`my_addon:${weapon.id}`",
  "damage": "::weapon.damage",
  "repair_items": "::weapon.repairList"
}

TypeScript Syntax Highlighting in Text Files

Any block wrapped in {ts: :} in .lang or .txt files is highlighted as TypeScript:

item.name={ts: `${capitalize(id)}` :}
item.desc={ts: buildDescription(weapon) :}

Scope IntelliSense in Template Files

When editing a file mapped by a _map.ts, pressing Ctrl+Space inside a ":: or {ts: region suggests variables from the scope defined for that entry.

Nested properties are fully supported — typing weapon. suggests all properties of the weapon object:

"damage": "::weapon.",
//                ^ suggests: id, name, tier, damage, cooldown, durability ...

The extension walks up the directory tree to find the nearest _map.ts that covers the current file, matches it against the source glob of each MAP entry, and extracts the scope statically. Spread operators like ...weapon are resolved using the first element of the source array as a representative shape.

Dynamic values (function calls like capitalize(weapon.name)) appear as <dynamic: capitalize(...)> — they still show as suggestions so you know the key exists.

Go to Definition from Template Files

Ctrl+Click on any scope variable inside a ":: or {ts: region jumps directly to where that key is defined in the _map.ts scope object.

"spell": "::weapon.spell"
//              ^ Ctrl+Click → jumps to `spell` key in _map.ts scope

Works for nested paths too — weapon.id navigates to the id key inside the weapon object.

MAP Entry Field IntelliSense

Inside any _map.ts file, typing inside a MAP array entry object suggests all available fields. Fields already present in the entry are filtered out automatically:

:auto and :autoFlat Resolution

The extension reads your auto-map.ts file and resolves what :auto and :autoFlat evaluate to for any given source file.

Hover over :auto or :autoFlat in a target field to see the resolved path:

{
  source: "iron_sword.item.json",
  target: ":autoFlat",   // hover → BP/items/@team/@proj/iron_sword.item.json
}

Inlay hints show the resolved path as ghost text directly on the line — no hover needed:

  target: ":autoFlat",  → BP/items/@team/@proj/iron_sword.item.json

Completion dropdown for target also shows the resolved path in the detail column before you commit.

Resolution uses first match wins — entries in AUTO_MAP are matched top to bottom, so more specific suffixes should appear above general ones. For example iron_sword.item.json matches .item.json before .json.

The difference between the two keywords:

• :autoFlat — drops the file directly into the resolved directory, ignoring any subfolders in the source path
• :auto — preserves the subfolder structure relative to the module directory

target and onConflict Value Suggestions

Typing inside a target or onConflict string value surfaces all valid options:

target

• :autoFlat — flatten matched files into their pack root
• :auto — automatically resolve target path

onConflict

• stop — (default) stop and report an error
• skip — skip this entry and continue
• merge — deep merge files (JSON only)
• overwrite — overwrite the existing file
• appendEnd — append to end of existing file (text only)
• appendStart — prepend to beginning of existing file (text only)

The extension also pre-selects the most likely value based on the source field in the same entry:

• .lang source → appendEnd pre-selected
• item_texture.json, terrain_texture.json, sound_definitions.json → merge pre-selected

Diagnostics

The extension validates source values in _map.ts files and reports problems inline:

• Error — a specific (non-glob) source path that doesn't exist on disk
• Warning — a glob pattern that matches no files in the module folder

{
  source: "items/sword.item.json",  // ← red error if file doesn't exist
  source: "**/*.missing.json",      // ← yellow warning if no files match
}

Snippets

The following snippets are available in TypeScript files:

Requirements

• VS Code ^1.100.0
• ModularMC Regolith filter
• A .lang language extension (e.g. Blockception's Minecraft Bedrock Development) for .lang file highlighting
• An auto-map.ts file in the ModularMC root for :auto / :autoFlat resolution

How Scope Resolution Works

Given a _map.ts like:

export const weapons = [
  { name: "iron_sword", tier: 1, damage: 5, durability: 200 },
  { name: "gold_sword", tier: 2, damage: 7, durability: 100 },
];

export const MAP = [
  ...weapons.map((weapon) => ({
    source: "items/weapon.item.json",
    target: `BP/items/${weapon.name}.item.json`,
    jsonTemplate: true,
    scope: {
      weapon: {
        ...weapon,
        id: `my_addon:${weapon.name}`,
        displayName: capitalize(weapon.name),
      },
    },
  })),
];

When editing items/weapon.item.json, the extension:

1. Walks up the directory tree to find the nearest _map.ts that covers this file
2. Matches items/weapon.item.json against each entry's source glob
3. Finds the matching .map() call and extracts the arrow function body
4. Resolves ...weapon using the first element of weapons as a representative shape
5. Evaluates template literals like `my_addon:${weapon.name}` using those values
6. Offers the resulting scope as completions inside ":: and {ts: regions

Known Limitations

• Scope resolution is static best-effort — complex runtime expressions cannot be fully evaluated
• The JSON ":: syntax only highlights single-line expressions — multiline TS inside a JSON string is not supported by the TextMate grammar engine
• Scope completions require the file to be reachable from a _map.ts via the source glob
• :auto / :autoFlat resolution requires an auto-map.ts in a parent directory — @team, @proj, and @namespace placeholders are shown as-is since they are runtime values
• Diagnostics only check static (non-glob .map()) entries — dynamic entries using array .map() are skipped

License

MIT — Pixelmancer