speja for VS Code

Catch VHDL bugs as you type, not in simulation.

speja checks and formats VHDL on every keystroke. Width mismatches, out-of-range indices and processes that can never suspend are underlined in the editor, long before a testbench would find them. Switch on more checks, such as latches, multiple drivers and clock-domain crossings, with one line in speja.yaml.

Lint and format

Nothing else to install: the speja server comes with the extension.

Finds real bugs, not just style, with quick fixes where there is one.
A real formatter: Format Document, Format Selection and format on save.
VSG compatible: it runs the VHDL Style Guide rule set and reads your existing configuration.
Same answer everywhere: the editor, speja on the command line and your CI agree, because they read the same speja.yaml.

To make speja the VHDL formatter:

"[vhdl]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "ru551n.speja",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true
}

Configure

speja reads speja.yaml from the file's folder or any folder above it. It takes VSG's configuration format, so an existing VSG configuration works as it is:

rule:
  length_001:
    length: 100          # fold lines at 100 columns
  port_012:
    disable: true        # allow default values on ports

On an existing codebase the full VSG rule set can fill the Problems panel; turn off what your project does not follow. Each finding names its rule, and the rule reference lists the options.

The bug-finding rules need to know which library each file belongs to. They read the vhdl_ls.toml that VHDL-LS uses; without one, most of them are off. See project setup.

Editing actions

Instantiate Entity
Declare Signals for Port Map
Declare Name Under Cursor
Add Use Clause
Complete Case Statement

...and more. speja: Show Actions... (the speja item in the status bar, or right-click) lists the ones that apply where the cursor is. These build on VHDL-LS, so install it alongside.

Colour

A number of popular Vim colour schemes are available as themes.

Learn more

Editing VHDL in VS Code: every action, with examples.
What the lint rules catch.
Formatting and fixing and choosing a server.

Speja VHDL