Prog8 and ProgB Language Support for VS Code

Language support extension for Prog8 (and ProgB) a structured programming language designed for 8-bit 6502/65c02 microprocessors, including the Commodore 64, Commander X16, and other retro computers.

This extension was built for Prog8 v12.2.1.

Features

Syntax Highlighting

Comprehensive syntax highlighting for .p8 and .pb files with support for:

• Control flow statements and keywords
• Data types and type annotations
• Compiler directives and pragmas
• String literals with encoding prefixes
• Numeric literals (decimal, hexadecimal, binary)
• Built-in functions and library modules
• Memory-mapped variables
• Inline assembly blocks
• Comments and operators

Code Intelligence

• Code Completion: Context-aware suggestions for keywords, functions, and symbols
• Go to Definition: Navigate to symbol declarations
• Find References: Locate all uses of a symbol
• Hover Information: View documentation and type information
• Document Symbols: Outline view and breadcrumb navigation
• Workspace Symbols: Search for symbols across your project

Project Support

• Prog8 Project Files: Support for prog8.project.json configuration files
• Build Integration: Compile and run Prog8 programs directly from VS Code
• Import Resolution: Automatic resolution of %import statements

Project File Format

Create a prog8.project.json file in your project root to configure compilation settings:

{
  "name": "My Prog8 Project",
  "main": "main.p8",
  "target": "cx16",
  "outputDir": "build",
  "launchEmu": true,
  "srcdirs": ["src", "lib"],
  "compilerArgs": ["-optimize"]
}

Required fields:

• main - Main source file to compile.
• target - Target platform: cx16, c64, c128, pet32, virtual, or path to a custom target .properties file (e.g., ./nes.properties).

Optional fields:

• name - Project name for display.
• outputDir - Output directory for compiled files.
• launchEmu - Launch emulator after compilation (default: true).
• srcdirs - Additional source directories for imports.
• compilerArgs - Extra compiler arguments.
• compilerPath, javaPath, assemblerFolder, emulatorFolder - Override tool paths.
• run - Custom script to run after compilation.
• compilationMode - Compilation strategy: auto, standard, or custom-script.
• progb - ProgB-specific formatting settings.

Custom Targets

When using a custom target (.properties file), the extension cannot provide IntelliSense for the built-in libraries since they are defined externally. To enable hover information, code completion, and syntax coloring for your custom target's library symbols, add the custom target's library directory to srcdirs:

{
  "main": "main.p8",
  "target": "./nes.properties",
  "srcdirs": ["path/to/custom-target/lib"]
}

This allows the extension to parse the library source files and provide full language support.

Environment Variables During Compilation

Editor Features

• Auto-closing brackets and quotes
• Comment toggling
• Code folding
• Smart indentation
• Symbol formatting

Supported Platforms

This extension supports Prog8 development for:

• Commander X16
• Commodore 64
• Commodore 128
• Commodore PET

ProgB

ProgB is a custom version of Prog8 that not only supports the Prog8 language, but also provides a BASIC-style version. Code for ProgB and Prog8 compile to the exact same assembly code. It's simply a syntax language over Prog8's system. You can see an example of both a Prog8 and ProgB program that output the same exact code in the Example Code section.

You can download the jar release of progb from GitHub. Replace the jar from Prog8 with this version (or keep it side-by-side) and configure it in the extension settings.aaa

Example Code

%import textio
%zeropage basicsafe

main {
    sub start() {
        txt.print("Hello, Prog8!\n")
        
        ubyte counter
        for counter in 0 to 10 {
            txt.print_ub(counter)
            txt.nl()
        }
        
        return
    }
}

IMPORT textio
ZEROPAGE basicsafe

MODULE main
    SUB start()
        txt.print("Hello, ProgB!\n")
        
        DIM counter AS UBYTE
        FOR counter = 0 TO 10
            txt.print_ub(counter)
            txt.nl()
        NEXT
        
        RETURN
    END SUB
END MODULE

Installation

Install directly from the VS Code Extensions Marketplace by searching for "Prog8" or install from a .vsix file using the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and selecting "Extensions: Install from VSIX...".

Requirements

To compile and run Prog8 programs, you need the Prog8 compiler installed on your system.

Resources

• Prog8 Documentation
• Prog8 GitHub Repository
• Commander X16 Website
• Prog8 Discord Community

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.