Minab for VS Code

Language support for Minab (.minab files): the typed query and rule language that compiles to SQL. Highlighting, snippets, and a language server that shows the same errors as the minab check command, while you type.

Features

• Highlighting for keywords, sigils, strings, numbers and comments.

• Live diagnostics. Type a mistake (for example compare .status == 5) and one squiggle appears, with the same message and error code as minab check.

• Completion, hover and signature help for tables, columns, #alias names and built-in functions.

• Go to definition, find references and rename for aliases, variables and functions.

• Quick fixes for errors that have a clear fix.

• Outline and semantic highlighting.

• Snippets. Type a prefix and press Tab:

  Prefix	Inserts
  recordrule	a record rule (a test on the fields of one record)
  fieldrule	a field rule (a test on one value, $)
  query	FROM … WHERE … SELECT
  groupby	FROM … GROUPBY … HAVING … SELECT … ORDERBY
  fn	a function
  switch	a switch with a default case
  if / if!	an if expression / an if! statement
  loop / loopfrom	a loop over a collection / over a range
  let	a variable

• Status bar. The item at the left shows which config file the open document uses, for example Minab: examples/top-customers/minab.config.json, or Minab: no config. Click it to open the file.

The schema

The language server reads your tables and columns from a minab.config.json, the same file the CLI uses. For each document it takes the nearest minab.config.json in the same folder or above it. With none, the schema is empty, and anything that names a table is an error. Open the folder that holds your minab.config.json for schema-aware checks. When the file changes, the extension reads it again. You do not need to restart.

Settings

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) and type "Minab":

• Minab: Restart Language Server: stops the server and starts it again.
• Minab: Open Config File: opens the config file the active document uses.

Other editors

The same server works in Neovim, Helix and Zed. See docs/editors.md in the Minab package (it is also on the website).

Report a problem

Write to security@minab-lang.org. For a bug in the extension, say your VS Code version, the extension version, and attach the Minab output with minab.trace.server set to messages.

Build and launch (development)

# 1. Build the root package (repo root). This generates the grammar the bundle needs.
npm install && npm run build

# 2. Build the extension and bundle the server into server/main.mjs
cd vscode-extension && npm install && npm run build && npm run bundle

Then open the repo in VS Code and press F5 (or run Run Extension from the Debug panel) to open an Extension Development Host. Open any examples/<name>/<name>.minab there.

To build a .vsix: npm run package, then npm run check:vsix. The .vsix is self-contained: it carries the language server and needs neither the repo nor npm install.

To run the smoke test (it starts a real VS Code and needs a display): xvfb-run -a npm test on Linux, or npm test on a desktop.