VS Code Aster – VS Code Extension for code_aster

This is the first release of the VS Code Aster extension. The main objective is to collect feedback on any bugs or anomalies you encounter during its usage. All input regarding features is valuable, whether it's about how commands are triggered, unexpected behaviors, or options that could be added. Your experience and suggestions greatly help improve the extension.

Description

VS Code Aster is a Visual Studio Code extension designed to simplify and speed up work with code_aster. It offers:

• An interactive form to create or edit a .export file
• The ability to launch simulations directly from VS Code
• Advanced features for editing .comm files
• A fully integrated 3D Visualizer to explore your meshs

Installation

1. Installing the extension

From the market place

The VS Code Aster extension is now available on the VS Code Marketplace :

1. Open VS Code then go to the Extensions tab (or press Ctrl + Shift + X / Cmd + Shift + X).
2. Search for VS Code Aster.
3. Click on Install.

From a .vsix file

• Download the .vsix file from the latest release :

  1. Choose your preferred version (latest is recommended)
  2. In the "Assets" section, click on the vs-code-aster-[version].vsix button.

WSL users will need to copy the .vsix file to the WSL file system before continuing with the installation.

cp /mnt/c/Users/[UserName]/Downloads/vs-code-aster-[version].vsix ~/

• Once you've got the .vsix file ready, you can open VS Code and :
  1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P).
  2. Search for and run Extensions: Install from VSIX....
  3. Select the downloaded .vsix file.
  4. Reload your VS Code window — your extension is now installed !

2. Required dependencies

This extension requires Python 3.8 or later and the following packages :

• numpy
• pygls==1.3.1
• medcoupling

Here are two ways to install these packages :

2.1. Use a dedicated Python virtual environment (recommended)

If you prefer to isolate your dependencies, or if pip cannot install system-wide packages, you can setup a virtual environment :

# Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/[env_name]

# Activate the venv
source ~/[env_name]/bin/activate

# Install required packages
pip install numpy pygls==1.3.1 medcoupling

Then point the extension to this environment :

1. Open File > Preferences > Settings (or press Ctrl + , / Cmd + ,).
2. In the search bar, type VS Code Aster.
3. Locate Python Executable Path.
4. Set it to the absolute path of your environment’s Python executable, for example :

/home/[username]/[env_name]/bin/python

5. Reload the VS Code window (Ctrl + R / Cmd + R).

2.2. Install directly with pip

If you'd rather install the Python packages globally :

pip install numpy pygls==1.3.1 medcoupling

3. (Optional) Installing Cave

If you'd like to run simulations, you need to have cave installed on your system. You can follow the instructions on the cave GitHub repository.

You're now ready to use VS Code Aster !

Features overview

1. Creating and managing .export files

The extension provides an interface to create and manage .export files more easily, through a web form.

Opening the form

There are two ways to open the form :

• Option 1 - recommended when creating a new file :
  • Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P)
  • Search for Edit export file then click on it.
  • The form will be pre-filled with placeholder data that should be modified to your desires.
• Option 2 - recommended when editing an existing file :
  1. Open an .export file.
  2. Click the book icon Edit export file in the top-right corner of the file.
  3. The form will be pre-filled with existing data, ready to be modified.

Key points

• Any field highlighted in red will block the creation of the export file.
• Once the Create button is clicked and the form is valid, a .export file will be created at the place it has been opened (replacing the previous file if it existed).

2. Launching a simulation

You need to have cave installed on your system to launch simulations. Refer to the cave GitHub repository if you want to install cave.

From a .export file

1. Open a .export file.
2. Click on the "play" icon Run with code_aster in the top-right corner of the file.

It will open a terminal and execute the following command : cave run [file].export.

Personnalize alias to run code-aster

If you want to use a custom alias, you can :

1. Open VS Code.
2. Go to File > Preferences > Settings (or press Ctrl + , / Cmd + ,).
3. In the search bar, type VS Code Aster.
4. Find the setting Alias For Run and change the value to the command you want to use to run code_aster.

3. Smart editing of .comm files

Syntax highlighting

• Dedicated highlighting for code_aster syntax, making .comm files more readable
• For the best experience, use a theme that differentiates functions, variables, etc.

Hover documentation

• When hovering over a code_aster command, a tooltip displays :
  • The command description
  • The command arguments
  • The types and default values of arguments

Command signatures

• When typing a ( after a command name, or a , after entering an argument (e.g., FORMAT="MED",), a signature is displayed
• This signature shows the parameters (depending on context — some parameters are only available under certain conditions)

Contextual auto-completion

• The extension automatically suggests :
  • Command names
  • Relevant arguments depending on the current command

Status Bar

• A status bar is displayed at the bottom of the window, showing the number of steps completed in the current command file, e.g., code_aster: 3/5 steps.
• Clicking on the status bar opens a detailed view of completed commands for each family.

4. The visualizer — Interactive 3D result viewer

The visualizer is an integrated 3D viewer that lets you display and explore your simulation geometry and results directly in VS Code — without leaving your workspace.

It’s powered by VTK.js, and supports both mesh visualization and node-based groups.

Opening the visualizer

The visualizer is very easy to open :

1. Open a .comm file.
2. Click on the "eye" icon Open visualizer in the top-right corner of the file.

The visualizer is now open !

Features

• Load geometry files (.med) directly into the viewer
• Highlight face and node groups using the sidebar
• Highlight groups quickly by selecting their names from your command file (.comm)
• Control the camera with by rotating or panning it

Usage tips

• Group highlighting :
  • Click on a group name in the sidebar to highlight or unhighlight it
  • Click on the "clear" button in the sidebar to reset highlight status for all groups
  • Click on the "filter" button in the sidebar to choose which groups are easily accessible in the sidebar
  • Objects becomes transparent when you highlight their groups, helping visualize details more clearly
• Camera control :
  • Hold Left click and move your mouse to rotate the camera
  • Hold Ctrl + Left click and move your mouse to rotate the camera around an axis
  • Hold Shift + Left click and move your mouse to pan the camera
  • Use the Mouse wheel to zoom in and out
  • Click on the X, Y, and Z buttons at the bottom of the sidebar to quickly align the camera along an axis
• File management :
  • Mesh files (.*med files) are converted to .obj files, which are stored in a hidden folder called .visu_data/ in your workspace

Troubleshooting

If you encounter an error that seems to have broken the language server (for .comm files), you can restart it without closing VS Code:

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P / Cmd + Shift + P).
2. Type Restart the LSP Server for code_aster and select it.
3. The language server will restart, restoring hover, signature help, completion, and other language features !

Development

You need to follow the installation steps before proceeding with this section.

1. Prerequisites

You need to have Node.js 20 or later and npm installed on your system :

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Check installation
node -v
npm -v

2. Installing dependencies

1. Clone the repository :

git clone https://github.com/simvia-tech/vs-code-aster.git

2. Install packages :

npm install

3. Compile extension :

npm run compile

3. Running the extension locally

You can press F5 or go to Run > Start Debugging to launch a new VS Code window running this extension. After making changes, you can reload the new window using Ctrl + R.

Telemetry

VS Code Aster includes optional telemetry features to help improve the tool by collecting anonymous usage data.

By default, usage tracking is enabled, sending anonymous data about which features you use. You can disable this tracking if you prefer.

To deactivate telemetry :

1. Open VS Code Settings (File > Preferences > Settings or Ctrl + , / Cmd + ,)
2. Search for VS Code Aster in the settings search bar
3. Find the setting Enable Telemetry and uncheck it

Telemetry respects your privacy and does not collect sensitive information.

Contributing

Please check out our CONTRIBUTING.md file if you want to contribute to the project.

Thank you to all our contributors :

• Hadrien Riols - Email
• Basile Marchand - Email
• Ulysse Bouchet - Email - Website

See Also

• Cave's GitHub repository
• Simvia's website

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL-3.0). See the full license text in the LICENSE file.

• Summary: You are free to use, copy, modify, and redistribute this software.
• Conditions: Redistributions and derivative works must be licensed under GPL-3.0 and include source or a written offer to provide the source.
• More information: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

Contact Us

Contact us at ulysse.bouchet@simvia.tech or basile.marchand@simvia.tech.