X++ Tools

Syntax highlighting and formatting for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations X++ in Visual Studio Code.

Features

`.xpp` files (language `X++`)

Highlighting for keywords (case-insensitive), the X++ SQL dialect (select, while select, firstonly, exists join, update_recordset, …), ttsbegin/ttscommit, attributes ([ExtensionOf(classStr(X))]), labels ("@SYS12345", "@Model:Label"), strFmt placeholders, verbatim strings (@"..."), date literals (31\12\2026), macros (#define, #localmacro, #MyMacro), static/enum access (NoYes::Yes, Global::info()), intrinsic functions (classStr, tableNum, fieldStr, …) and XML doc comments.
Comment toggling, bracket matching, auto-closing pairs, /// continuation on Enter.

AOT metadata XML (language `X++ Metadata XML`)

Files matching **/Ax*/*.xml (AxClass, AxTable, AxForm, AxClassExtension, …) get XML highlighting plus full X++ highlighting inside <Source><![CDATA[…]]> and <Declaration><![CDATA[…]]>. For files in other folders, add "files.associations": { "*.xml": "xpp-xml" } or pick the language from the status bar.

Formatting (`Shift+Alt+F` / Format Document)

X++: indentation from braces, switch/case blocks and continuation lines; multi-line select … where … && … statements keep their alignment; Allman braces ({ on its own line, } else split); spacing around , ( ), assignment/comparison/logical operators and after if/while/for/switch/catch. Strings, comments, macros and #localmacro blocks are never changed.
AOT XML: re-indents the element structure (tabs by default, like the D365 tooling) and formats the embedded X++ code while keeping the base indentation and blank lines the D365 tools write. Element content and CDATA boundaries are never changed, so Visual Studio still reads the files.

The formatter only changes whitespace and is idempotent.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`xpp.format.enable`	`true`	Enable the X++ formatter
`xpp.format.braceStyle`	`allman`	`allman` or `preserve`
`xpp.format.normalizeSpacing`	`true`	Normalize spacing around operators, commas, parentheses
`xpp.format.maxBlankLines`	`2`	Max consecutive blank lines
`xpp.format.indentCaseLabels`	`true`	Indent `case` labels inside `switch`
`xpp.xml.formatEmbeddedCode`	`true`	Format X++ inside `<Source>`/`<Declaration>` CDATA
`xpp.xml.formatStructure`	`true`	Re-indent the XML element structure
`xpp.xml.embeddedIndentSize`	`4`	Indent size for embedded X++

Installation

Download xpp-language-tools-<version>.vsix from the latest release, then either run code --install-extension xpp-language-tools-<version>.vsix or use Extensions → … → Install from VSIX… in VS Code.

Development

No build step: the extension is plain JavaScript.

# run tests (Node, or VS Code's bundled runtime if Node isn't installed)
$env:ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1; & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" test/run-tests.js --show

# debug: open this folder in VS Code and press F5 ("Run Extension")

# package & install
pwsh ./build-vsix.ps1
code --install-extension .\xpp-language-tools-1.0.0.vsix

Releasing

Bump version in package.json, add a CHANGELOG.md entry, commit, then push a matching tag (git tag v1.0.1; git push origin v1.0.1). The Release workflow runs the tests, builds the .vsix with vsce, attaches it to a new GitHub Release and publishes it to:

VS Code Marketplace if the repository secret VSCE_PAT exists (Azure DevOps personal access token, organization All accessible organizations, scope Marketplace → Manage).
Open VSX if the repository secret OVSX_PAT exists (access token from open-vsx.org).

Secrets are added under Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions. Without them the workflow only creates the GitHub Release. The CI workflow builds the package with vsce on every push to main.

X++ Tools

TW365 GmbH

X++ Tools

Features

.xpp files (language X++)

AOT metadata XML (language X++ Metadata XML)

Formatting (Shift+Alt+F / Format Document)

Settings

Installation

Development

Releasing

`.xpp` files (language `X++`)

AOT metadata XML (language `X++ Metadata XML`)

Formatting (`Shift+Alt+F` / Format Document)