Vox — VS Code Extension
Syntax highlighting for Vox (sentence-based code)
Vox is a systems-level programming language with a constrained, sentence-based English syntax. This extension provides syntax highlighting, bracket/comment configuration, and code folding for .vox files.
Installation
The extension is published on the Open VSX Marketplace (VS Code, Windsurf, Cursor, and other compatible editors) and the Visual Studio Marketplace (VS Code). Search for "Vox" in your editor's Extensions panel and click Install.
For manual installation during development, see Manual Installation below.
Features
- Syntax highlighting for Vox language constructs.
- Comment support — parenthetical comments
(like this) with nesting.
- Auto-closing pairs for brackets, parentheses, and quotes.
- Code folding for function definitions and block constructs.
- Format-string interpolation —
{variable} inside double-quoted strings gets distinct highlighting.
- Distinct colors for unique Vox constructs:
each (loop expansion)but (conditional branching)
Supported File Extensions
| Extension |
Associated language |
.vox |
Vox |
The extension also registers the aliases Vox, vox, English, english, and en for the language picker.
Highlighted Elements
| Element |
Example Vox syntax |
Scope token |
each keyword |
Open ... at each filename from arguments's all |
entity.name.tag.each.vox |
but keyword |
but if x is greater than 10 then, ... |
support.type.vox |
| Format interpolation |
"Hello {name}!" |
variable.other.interpolation.vox |
| Control keywords |
If, While, For, Return, Otherwise, then |
keyword.control.vox |
| Action keywords |
Print, Set, Create, Append, Increment |
keyword.other.vox |
| Import keywords |
see, library, version, from |
keyword.control.import.vox |
| I/O keywords |
Open, Read, Write, Close |
support.function.vox |
| Types |
number, text, boolean, buffer, float |
storage.type.vox |
| Strings |
"Hello, World!" |
string.quoted.double.vox |
| Numbers |
42, 3.14, -5, 0xFF, 0b1010 |
constant.numeric.*.vox |
| Booleans |
true, false |
constant.language.boolean.vox |
| Null literal |
nothing |
constant.language.null.vox |
| Comments |
(this is a comment) |
comment.block.vox |
| Function definitions |
To 'add two numbers' |
entity.name.function.definition.vox |
| Function calls |
'add two numbers' of 3 and 4 |
entity.name.function.call.vox |
| Properties |
buf's length, arguments's all |
variable.other.property.vox |
| Articles / particles |
a, an, the, called, of, from |
punctuation.definition.vox |
Colors are provided as defaults in package.json under contributes.configurationDefaults.editor.tokenColorCustomizations. Your theme may override them.
Manual Installation
Option 1: Symlink (Recommended for Development)
Linux / macOS:
# VS Code
ln -s /path/to/vox/vox-vscode ~/.vscode/extensions/vox
# Windsurf
ln -s /path/to/vox/vox-vscode ~/.windsurf/extensions/vox
# Cursor
ln -s /path/to/vox/vox-vscode ~/.cursor/extensions/vox
Windows (PowerShell as Admin):
# VS Code
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.vscode\extensions\vox" -Target "C:\path\to\vox\vox-vscode"
# Windsurf
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.windsurf\extensions\vox" -Target "C:\path\to\vox\vox-vscode"
Then reload your editor (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Reload Window").
Option 2: Copy the Folder
Copy the vox-vscode folder to your editor's extensions directory and rename it to vox:
| Editor |
Extensions directory |
| VS Code (Linux) |
~/.vscode/extensions/ |
| VS Code (macOS) |
~/.vscode/extensions/ |
| VS Code (Windows) |
%USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions\ |
| Windsurf |
~/.windsurf/extensions/ |
| Cursor |
~/.cursor/extensions/ |
Option 3: Build and Install a VSIX Package
# Install vsce (VS Code Extension manager)
npm install -g @vscode/vsce
# Navigate to the extension directory
cd vox-vscode
# Package the extension
vsce package
# Install the generated .vsix file (replace <version> with the version shown in package.json)
code --install-extension vox-<version>.vsix
# Or for Windsurf:
windsurf --install-extension vox-<version>.vsix
Verifying Installation
- Open any
.vox file.
- Check the language mode in the bottom-right corner — it should say Vox.
- If it says Plain Text, click it and select Vox from the list.
Troubleshooting
Highlighting not working?
- Reload the editor window (
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Reload Window").
- Check that the extension folder is named
vox in the extensions directory.
- Verify the
.vox file extension is associated with the Vox language.
Colors look different than expected?
- The extension provides default token colors in
package.json.
- Your color theme may override these defaults.
File Structure
vox-vscode/
├── check-grammar.sh # Drift checker: lexer keywords vs. grammar
├── language-configuration.json # Brackets, comments, folding rules
├── package.json # Extension manifest and default token colors
├── setup.sh # Auto-setup script for new developers
├── syntaxes/
│ └── vox.tmLanguage.json # TextMate grammar (token rules)
├── tm/ # Real-engine tokenizer test harness
│ ├── run-fixtures.sh # Run fixture-based grammar regression tests
│ ├── tokenize.js # Tokenize a .vox file with vscode-textmate
│ └── fixtures/ # Canonical .vox samples and expected scopes
├── images/
│ └── icon.png # Extension icon
├── LICENSE # MIT
└── README.md # This file
Contributing
- The grammar is defined in
syntaxes/vox.tmLanguage.json using TextMate patterns.
- Default token colors live in
package.json under contributes.configurationDefaults.editor.tokenColorCustomizations.
- The
tm/ harness uses the same vscode-textmate / vscode-oniguruma engines as VS Code itself, so the fixtures show the exact scopes the editor will apply.
To run the grammar fixtures:
cd vox-vscode/tm
npm install
./run-fixtures.sh
To update expected fixture output after an intentional grammar change:
./run-fixtures.sh --update
License
MIT
