Ink Language Support for VS Code

A powerful, feature-rich Visual Studio Code extension for Inkle's Ink narrative scripting language.

Whether you are writing a short interactive story or a massive, multi-file branching narrative game, this extension provides the essential IDE features you need: rich syntax highlighting, intelligent auto-completion, cross-file navigation, and inline image previews.

✨ Features

🎨 Comprehensive Syntax Highlighting

Enjoy a beautifully colorized coding experience. The included TextMate grammar accurately highlights all of Ink's unique syntax, including:

• Knots (===) and Stitches (=)
• Choices (*, +) and Gathers (-)
• Diverts (->, <-)
• Variables, Constants, Lists, and Temp declarations
• Inline logic, conditionals, and mathematical expressions
• Tags and Includes

🚀 Intelligent Auto-Completion

Never lose track of your narrative threads. When typing a divert (->), the extension automatically suggests available Knots and Stitches across your entire project. It seamlessly reads your INCLUDE statements to understand your file structure.

🔍 Code Navigation (Go to Definition & Find References)

Navigate complex branching stories with ease:

• Go to Definition (F12): Ctrl/Cmd + Click on a divert or variable to instantly jump to where it was declared.
• Find References (Shift + F12): See every place a specific Knot, Stitch, or Variable is used throughout your workspace.

🖼️ Inline Image Previews & Links

Working with visual novels or multimedia projects? This extension adds special support for Image tags:

• Format: Use the standard tag format # Image: filename.png (or #image: ...).
• Hover Previews: Hover over the tag to see a live markdown preview of the image directly in your editor.
• Document Links: Ctrl/Cmd + Click the filename to open the source image file. The extension automatically searches your workspace and sibling directories to find the correct asset.

📋 Document Outline (Symbol Provider)

Keep a bird's-eye view of your story files. Open the VS Code Outline view (or use Breadcrumbs) to see a structured list of all Knots, Stitches, and global Variables in your current file, allowing you to jump between scenes instantly.

💡 Rich Hover Information

Need a quick reminder of what a Knot does or what a Variable's initial value is? Hover over any divert or variable reference to see a snippet of its original declaration—without having to switch files.

🔗 Deep Multi-File Support

Your story isn't limited to one file, and neither is this extension. It recursively parses INCLUDE directives to map out your entire narrative network, ensuring that auto-complete, definitions, and references work flawlessly across your entire project.

🛠️ Usage

Simply open any .ink file in Visual Studio Code. The extension will automatically activate and provide syntax highlighting.

• To trigger auto-complete: Type -> and start typing a knot name, or press Ctrl+Space.
• To preview images: Ensure your images are somewhere in your workspace folder, and write an image tag like # Image: hero_portrait.jpg.