q-lint for VS Code
Diagnostics for q/kdb+ source, as you type, from the
q-lint language server.
The linter never executes the source it reads. That is what makes it safe
to run on every keystroke, and it is why this extension offers diagnostics and
nothing else: completion, hover and go-to-definition would need a resolver and
a symbol table, and building one means giving up the guarantee.
Requirements
None, on a platform this extension is built for. macOS (Apple Silicon and
Intel), Linux x64 and Windows x64 builds carry the matching qlinter and run
with nothing installed and nothing configured.
Anywhere else, the extension needs the server: take an archive from
releases, or build one with
cargo install --path . from a clone. Put it on PATH, or point
q-lint.serverPath at it.
Setting q-lint.serverPath always wins, bundled server or not - which is how
to run a build of your own against the extension.
server/qlinter is checked in so that packaging the extension from a clone
produces a working vsix without a release build first. It is darwin-arm64
only - the one this repository's author builds - and is rebuilt by hand, so
it can lag src/. The release workflow ignores it and packages the binary it
just built for each platform. To refresh it:
cargo build --release && install -m 755 target/release/qlinter editors/vscode/server/qlinter
Worth knowing on macOS: an application started from the Dock does not inherit
the PATH from your shell profile, so a binary in ~/.local/bin is invisible
to it even though the same command works in a terminal. The bundled server
sidesteps this; q-lint.serverPath with an absolute path is the fix if you
are using your own.
When a finding looks wrong
Open Output → q-lint. The first line names the server version and the
binary it came from, which is usually the answer: the rules live in the
binary, not the extension, so a replaced binary does not take effect until
the server restarts. q-lint: Restart Server in the command palette does
that without reloading the window.
Settings
| setting |
default |
|
q-lint.serverPath |
qlinter |
Path to the binary; looked up on PATH as given. |
q-lint.profile |
general |
Rule profile. uqf adds that repository's own conventions on top of the general q rules. |
q-lint.trace.server |
off |
Log the traffic between VS Code and the server, for debugging the integration itself. |
The rules
qlinter --rules prints the catalogue and qlinter --explain <CODE> prints one
entry. Both read from the linter's own taxonomy, so they are current in a way
this page would not be.
Troubleshooting
Diagnostics not appearing? Open Output → q-lint. The server's own stderr is
forwarded there, so a binary that is missing or refusing its arguments says so
in that panel.
