Basil.js – Code Completion and Documentation

Code completion, hover documentation and parameter hints for basil.js, the Processing-style scripting library for Adobe InDesign. Write .jsx scripts in VS Code and see what rect(), textFont() or savePDF() expect without leaving the editor.

Made for the Critical Coding module at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

Features

• Completion for all basil.js functions, constants (MM, CORNER, LOREM, …) and variables (width, height). Required parameters are inserted as placeholders: rect(x, y, w, h).
• Members after Vector., HashList., CSV. and JSON..
• Hover documentation: summary, description, parameters, return value, examples and a link to the online reference.
• Parameter hints while typing a call, with the current parameter highlighted.
• Snippets: basil (script with setup() / draw()), basil-loop (looping script) and basil-batch (one page per image, PDF export).
• Command Basil.js: Open Reference opens the reference page of the function under the cursor.

The extension is active only in files that include basil.js:

// @includepath "~/Documents/;%USERPROFILE%Documents";
// @include "basiljs/basil.js";

so React .jsx files stay untouched. Set basiljs.activation to always to use it in every JavaScript file.

Settings

Running scripts

This extension helps with writing. To run basil scripts, use InDesign's Scripts panel or Adobe's ExtendScript Debugger for VS Code; both work together with this extension.

Version

Documentation of basil.js 2.0.0-beta (build 2025-01-19), generated from the JSDoc comments in the library. basil.js is released under the MIT license by the basil.js team.