VS Code Extension Development

Quick Start

// package.json
{
  "name": "my-language",
  "contributes": {
    "languages": [{
      "id": "mylang",
      "extensions": [".ml"],
      "configuration": "./language-configuration.json"
    }],
    "grammars": [{
      "language": "mylang",
      "scopeName": "source.mylang",
      "path": "./syntaxes/mylang.tmLanguage.json"
    }]
  }
}

Core Components

• package.json: Extension manifest with contributes for languages, grammars, commands
• language-configuration.json: Brackets, comments, auto-closing pairs, folding
• TextMate Grammar: Syntax highlighting via regex patterns and scopes
• Language Server: Advanced features (LSP) for completions, diagnostics

TextMate Grammar Structure

{
  "scopeName": "source.mylang",
  "patterns": [{ "include": "#expression" }],
  "repository": {
    "expression": {
      "patterns": [
        { "include": "#keywords" },
        { "include": "#strings" }
      ]
    },
    "keywords": {
      "match": "\\b(if|else|while)\\b",
      "name": "keyword.control.mylang"
    }
  }
}

Key Scope Naming

• keyword.control - Control flow (if, else, for)
• keyword.operator - Operators (+, -, =)
• string.quoted - String literals
• comment.line / comment.block - Comments
• entity.name.function - Function names
• variable - Variables
• constant.numeric - Numbers

Reference Files

• references/textmate.md - TextMate grammar patterns
• references/language-config.md - Language configuration
• references/publishing.md - Publishing to marketplace