Editor Setup

How to set up VS Code with syntax highlighting, diagnostics, and run support for Achronyme.

VS Code Extension

The official Achronyme extension adds full language support to Visual Studio Code.

Features

Syntax highlighting — Keywords, builtins, field literals (0p...), BigInt literals (0i256x...), operators, strings
Real-time diagnostics — Parse errors as you type, powered by the ach-lsp language server
Hover documentation — Hover any keyword or builtin function to see its signature, parameters, and examples
Autocompletion — Keywords, all 43 builtin functions with snippet placeholders, and 7 code snippets
Run button — One-click execution of .ach files from the editor title bar

Install from Source

# Clone the editor repository
git clone https://github.com/achronyme/achronyme-editor.git
cd achronyme-editor

# Build the LSP server
cargo build --release -p ach-lsp

# Place the binary in the extension's bin directory
mkdir -p editors/vscode/bin
cp target/release/ach-lsp editors/vscode/bin/

# Install extension dependencies and build
cd editors/vscode
npm ci
npm run build

Then open VS Code with the extension in development mode:

code --extensionDevelopmentPath=editors/vscode

CLI Auto-Download

When you click the Run button on a .ach file, the extension looks for the ach CLI binary in this order:

The path configured in achronyme.executablePath
~/.achronyme/bin/ach (auto-download location)
System PATH

If not found, the extension offers to download the correct binary for your platform (Linux x86_64, macOS x86_64/ARM64, Windows x86_64) from GitHub Releases.

The extension also checks for updates on activation and prompts you when a new version is available.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`achronyme.executablePath`	`""`	Path to the `ach` CLI binary. Leave empty for auto-detection.
`achronyme.lspPath`	`""`	Path to the `ach-lsp` binary. Leave empty to use the bundled binary.

Code Snippets

The extension provides these snippets via autocompletion:

Prefix	Expands to
`fn`	`fn name(params) { ... }`
`prove`	`prove { ... }`
`for`	`for item in collection { ... }`
`forr`	`for i in 0..n { ... }`
`if`	`if condition { ... }`
`ife`	`if condition { ... } else { ... }`
`while`	`while condition { ... }`

LSP Capabilities

The language server (ach-lsp) provides:

Feature	Status
Diagnostics (parse errors)	Supported
Hover documentation	Supported (49 keywords + builtins)
Autocompletion	Supported (keywords, builtins, snippets)
Go-to-definition	Not yet
Find references	Not yet
Rename	Not yet
Formatting	Not yet

Diagnostics update in real-time as you type — no need to save the file first.

Other Editors

The LSP server communicates over stdio and follows the Language Server Protocol, so it can be integrated with any editor that supports LSP (Neovim, Helix, Zed, etc.). Point your editor’s LSP config to the ach-lsp binary.