VS Code Extension

The Sia VS Code extension adds syntax highlighting for .sia schema files.

Installation

The extension is distributed as a .vsix file in the sia-schema repository:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/TimeleapLabs/sia-schema.git

# Install the extension
code --install-extension sia-schema/vscode-sia/vscode-sia-0.0.1.vsix

After installation, restart VS Code. Files with the .sia extension will automatically get syntax highlighting.

What It Provides

• Syntax highlighting for .sia files:
  • Keywords: schema, plugin, method, returns, as
  • Built-in types: int32, int64, string8, uint8, etc.
  • Custom types: PascalCase identifiers (e.g., Address, Person)
  • String literals, number literals
  • Single-line (//) and block (/* */) comments
  • Field names and function names
• Language configuration:
  • Line comment toggle (Ctrl+/ → //)
  • Block comment toggle (Shift+Alt+A → /* */)
  • Auto-closing brackets: {}, [], ()
  • Auto-closing quotes: "", ''
  • Bracket matching and surrounding pairs

What It Does Not Provide

The extension is syntax-highlighting only. It does not include:

• Diagnostics / error checking: Syntax errors are not shown in the editor. Run sia compile to check for errors.
• Autocomplete / IntelliSense: No type or field name suggestions.
• Go to definition: No navigation between schema references.
• Formatting: No auto-formatting. Use your editor's generic formatter.
• Language server: No LSP integration.

Example

With the extension installed, a .sia file looks like this:

// User management schemas
schema User {
  name      string8
  age?      uint8
  email     string16(encoding = "ascii")
  roles     string8[]
  address   Address
}

schema Address {
  street?   string8 = "Unknown"
  city      string8
  zip       int32
}

plugin swiss.timeleap.users.v1 as UserService {
  method getUser(timeout = 5000) {
    id  uint64
  } returns {
    user  User
  }
}

Keywords are highlighted as control flow, types as builtins, PascalCase identifiers as type references, and string/number literals in their respective colors.

Repository

• Extension source: vscode-sia/ in the sia-schema repo