Syntax highlighting, semantic coloring, and live diagnostics for G-Code (ISO 6983 / Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl / 828D), tailored to Blohm grinding cycles and the Blohm variable naming conventions.

Supported file extensions: .gcode · .nc · .cnc · .gc · .ngc · .txt · .mpf · .spf

Features

Syntax highlighting

G / M commands — G0, G1, G41.1, M3, M30, …
Siemens 840D cycles & commands — CYCLE832, POCKET3, TRANS, ROT, SCALE, MIRROR, MCALL, CALL, RET, STOPRE, MSG, SPOS, Pos/POSA, interrupt keywords (SETINT, PRIO, BLSYNC, LIFTFAST, CLRINT, …) and more.
R-parameters — R1, R100, …
Blohm variables — identifiers ending in _ (e.g. MyVar_), $-system variables (e.g. $AA_IW, $TC_DP1), and plain mixed-case globals.
Comments — ; and ' line comments (semicolons inside (...) and "..." are not treated as comments).
Function calls, DEF/DEFINE keywords, type keywords, labels, and the %_N_… program header.

Semantic (depth-based) coloring

Nesting levels are colorized by depth (5 cycling levels) for:

IF / ELSE / ENDIF
FOR / ENDFOR and WHILE / ENDWHILE
Parentheses ( )
Variable index brackets [ ] (e.g. $AN_CEC_STEP[N_LOOP1])

Diagnostics (error / warning squiggles)

Severity	Rule
🔴 Error	Undefined variable — used but never declared (locally or in a global DEF/GUD file)
🔴 Error	Unclosed function call, `[`, or `(`; unexpected `)`
🔴 Error	Empty R-assignment (e.g. `R11=` with no value)
🔴 Error	Assignment (`=`) used instead of `==` inside `IF` / `WHILE` / `WHEN` conditions
🔴 Error	Standalone number not attached to an address/expression
🔴 Error	`DEF` after the first G/M command
🔴 Error	Unmatched / unexpected `IF`, `ELSE`, `ENDIF`, `ENDFOR`, `ENDWHILE`; unclosed loops at EOF
🔴 Error	`WHEN` without `DO`; `REPEAT` without two valid labels
🔴 Error	Commented-out program header / missing `;$PATH=` / `PROC` name mismatch with header
🔴 Error	Wrong number of indexes on a `$TC_` tool-data variable (e.g. `$TC_DP4[t,d]` needs 2, `$TC_TPC4[t]` needs 1)
⚠️ Warning	Unused variable — declared with `DEF` but never referenced
⚠️ Warning	Undefined or wrong-direction `GOTOF` / `GOTO` / `GOTOB` label target
⚠️ Warning	Missing `DISPLOF` on a `PROC` line

Cross-file variable resolution

On workspace open, all DEF/GUD files (first line matching %_N_*_DEF) are pre-scanned so variables declared there — including commented-out DEF lines — are known globally and won't be flagged in other files. PROC parameter lists (including STRING[n]) are treated as local declarations. Matching is case-insensitive, and diagnostics refresh live when a DEF file is saved.

Hover documentation

Bilingual (DE/EN) hover tooltips sourced from the Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl / 828D documentation for:

G and M commands (including parameterized forms like M31=10)
R parameters and OPTI1_[n] option bits
$-variables (691+ BTSS parameters), with per-tool-type tables for $TC_* tool parameters
Path methods (ASPLINE, CUT3DCC, SUPA, …) and TOFF / TOFFL / TOFFR

Go to Definition

F12 (or Ctrl+click / Go to Definition) navigates from a name to where it is declared:

Name under the cursor	Jumps to
Cycle call — `SEL_STATION(…)`	The `PROC SEL_STATION(…)` line, in whichever workspace file defines it
Jump-label target — `GOTOF MARKE1`, `REPEAT START_ END_`	The `MARKE1:` label definition (labels are file-local)
Variable — `AX4_`, `OPTI1_[3]`	Its `DEF` / `DEFINE … AS` / `PROC` parameter declaration — in this file, or in the DEF/GUD file that declares it globally

The cursor lands on the declared name itself, so Peek Definition (Alt+F12) shows the declaration in context. Names with no declaration to jump to ($-system variables, R parameters, G/M commands) are left alone.

Editor integration

Bracket-pair highlighting, auto-closing pairs, and surrounding pairs for ( ), [ ], and "…".

Extension settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`blohmGCode.txtCheckPaths`	`string[]`	`["content/Zyklen"]`	Directories whose `.txt` files are checked (linted) as G-Code.

Directories whose .txt files are checked (linted) as G-Code. Paths may be absolute or relative to a workspace folder — the default content/Zyklen resolves against the VS Code working directory (workspace root). When the list is empty, all .txt files are checked. Files with unambiguous G-Code extensions (.mpf, .spf, .nc, .gcode, .cnc, .gc, .ngc) are always checked regardless of this setting. This affects only the VS Code editor — the lint:gcode CLI is controlled solely by its own --dir argument.

// .vscode/settings.json
{
  "blohmGCode.txtCheckPaths": ["content/Zyklen", "C:\\NC\\programs"]
}

CLI linter (CI / Azure DevOps)

A standalone command-line linter (out/cli.js) runs the same diagnostic checks in a pipeline:

npm run bundle:cli
node out/cli.js --dir <path> [--exclude "<glob>"]... [--fail-on-warnings]

Scans a directory recursively for supported G-Code files.
Resolves cross-file variables by pre-scanning DEF/GUD files first.
Decodes UTF-16 LE (the SINUMERIK default), UTF-8, and UTF-8-with-BOM.
In Azure DevOps (TF_BUILD=True), emits each finding as an ##vso[task.logissue] annotation and fails the stage on errors (or warnings with --fail-on-warnings).

Building & packaging

npm ci
npm run bundle      # bundle client + server + CLI into out/
npm run release     # produce a .vsix package

Script	Purpose
`npm run bundle`	Bundle the extension client, language server, and CLI
`npm run compile` / `npm run watch`	TypeScript compile (one-shot / watch)
`npm run lint:gcode`	Build the CLI and lint the bundled `./examples`
`npm run release`	Bundle and package a `.vsix` via `vsce`