VS Code

VS Code extension for the tcl-ls language server.

What it does

The extension:

• associates .tcl, .tm, and .test files with a tcl language id

• starts tcl-ls over stdio

• exposes a tcl-ls: Restart Language Server command

• restarts the server when tcllsrc.tcl, pkgIndex.tcl, or *.meta.tcl files change

Build and install a VSIX

Marketplace and release builds bundle a frozen tcl-ls server inside the extension. For a local build that behaves the same way on your current platform, use the VS Code makefile:

uv sync
make -C editors/vscode bundled-vsix

This writes a file like dist/tcl-ls-vscode-<version>@<target>.vsix. Install it with:

code --install-extension /absolute/path/to/dist/tcl-ls-vscode-<version>@<target>.vsix --force

If you only want the extension package and plan to point it at a checkout or PATH server yourself, use:

make -C editors/vscode vsix

You can also use Extensions: Install from VSIX... in the VS Code UI.

Configure the server

Prefer explicit settings. That is more reliable than PATH-dependent launch behavior, especially on macOS when VS Code is launched as a GUI app.

Recommended for local development from a checkout:

{
  "tcl-ls.server.repoRoot": "/absolute/path/to/tcl-ls"
}

With that setting in place, the extension launches:

/absolute/path/to/tcl-ls/.venv/bin/tcl-ls

The checkout should already have been prepared with:

uv sync

If you want to bypass repoRoot, you can configure the command directly:

{
  "tcl-ls.server.command": "/absolute/path/to/tcl-ls/.venv/bin/tcl-ls",
  "tcl-ls.server.args": []
}

If tcl-ls.server.args is empty, tcl-ls.server.command can also be a full command line:

{
  "tcl-ls.server.command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/uv run --directory=/absolute/path/to/tcl-ls tcl-ls",
  "tcl-ls.server.args": []
}

Quote any path that contains spaces.

Leave tcl-ls.server.repoRoot and tcl-ls.server.cwd empty to disable them. tcl-ls.server.cwd accepts ${workspaceFolder} and ${workspaceFolderBasename} placeholders.

Fallback behavior

If neither tcl-ls.server.command nor tcl-ls.server.repoRoot is set, the extension prefers a bundled server from the packaged extension. If there is no bundled server, it falls back to tcl-ls on PATH.

Development host

The F5 Extension Development Host flow still works, but the intended local workflow is building and installing a VSIX.