VS Code Extension — Installation

The ShipGate ISL extension adds ISL language support to Visual Studio Code with syntax highlighting, real-time diagnostics, and verification commands.

Install from marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for “ShipGate ISL”
4. Click Install

Or install from the command line:

code --install-extension shipgate-isl

What you get

After installation, VS Code will recognize .isl files and provide:

• Syntax highlighting for all ISL constructs
• Real-time error detection as you type
• IntelliSense for ISL keywords and built-in types
• Snippets for common patterns (entity, behavior, scenario)
• Commands for verification and code generation
• Code formatting for ISL files

Configuration

Open VS Code settings (Ctrl+,) and search for “ShipGate” to configure:

Setting	Default	Description
shipgate.specPath	specs/	Default path for ISL spec files
shipgate.implPath	src/	Default implementation path
shipgate.verifyOnSave	false	Auto-verify when saving .isl files
shipgate.showInlineDiagnostics	true	Show errors inline in editor
shipgate.gateThreshold	80	Default gate trust score threshold

File association

The extension automatically recognizes .isl files. To manually associate other file extensions, add to your settings.json:

{
  "files.associations": {
    "*.intent": "isl",
    "*.spec.isl": "isl"
  }
}

Verify the installation

1. Create a file named test.isl
2. Type a domain declaration:

domain Test {
  entity User {
    id: UUID [immutable, unique]
    email: Email
  }
}

3. You should see syntax highlighting for keywords, types, and modifiers

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85 or later
• Node.js 18+ (for CLI integration)
• ShipGate CLI installed (npm install -g @isl-lang/cli)

Troubleshooting

Extension not activating

The extension activates when:

• You open a .isl file
• Your workspace contains .isl files
• You run a ShipGate command

If it’s not activating, check the Output panel (Ctrl+Shift+U) and select “ShipGate ISL” from the dropdown.

Diagnostics not showing

Ensure the ShipGate CLI is installed and accessible:

shipgate --version

If the CLI is installed locally (not globally), set the path in settings:

{
  "shipgate.cliPath": "./node_modules/.bin/shipgate"
}