ZigBrains

Developer guide

All platforms

After importing the gradle project, you need to run the build setup -> generateSources tasks.

NixOS

In addition to the generated sources, you also need to run the build setup -> nixos_jbr task, otherwise java will complain about missing files

Special Thanks

• The ZigTools team for developing the Zig Language Server.

• HTGAzureX1212 for developing intellij-zig, which served as a fantastic reference for deep IDE integration features

• The members of the Zig Programming Language discord server's #tooling-dev channel for providing encouragement, feedback, and lots of bug reports.

• The Ballerina Platform developers for lsp4intellij, the language server connector between the IntelliJ platform and the Eclipse LSP4J project

• All the people who have generously funded the project

  • gree7
  • xceno
  • AnErrupTion

• Every contributor who helped with bugfixes and extra features

  • gatesn
  • MarioAriasC
  • JensvandeWiel

• And everyone who actively reported issues and helped ironing out all the remaining problems

Versioning scheme

To reduce confusion and to better utilize semver, the plugin uses the following versioning scheme:

X - Major version, incremented any time a relatively large features is added or removed Y - Minor version, incremented for smaller features or large refactors that don't change user-perceived behaviour Z - Patch version, incremented only when a fix is purely an internal change and doesn't exceed an arbitrary threshold of complexity (determined at the discretion of FalsePattern)

Note: before version 11, the version scheme used was 0.X.Y, without separate patch versions. As this plugin will constantly be evolving together with the zig language, it makes not sense to keep the 0 prefix, and might as well utilize the full semver string for extra information.

Description

A multifunctional Zig Programming Language plugin for the IDEA platform.

Core features:

• Uses ZLS (Zig Language Server) for code assistance, syntax highlighting, and anything to do with coding assistance
• Supports build.zig.zon files with autocomplete
• Per-project Zig toolchain integration
• Debugging support for CLion (builtin), and IDEA Ultimate With this plugin
• Gutter icon for running main(), tests, and build

Setting up the language server

If you have zls available on PATH, ZigBrains will automatically discover it. If not, follow this guide:

1. Download or compile the ZLS language server, available at https://github.com/zigtools/zls
2. Go to Settings -> Languages & Frameworks -> ZLS -> ZLS path -> set the path to the zls executable you downloaded or compiled
3. Open a .zig file, and wait for the circle in the bottom status bar to turn Green (empty). See below for an explanation on what the circle means.

LSP status icon explanation

Red (X symbol): LSP server is stopped. You either don't have a proper ZLS path set, or you don't have a .zig file open.

Yellow ("refresh arrow" symbol): LSP server is starting, please be patient.

Green (empty): LSP server is running.

Debugging

Windows

Due to technical limitations, the C++ toolchains cannot be used for debugging zig code on windows.

Go to Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Debugger | Zig (Windows) and follow the steps shown there to set up a zig-compatible debugger.

Linux / MacOS / Unix

ZigBrains uses the CLion C++ toolchains Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Toolchains for debugging purposes, and it is fully compatible with both GDB and LLDB debuggers.

Additionally, ZigBrains will prioritize a toolchain if it is called Zig, otherwise it will use the default toolchain.

If no toolchain is available, ZigBrains will attempt to use the bundled LLDB debugger, and if that is not available either, an error popup will be shown when you try to run with debugging.

Note: There is a small issue with the LLDB debugger which does not happen with GDB: The debugger will pause on the first instruction (usually, deep inside the zig standard library's startup code). Unfortunately, we have not found a fix for this yet, but fortunately it doesn't break anything, just a bit of inconvenience.

Feature tracker:

.zig files:

• Code completion

• Code folding

• Code formatting

• Syntax highlighting

• Inlay hints

• Basic error diagnostics

• Go to definition

• Rename symbol

• Hover documentation

• Go to implementations / find usages

• Brace/Parenthesis/Bracket matching

• Debugging (CLion/CLion Nova)

• File creation prompt

• Gutter launch buttons

• Commenter (thanks @MarioAriasC !)

• TODO:

  • Workspace Symbols

.zon files:

• Syntax highlighting
• Formatting and indentation
• Code completion
• Brace folding
• Automatic brace and quote pairing

Toolchain:

• Basic per-project toolchain management
• Run configurations
• Debugging (CLion/IDEA Ultimate)
• Project generation (thanks @JensvandeWiel !)