Bazel plugin for Visual Studio Code

This extension provides support for Bazel in Visual Studio.

Features

• Syntax highlighting
• Bazel Build Targets tree displays the build packages/targets in your workspace
• CodeLens links in BUILD files to directly launch a build or test by simply clicking on the targets
• Buildifier integration to lint and format your Bazel files (requires that Buildifier be installed)
• Debug Starlark code in your .bzl files during a build (set breakpoints, step through code, inspect variables, etc.)

Configuring the Extension

This extension adds a Bazel section to the extension settings in Visual Studio Code. If you have Bazel installed in a location that is not on your system path or if you wish to use a different version in the IDE, you should set the Bazel: Executable setting to the location of the Bazel executable.

Similarly, the Bazel: Buildifier Executable setting can be configured if you install Buildifier in a location that is not on your system path.

When Buildifier is installed, the Format Document command in Visual Studio code will reformat BUILD, WORKSPACE, .bzl, and .sky files using the tool and will display lint warnings from those files as you type. By default, this extension does not automatically fix lint warnings during formatting, but you can opt into this by enabling the Bazel: Buildifier Fix on Format setting.

Using the Starlark Debugger

Currently, the Starlark Debugger can be used by right-clicking a build target in the Bazel Build Targets view and selecting "Build Target with Starlark Debugger". This will start the build inside the Visual Studio Code debugger (output will be redirected to the Debug Console pane) and it will pause on any breakpoints hit during execution.

When a Bazel thread is paused, you can step through Starlark code, add watch expressions, and execute arbitrary statements by typing them in the input area of the Debug Console.

Clicking the "Stop" button in the debugger will kill the Bazel process being debugger, allowing you to halt the current build. The Bazel server, however, will continue running.

Contributing

If you would like to contribute to the Bazel Visual Studio extension, please refer to the contribution guidelines for information about our patch acceptance process and setting up your development environment.