VS code extension for VASM

[deanflyer]

Sorry if this has been asked before.

I'm using VASM for my 6502 project, and I'm struggling to find a VS code extension that does outlining and decent 6502 syntax. Any suggestions? I'm happy to switch assemblers if anyone has some good recommendations (I have used kickassembler before, but hate having java installed). My project is getting relatively large now and having outlining would help.

Thanks!

[BigDumbDinosaur]

deanflyer wrote:

I'm using VASM for my 6502 project, and I'm struggling to find a VS code extension that does outlining and decent 6502 syntax.  Any suggestions?  I'm happy to switch assemblers if anyone has some good recommendations (I have used kickassembler before, but hate having java installed). My project is getting relatively large now and having outlining would help.

Under what operating system are you doing your 6502 development?  Also, what do you mean by “outlining?”

If you are using MS Windows, you may want to take a look at the Kowalski editor/assembler/simulator.  I have extensively used it for 65C816 development; it also supports the NMOS 6502 and the WDC 65C02.  The simulator is very useful for proving that an algorithm works (or doesn’t) before throwing the code on the machine and crashing it.    The Kowalski package doesn’t require Java or anything else, other than a functioning Windows installation (I run it on XP SP3, but it will run fine on recent versions).

[deanflyer]

I use Windows, but with WSL for git functionality.

Its mainly to see labels (symbols) in other source files (its shown below the file explorer in VS code). I've got 12 source files now for my OS project and remembering label names can get tricky. It saves jumping between files.

[WillisBlackburn]

Go get Gemini or Claude and have the AI build the extension that you need. I did this to build a source level debugger and having the debugger dramatically improved my ability to diagnose and fix problems. It took me a few solid days to get the debugger built out even with the AI assist. But you're just looking for source highlighting and navigation, so you could probably get something going in an hour or two. Even if you don't want to use AI for the OS itself, there's little reason to avoid it for tools. After all, Microsoft is probably vibe-coding features into VS Code and WSL and Windows, but that doesn't stop you from using them.