Better Lua for Q-SYS Plugins

A VS Code extension providing intelligent autocomplete and IntelliSense for Q-SYS plugin development in Lua.

Features

This extension provides autocomplete support and hover documentation for Q-SYS plugin design-time functions and properties based on the Q-SYS Developer Documentation.

Supported File Types

• .lua files
• .qplug files

Hover Documentation

Hover over Q-SYS-specific keywords to see helpful documentation including:

• Design-Time Functions (10) - GetProperties, GetControls, GetControlLayout, GetPages, GetComponents, GetPins, GetColor, GetPrettyName, RectifyProperties, GetWiring
• Control Properties (18) - Name, Type, ControlType, ButtonType, IndicatorType, ControlUnit, PinStyle, UserPin, Count, Icon, IconType, Min, Max, Value, Choices, Header, Comment, Description
• Layout Properties (31) - PrettyName, Style, Position, Size, ButtonStyle, MeterStyle, TextBoxStyle, ShowTextbox, IsReadOnly, Margin, Padding, Color, TextColor, Fill, StrokeColor, StrokeWidth, BackgroundColor, OffColor, UnlinkOffColor, IconColor, CornerRadius, Radius, FontSize, Font, FontStyle, HTextAlign, VTextAlign, WordWrap, Legend, ZOrder
• Runtime Properties (16) - Value, String, Boolean, Position, EventHandler, Legend, RampTime, IsDisabled, IsInvisible, IsIndeterminate, Color, Choices, Values, Index, Trigger
• Font Families (11) - Hover over font names like "Roboto" or "Montserrat" to see all supported FontStyles for that font

Property Completions (5 types)

Type Property to see all options:

• Property string - String property with Name, Type, Value
• Property integer - Integer property with Name, Type, Min, Max, Value
• Property double - Double property with Name, Type, Min, Max, Value
• Property boolean - Boolean property with Name, Type, Value
• Property enum - Enum property with Name, Type, Choices, Value

All properties include optional commented Header and Comment fields.

Control Completions (4 types)

Type Control to see all options:

• Control Button - Button control with ButtonType, Count, UserPin, PinStyle
• Control Indicator - Indicator control with IndicatorType, Count, UserPin, PinStyle
• Control Knob - Knob control with ControlUnit, Min, Max, Count, UserPin, PinStyle
• Control Text - Text control with Count, UserPin, PinStyle

Layout Completions (11 types)

Type Layout to see all options:

• Layout Button - Button layout with PrettyName, Style, ButtonStyle, Position, Size
• Layout ComboBox - ComboBox layout
• Layout Fader - Fader layout with ShowTextbox option
• Layout General - General layout template with Style dropdown
• Layout Knob - Knob layout
• Layout Led - LED layout
• Layout ListBox - ListBox layout
• Layout Media - Media layout
• Layout Meter - Meter layout with MeterStyle options
• Layout None - None layout (hidden control)
• Layout Text - Text layout

Graphics Completions (5 types)

Type Graphics to see all options:

• Graphics GroupBox - GroupBox graphic
• Graphics Header - Header graphic
• Graphics Image - Image graphic with base64 Image property
• Graphics Label - Label graphic
• Graphics Svg - SVG graphic with base64 Image property

Pin Completions (1 type)

Type Pins Insert to get pin definition completion:

• Pins Insert - Pin definition with Name, Direction, and Domain properties for GetPins function

Example usage:

function GetPins(props)
  local pins = {}
  table.insert(pins, {
    Name = "Audio Output",
    Direction = "output",
    Domain = "audio"
  })
  return pins
end

Component Completions (1 type)

Type Components Insert to get component definition completion:

• Components Insert - Component definition with Name, Type, and Properties for GetComponents function

Example usage:

function GetComponents(props)
  local components = {}
  table.insert(components, {
    Name = "MainMixer",
    Type = "mixer",
    Properties = {
      ["n_inputs"] = 8,
      ["n_outputs"] = 1
    }
  })
  return components
end

Runtime Control Properties (6 completions)

Type Runtime to see all options for accessing controls at runtime:

• Runtime value - Controls['controlName'].Value (Read/Write floating point)
• Runtime string - Controls['controlName'].String (Read/Write string representation)
• Runtime boolean - Controls['controlName'].Boolean (Read/Write boolean, true if position > 0.5)
• Runtime position - Controls['controlName'].Position (Read/Write position from 0.0 to 1.0)
• Runtime eventhandler function - Assign a function reference to EventHandler
• Runtime eventhandler inline - Assign an inline function to EventHandler

Example usage:

Controls['MyButton'].Value = 1
Controls['Volume'].EventHandler = VolumeChanged
Controls['Mute'].EventHandler = function()
    -- Handle control change
end

Single Property Completions (43 properties)

Autocomplete for individual layout and graphics properties:

• BackgroundColor
• ButtonStyle
• ButtonVisualStyle
• ClassName
• Choices
• Color
• CornerRadius
• Count
• CustomButtonDown
• CustomButtonUp
• Fill
• Font
• FontSize
• FontStyle
• HTextAlign
• IconColor
• IconType
• Image
• IsBold
• IsReadOnly
• Legend
• Margin
• Max
• MeterStyle
• Min
• OffColor
• Padding
• Position
• PrettyName
• Radius
• ShowTextbox
• Size
• StrokeColor
• StrokeWidth
• Style
• Text
• TextBoxStyle
• TextColor
• Type
• UnlinkOffColor
• VTextAlign
• WordWrap
• ZOrder

Installation

From .vsix file

1. Download the latest .vsix file
2. In VS Code, go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Click the "..." menu at the top
4. Select "Install from VSIX..."
5. Choose the downloaded .vsix file

Usage

1. Open a .lua or .qplug file
2. Start typing one of the supported keywords:
   • Property - Shows all property types
   • Control - Shows all control types
   • Layout - Shows all layout types
   • Graphics - Shows all graphics types
   • Runtime - Shows all runtime control properties
   • Pins Insert - Pin definition for GetPins function
   • Components Insert - Component definition for GetComponents function
   • Any property name (e.g., Font, Color, Position)
3. Select from the autocomplete dropdown
4. Use Tab to move through placeholders
5. Choose from dropdown options where available

Quick Access to Documentation

• Reserved Functions Documentation

  • Command Palette: Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac), then type "Q-SYS: Open Reserved Functions Documentation"
  • Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+H (Mac)
  • Opens the official Q-SYS Reserved Functions documentation in your browser

• Lua Extensions Documentation

  • Command Palette: Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac), then type "Q-SYS: Open Lua Extensions Documentation"
  • Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+L (Mac)
  • Opens the Q-SYS Extensions to Lua documentation (Timer, Component, Named Components, etc.) in your browser

All keyboard shortcuts only work while editing Lua files (.lua or .qplug).

Repository

Repository

1. Update package.json to change the language file extensions or add more features

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Changelog

Version 1.3.2 (Current)

Changed

• Controls Autocomplete Update - Updated controls autocomplete to use ctrls to match the base Q-SYS plugin naming convention

Version 1.3.1

Added

• ButtonType Completion - Added single property completion for ButtonType with options: Toggle, Momentary, Trigger, StateTrigger

Changed

• Layout Completion Capitalization - Updated all layout completions to use proper capitalization, the default table in QSYS base plugin uses "layout" all lowercase.

Version 1.3.0

Added

• Pin Completions - Added new autocomplete support for GetPins function:
  • Pins Insert - Pin definition completion with Name, Direction, and Domain properties
  • Supports both audio (default) and serial pin types
  • Tab navigation through all pin properties (Name → Direction → Domain)
  • Comprehensive documentation for pin properties and usage
• Component Completions - Added new autocomplete support for GetComponents function:
  • Components Insert - Component definition completion with Name, Type, and Properties
  • Tab navigation through component properties and nested Properties table
  • Includes documentation about component limitations and design implications

Version 1.2.0

Added

• Hover Documentation Expansion - Significantly expanded hover tooltips:
  • Added GetPages design-time function
  • Added control properties: Name, Type, Icon, IconType, Min, Max, Value, Choices, Header, Comment, Description
  • Added layout properties: CornerRadius, Radius, FontSize, Font, FontStyle, HTextAlign, VTextAlign, WordWrap, Legend, ZOrder, TextBoxStyle, IsReadOnly, Margin, Padding, StrokeWidth, UnlinkOffColor
  • Added color properties: Color, TextColor, Fill, StrokeColor, BackgroundColor, OffColor, IconColor
  • Added runtime properties: RampTime, IsIndeterminate, Choices, Values, Trigger
• Font Family Hover Support - Hover over font names (e.g., "Roboto", "Montserrat") to see all supported FontStyles for that specific font
• Name vs PrettyName Documentation - Clear hover tooltips explaining the distinction between code identifiers and display names
• Single Property Completions - Added 4 new single property completions:
  • Choices - List of options for enum properties or combo box controls
  • Count - Number of controls to create
  • IconType - Format of Icon image (Icon, Image, SVG)
  • Min and Max - Minimum and maximum values for numeric properties
• Quick Documentation Access - Added command and keyboard shortcut to open Q-SYS Reserved Functions documentation:
  • Command: "Q-SYS: Open Reserved Functions Documentation"
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+H (Mac)
• Lua Extensions Documentation - Added command and keyboard shortcut to open Q-SYS Lua Extensions documentation:
  • Command: "Q-SYS: Open Lua Extensions Documentation"
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+L (Mac)
  • Covers Timer, Component, Named Components (TcpSocket, UdpSocket, SerialPort, Ssh, etc.)

Changed

• Color Format Documentation - Simplified color property documentation to focus on table format {r, g, b, alpha} (primary Q-SYS format)
• Documentation Accuracy - Aligned all hover documentation with official Q-SYS Reserved Functions documentation

Version 1.1.0

Added

• Runtime Property Completions - 6 new completions for runtime control access:
  • Runtime value, Runtime string, Runtime boolean, Runtime position
  • Runtime eventhandler function, Runtime eventhandler inline

Changed

• Consistent Naming - Standardized all completion names with proper capitalization (e.g., Property string, Control Button, Runtime value)
• Runtime Syntax - Updated to use Controls['controlName'] bracket notation (Q-SYS standard)
• Text Control Enhancement - Added PinStyle property to text control completions

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release with basic autocomplete support
• Property, Control, Layout, and Graphics completions
• Basic hover documentation

License

MIT