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Understand for VS Code (extension)

This page describes a separately distributed product

The Understand for VS Code extension is maintained and distributed separately from the desktop application (it's installed from the VS Code Marketplace), so it isn't built from this documentation set's source. Treat the steps below as a getting-started orientation and confirm current details — supported languages, commands, and settings — in the extension's own listing and documentation.

The Understand for VS Code extension brings Understand's analysis into Visual Studio Code. It talks to userver, the Understand language server that ships with the desktop install, and surfaces Understand's code navigation and CodeCheck violations inside the editor you already work in.

Not the same as pointing Understand at VS Code

This is the reverse direction of using VS Code as an external editor. There, Understand launches VS Code to open files. Here, the extension runs inside VS Code and pulls analysis from Understand. If you only want files to open in VS Code from the Understand GUI, you don't need this extension.

1. Install Understand (you get userver with it)

Install the desktop application. It includes userver, the language server the extension connects to.

2. Make userver reachable from VS Code

VS Code (Node.js) needs userver on the system PATH:

  • Windows: add the Understand bin directory to the system PATH if the installer didn't already.
  • macOS / Linux: create a symlink to the userver executable in a directory on your PATH (Node.js ignores the shell PATH the installer sets, so a symlink into a standard location such as /usr/local/bin is the reliable approach).

3. Install the extension

Install Understand for Visual Studio Code from the VS Code Marketplace.

4. Create a project

The extension reads an Understand project, so create one first:

  1. In Understand, create a project from your source (this produces a .und folder).
  2. If you want CodeCheck violations to appear in VS Code, configure a CodeCheck run to execute in the background so results are available to the extension.

5. Open your code in VS Code

Open the folder/workspace that contains those source files. If a .und folder is visible in the file explorer, the extension starts automatically; otherwise, open a source file in a supported language to start it. Once running:

  • The language server starts for supported languages — the status bar at the bottom-left shows its connection state (hover to confirm it's connected).
  • A .und folder found in the workspace is selected automatically by the language server.

If something doesn't connect, re-check that userver is on the PATH (step 2) and that a .und project exists, then consult the extension's own FAQ.