CellScript VS Code Extension Quick Tutorial

[ArthurZhang]

Background

The CellScript VS Code extension is local editor tooling for .cell contracts. It uses cellc --lsp for language features and spawns cellc directly for compile, metadata, constraints, and production report commands.

Below is a tutorial for using the CellScript VS Code extension with the 0.15 compiler surface.

1. Install the compiler

From the CellScript repository:

cd /Users/arthur/RustroverProjects/CellScript
cargo build --locked -p cellscript --bin cellc

The development compiler path is:

/Users/arthur/RustroverProjects/CellScript/target/debug/cellc

Check it:

/Users/arthur/RustroverProjects/CellScript/target/debug/cellc --version

2. Install the extension

For a packaged VSIX:

code --install-extension /path/to/cellscript-vscode-0.15.0.vsix

In VS Code you can also use:

Extensions: Install from VSIX...

3. Configure the compiler path

Open VS Code settings and set:

{
  "cellscript.compilerPath": "/Users/arthur/RustroverProjects/CellScript/target/debug/cellc",
  "cellscript.useCargoRunFallback": true,
  "cellscript.target": "riscv64-asm"
}

If cellc is already on PATH, cellscript.compilerPath may stay as cellc.

4. Open a .cell file

Open one of the bundled examples:

/Users/arthur/RustroverProjects/CellScript/examples/token.cell

The extension should start cellc --lsp and provide diagnostics, completion, hover, go-to-definition, references, signature help, document symbols, folding, selection ranges, code actions, and formatting.

Rename is intentionally not advertised for 0.15.

5. Try the 0.15 authoring surface

Use snippets and completion for:

• identity(ckb_type_id)
• create_unique
• replace_unique
• destroy_singleton_type
• destroy_unique
• destroy_instance
• burn_amount
• assert_sum
• assert_conserved
• assert_delta
• assert_distinct
• assert_singleton
• kernel capabilities such as create, consume, replace, burn, relock, retarget_type, and read_ref

Use --primitive-strict 0.15 for release-facing compiler checks.

6. Run extension commands

Open a .cell file and use the Command Palette:

CellScript: Compile Current File
CellScript: Show Metadata
CellScript: Show Constraints
CellScript: Show Production Report

The production report is an editor-side evidence view. It does not replace the release gate, CKB acceptance gate, or external audit signatures.