AST Highlight Helper

A powerful VSCode extension for visualizing and analyzing Abstract Syntax Trees (AST) of Luau/Lua code with interactive type exploration, advanced diffing capabilities, and comprehensive AST node inspection.

🚀 Features

🔍 Live AST Editor

• Interactive code editor with live AST updates
• Instant parsing as you type or on-demand
• Side-by-side view of code and corresponding AST
• Perfect for learning how code structures translate to AST nodes

⚡ AST Diff Analyzer

• Visual comparison between two code snippets
• Intelligent change detection (additions, modifications, removals)
• Before/after type annotations show type transformations
• Symbol and color-coded indicators:
  • Additions (+)
  • Removals (-)
  • Modifications (~)
  • Containers with changes (○)

🎯 Smart Tree Display

• Expandable/collapsible tree branches and nodes
• Auto-collapse noisy nodes (trivia, location, position data, etc)
• Clean visual hierarchy for easy navigation
• Type-aware rendering with enhanced annotation display

💡 Advanced Type System

• Comprehensive type annotations with tooltip details
• Before/after type display in diff mode

🔧 Code Translation & Tooltips

• Hover over nodes to show generated/translated code for AST nodes
• Node path display for non-translatable nodes

📦 Installation

From Editor Marketplaces

• VSCode
• Cursor

From VSIX File

1. Download the .vsix file from Releases
2. Open Editor Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
3. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
4. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Prerequisites

• Lute [https://github.com/luau-lang/lute] Install via Foreman or Rokit

🎮 Usage

Quick Start

1. Open a Luau/Lua file in VSCode
2. Select some code you want to analyze
3. Press Cmd+Shift+A (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+A (Windows/Linux)
4. Choose your mode:
   • Live Editor: Interactive editing with live AST
   • Diff Analyzer: Compare two code snippets

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A	Open AST Highlight Helper

Advanced Usage

Live Editor Mode

• Type or paste code in the editor pane
• Click "Parse AST" for on-demand parsing
• View real-time AST as your code structure changes
• Hover over type annotations to see detailed property information
• Hover over node keys to see corresponding Luau code
• Perfect for experimentation and learning AST structure

Diff Analyzer Mode

• Input two code snippets in separate editors
• Click "Analyze Transformation" to see differences
• Visual diff highlighting shows exactly what changed
• Type tooltips and code tooltips work in diff mode for enhanced analysis
• Before/after type annotations show how types transform
• Understand code transformations for refactoring and codemod work

🛠️ Development

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/wmccrthy/LuauASTExplorer.git
cd LuauASTExplorer

# Install dependencies
npm install
cd frontend && npm install && cd ..

# Install Lute with foreman...
foreman install
# or with rokit...
rokit install

Building

# Development build with watch mode
npm run watch

# Production build
npm run compile

# Package extension
vsce package

Testing

# Run frontend tests
npm test

# Run Lua tests
lute run lua_tests/runner.luau

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    VSCode Extension                         │
├─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────────────┤
│   Backend       │   Frontend      │   External Tools        │
│ (Node + Luau)   │   (React)       │                         │
│                 │                 │                         │
│ • extension.ts  │ • App.tsx       │ • Lute (Luau parser)    │
│ • astParser.ts  │ • TreeNode.tsx  │ • json-diff-ts          │
│ • Luau helpers  │ • TypeTooltip   │ • highlight.js          │
│ • Type system   │ • diffUtils.ts  │ • Foreman (tool mgmt)   │
└─────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────────────┘

Data Flow:
(initial code-> AST translation) Luau Code → Lute Parser → typeAnnotations.lua (adds _astType) → JSON → React UI
(node hover AST -> code translation) React UI Node → astJsonToCode.luau → lutePrinter.luau → Generated Src Code → Tooltips in React UI

Project Structure

LuauASTExplorer/
├── src/                     # VSCode extension backend
│   ├── extension.ts         # Main entry point
│   └── astParser.ts         # Lute integration & communication
├── frontend/                # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.tsx          # Main React component
│   │   ├── components/      # UI components
│   │   │   ├── TreeNode.tsx        # AST tree rendering
│   │   │   ├── TypeTooltip.tsx     # Interactive type tooltips
│   │   │   ├── CodeTooltip.tsx     # Code translation tooltips
│   │   │   ├── LiveEditor.tsx      # Live editing mode
│   │   │   ├── DiffAnalyzer.tsx    # Diff analysis mode
│   │   │   └── CodeEditor.tsx      # Code input component
│   │   ├── utils/           # Core utilities
│   │   │   ├── astTypeDefinitions.ts  # Complete Luau AST type definitions
│   │   │   ├── astTypeHelpers.ts      # Type inference & manipulation
│   │   │   ├── diffUtils.ts           # Diff annotation
│   │   │   ├── syntaxHighlighting.ts  # Code highlighting & theme detection
│   │   │   ├── nodeEmphasisHelpers.ts # Auto-collapse logic
│   │   │   └── parsingMessageHandlers.ts # VSCode communication
│   │   ├── context/         # React context
│   │   │   └── codeTranslationContext.ts # Code tooltip state management
│   │   ├── hooks/           # Custom React hooks
│   │   │   └── useCodeTranslation.ts     # Code translation logic
│   │   ├── types/           # TypeScript definitions
│   │   │   └── typesAndInterfaces.ts     # Shared type definitions
│   │   └── tests/           # Frontend test suites
│   │       ├── TreeNode.test.tsx         # Comprehensive component tests
│   │       ├── astTypeHelpers.test.ts    # Type system tests
│   │       ├── diffUtils.test.ts         # Diff algorithm tests
│   │       ├── nodeEmphasisHelpers.test.ts # Auto-collapse tests
│   │       └── syntaxHighlighting.test.ts  # Syntax highlighting tests
│   └── build/              # Built React app
├── lua_helpers/            # Luau scripts for parsing
│   ├── astToJson.luau      # Main AST serialization script
│   ├── astJsonToCode.luau  # AST to code conversion
│   ├── typeAnnotations.lua # Enhanced type annotation system
│   ├── sortByPositionTable.lua # AST position sorting utilities
│   └── temp_vendor/
│       └── lutePrinter.luau    # Luau code generation engine
├── lua_tests/             # Lua test suites
│   ├── runner.luau        # Test runner
│   ├── typeAnnotations.spec.lua   # Type annotation tests
│   ├── printASTNode.spec.lua      # Code generation tests
│   ├── astJsonToCode.spec.lua     # AST conversion tests
│   └── helpers/           # Test utilities
│       ├── astJsonToCodeHelpers.lua   # Test case definitions
│       └── typeAnnotationTestHelpers.lua # Type testing utilities
├── ci_scripts/            # Build automation
│   └── readChangelog.ts   # Changelog processing
├── docs/                  # Documentation assets
│   ├── ASTExplorerDiffGIF.gif
│   └── ASTExplorerLiveEditorGIF.gif
├── .github/workflows/     # GitHub Actions
│   ├── release.yml        # Automated VSIX packaging
│   └── ci.yml            # Continuous integration
├── package.json           # Extension manifest
└── README.md             # This file

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to get started:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes and test thoroughly
4. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
5. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
6. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow TypeScript best practices
• Add tests for new functionality (both frontend and Lua)
• Update documentation as needed
• Test with various Luau code samples
• Use conventional commit messages for changelog automation

PR Title Format

Use these formats for automatic changelog creation:

• #feat Add new feature description → Creates feature changelog entry
• #bug Fix issue description → Creates bug fix changelog entry
• #chore Update documentation → No changelog entry (maintenance)

📋 Requirements

• VSCode 1.74.0 or higher
• Lute (>= 0.1.0-nightly.20260312)
• Foreman or Rokit (See installation instructions linked above)
• Node.js 16+ (for development)

🐛 Known Issues

• Large AST trees (1000+ nodes) may have performance impact
• Some complex and niche types may not display perfectly in tooltips
• Code translation works for most AST nodes but may fall back to path display for edge cases (eg, Trivia, Position, Location)

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• luau-lang for all the luau tooling
• rxi for a lua json library
• json-diff-ts for robust JSON diffing capabilities
• highlight.js for syntax highlighting

📞 Support

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• Discussions: Ask questions or share ideas

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Made with ❤️ for the Luau/Roblox development community