XQuery + MarkLogic — VSCode Extension

Rich XQuery editing support for Visual Studio Code, with full coverage of the MarkLogic 1.0-ml dialect alongside W3C XQuery 3.0/3.1.

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Features

Feature	Details
Syntax highlighting	Keywords, operators, strings, numbers, variables, XML literals, comments, annotations, pragmas
MarkLogic dialect	xquery version "1.0-ml", declare private function, xdmp:/cts:/sem:/json: namespaces
Code completion	Namespace-triggered (xdmp:, cts:, fn:…), variable scan, keyword and type completions
Hover documentation	Full signature, parameter table, return type, and "available since" for all built-in functions
Signature help	Active-parameter highlighting inside function argument lists, triggered on ( and ,
Go to Definition	Ctrl+Click on local functions, variables, and import module … at "path" — resolves relative and server-absolute paths
Document Symbols	Outline panel and breadcrumb navigation for functions, variables, and namespace declarations
Diagnostics / Linting	Real-time and on-save checks for syntax errors, undeclared variables, unused declarations, deprecated functions, cross-file conflicts, and more
Code snippets	xqversion, module, import, fn, var, flwor, if, typeswitch, try, log, search, eval
Language configuration	XQuery block comments (: :), bracket matching, auto-close pairs

Supported file extensions

.xq · .xqy · .xquery · .xqm · .xql

Supported dialects

Dialect	Version string
W3C XQuery 3.0	xquery version "3.0"
W3C XQuery 3.1	xquery version "3.1"
MarkLogic extended	xquery version "1.0-ml"

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Installation

From the VS Code Marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on macOS)
3. Run ext install ppfjuni.marklogic-xquery-vscode-extension

From a .vsix file

1. Download the latest .vsix from the Releases page
2. In VS Code open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
3. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX… and select the downloaded file

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/marklogic-xquery/marklogic-xquery-vscode.git
cd marklogic-xquery-vscode
npm install
npm run build
# Then package the extension:
npx vsce package

Install the generated .vsix via Extensions: Install from VSIX… as above.

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Usage

Open any .xqy (or other supported extension) file — the extension activates automatically.

Completions

Trigger	What you get
Type xdmp:	All xdmp: functions with snippet insertion
Type cts:	All cts: search functions
Type fn:	W3C standard fn: functions
Type xs:	All xs: constructor functions
Type $	Variables declared above the cursor
Type %	XQuery 3.0 annotation names
After as	Built-in types (xs:string, item(), node()…)

Snippets

Prefix	Expands to
xqversion	xquery version "1.0-ml";
module	Module namespace declaration
import	Import module statement
fn	Declare function scaffold
var	Declare variable
flwor	Full FLWOR expression
if	If-then-else
typeswitch	Typeswitch with cases
try	Try-catch block
log	xdmp:log(…)
search	cts:search(…)
eval	xdmp:eval(…)

Go to Definition

• Ctrl+Click (or F12) on a local function call → jumps to its declare function
• Ctrl+Click on a $variable → jumps to its let, for, or declare variable binding
• Ctrl+Click on a namespace prefix in import module namespace pfx = … at "path.xqy" → opens the target file if it exists in the workspace (supports both relative and server-absolute paths)

Diagnostics

The extension runs a multi-phase linting engine automatically as you type and on save.

Real-time checks (debounced, 500 ms):

Check	What it catches
Unclosed comment	Unmatched (: / :)
Unclosed string	Unclosed " or ' (handles doubled-delimiter escapes)
Unmatched brackets	Unmatched { } and ( )
Unclosed XML element	Tags opened but never closed
Missing semicolon	Declaration or statement missing ;
Invalid version	Version string other than "1.0", "1.0-ml", "3.0", "3.1"
Variable before declaration	Using $var before it is declared
Duplicate functions	Same function declared twice in the same file
Unused declared variables	declare variable never referenced
Unused functions	declare function never called
Unused function parameters	Parameter declared but not used in its function body
Empty catch	catch block with no error handling
Deprecated functions	Calls to deprecated MarkLogic functions
Unused namespace declarations	declare namespace prefix never used
Namespace conflict	Conflicting declare default function namespace
Missing return type	declare function without an explicit return type
MarkLogic in standard mode	MarkLogic-specific constructs in a non-1.0-ml file
Unresolved variables	Reference to an undefined variable
Unresolved functions	Call to a function not declared or imported
Unresolved XML namespaces	XML element/attribute prefix not declared

On-save checks (cross-file):

Check	What it catches
Cross-file duplicate functions	Function name conflicts across imported modules
Cross-file unresolved functions	Calls to functions not found in any imported module

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Scope

This extension covers language editing only: syntax highlighting, completions, hover, signature help, go-to-definition, document symbols, diagnostics, and snippets.

The following are out of scope for this extension:

• Database connections and query execution
• Debugging
• Cross-file import resolution without a local at "..." path

Not yet implemented:

• Code folding (planned)

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Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. npm install
3. Open in VS Code and press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host
4. Make changes, run npm run compile to type-check, npm run build to bundle
5. Submit a pull request

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License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE and NOTICE.

This project is a derivative work of the marklogic-intellij-plugin by Grzegorz Ligas and contributors, also licensed under Apache 2.0.

"MarkLogic" is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation. This is an independent community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Progress Software Corporation.