Code editor configuration

This chapter covers how to setup supported code editors to get features in-editor linting, go to definition, documentation on hover, inlay hints.

Note

The editor-config laze task generates a configuration according to the laze builder used and the modules selected (in the cli and in laze-project.yml). If you add/remove a module or want to target another builder, you will need to re-generate the configuration.

VSCode

Visual Studio Code is a popular code editor that can easily be configured to work with Ariel OS.

Extensions

Rust language support is provided by rust-analyzer, available on the Visual Studio Marketplace and Open VSX Registry for open source forks of VSCode.

It is also recommended to use the the Even Better TOML extension to have TOML support when editing Cargo.toml files: Visual Studio Marketplace, Open VSX Registry.

Dependi can be used to view information about crates and their available versions: Visual Studio Marketplace, Open VSX Registry.

Configuration for developing Ariel OS apps (vscode)

This is meant to be used on projects created using the cargo-generate command in the getting-started guide. The configuration works by targeting one laze builder, avoiding complaints from the linter about double declarations.

To generate/update your vscode configuration in .vscode/settings.json, run in the root of your project:

laze build -b <builder> editor-config vscode

If you get an error about the JSON file being malformated, you may have comments or trailing commas in your configuration, try removing them in .vscode/settings.json.

Helix

Helix is a terminal file editor built in Rust with good Rust support and vi-like navigation and shortcuts.

Dependencies

Helix uses the rust-analyzer binary from your system, you can install it using:

rustup component add rust-analyzer

Configuration for developing Ariel OS apps (helix)

This is meant to be used on projects created using the cargo-generate command in the getting-started guide. The configuration works by targeting one laze builder, avoiding complaints from the linter about double declarations.

To generate/update your helix configuration in .helix/languages.json, run in the root of your project:

laze build -b <builder> editor-config helix

Zed

Zed is a code editor built in Rust with a fast and lightweight user interface. The Rust extension and language server is automatically installed when opening a .rs file.

Configuration for developing Ariel OS apps (Zed)

This is meant to be used on projects created using the cargo-generate command in the getting-started guide. The configuration works by targeting one laze builder, avoiding complaints from the linter about double declarations.

To generate/update your Zed configuration in .zed/settings.json, run in the root of your project:

laze build -b <builder> editor-config zed

Gram

Gram is a hard fork of Zed disabling AI features and focusing on stability.

Enabling Rust support on Gram

User action is needed to authorize Gram to download rust-analyzer. Open a Rust source file, then open the language server configuration by clicking the fifth icon on the bottom left of the editor (should have a red notification dot) or typing lsp::OpenLanguageServerConfig in the command palette and finally enable “Allow download” for rust-analyzer.

Configuration for developing Ariel OS apps (Gram)

This is meant to be used on projects created using the cargo-generate command in the getting-started guide. The configuration works by targeting one laze builder, avoiding complaints from the linter about double declarations.

To generate/update your Gram configuration in .gram/settings.jsonc, run in the root of your project:

laze build -b <builder> editor-config gram

Generic rust-analyzer

rust-analyzer has a work in progress universal configuration file format supposed to work with any editor that uses rust-analyzer through the Language Server Protocol, the progress is tracked in issue #13529 of rust-analyzer.

A configuration file for an Ariel OS app can be generated using this command:

laze build -b <builder> editor-config rust-analyzer

At the time of writing (2026-03-30) some features don’t work compared to using the Helix or VSCode configuration.