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Introduction

Ignition Dev Tools is a multi-editor monorepo providing full IDE support for Ignition by Inductive Automation. It brings first-class development tooling to Neovim, VS Code, and Claude Code — covering everything from LSP completions to automated test scaffolding.

Part of the Whiskey House Ignition Developer Toolkit:

  • Ignition Dev Tools — IDE support for Neovim, VS Code, and Claude Code (this project)
  • ignition-lint — Static analysis for Ignition Python scripts
  • ignition-git-module — Native Git integration inside Ignition Designer

The Problem​

Developing Ignition projects outside the Designer is painful:

  • No IDE support — Generic Python editors don't understand Ignition's system.* APIs, Java/Jython interop, or project structure
  • No type awareness — Jython's dynamic typing combined with Java imports means zero autocomplete in most editors
  • No schema validation — Tag JSON and Perspective component definitions have strict schemas that generic editors can't validate
  • Embedded scripts — Python code is stored inside JSON files using Ignition's custom encoding format, making editing tedious
  • Limited tooling — The Designer's built-in editor lacks modern IDE features (LSP, plugins, advanced motions)
  • No testing — No standard framework for unit testing Jython scripts or browser-testing Perspective views

The Solution​

Ignition Dev Tools brings modern IDE capabilities to Ignition development across three editors:

  • Full LSP integration — Context-aware completions for all system.* APIs (239+ functions), Java/Jython classes (146 classes), and project scripts
  • Intelligent decode/encode — Seamlessly edit embedded Python scripts with full syntax highlighting and LSP support, auto-encoded on save
  • Type-aware completions — Understands Jython's Java interop, providing accurate completions for java.util.*, javax.swing.*, and Ignition SDK classes
  • Project navigation — Workspace symbols, go-to-definition, and cross-file script references
  • Diagnostics — Catch errors in your scripts before deploying to the gateway
  • Claude Code plugin — Auto-linting, API reference skills, and automated test scaffolding for Jython gateway tests and Playwright browser tests

Architecture​

The project is organized as a monorepo with three packages:

packages/
├── ignition-lsp/        # Python LSP server (shared by both editors)
├── ignition-nvim/       # Neovim plugin (Lua)
└── ignition-vscode/     # VS Code extension (TypeScript)

Shared LSP Server (packages/ignition-lsp/)​

A Python language server built on pygls, providing completions, hover documentation, diagnostics, go-to-definition, and workspace symbols. Both editors use the same server, so all language features are consistent.

  • 14 API modules covering 239 system.* functions
  • 26 Java packages with 146 classes for Jython interop
  • Pyright/Pylance type stubs for static analysis

Neovim Plugin (packages/ignition-nvim/)​

Lua plugin using Neovim 0.11+ native LSP (vim.lsp.start()). Provides script decode/encode, virtual buffers, Kindling integration for .gwbk files, and file type detection.

VS Code Extension (packages/ignition-vscode/)​

TypeScript extension with CodeLens for embedded scripts, a Designer-style project browser sidebar, tag browser, component tree, and one-click decode/encode.

Claude Code Plugin (claude-code-plugin/)​

A Claude Code plugin that gives Claude full Ignition domain awareness. Includes auto-linting, the complete system.* API reference, expression language catalog, and automated test scaffolding for both Jython gateway tests and Playwright browser tests.

Next Steps​