VSCode Extension

The VSCode extension is the main way you’ll live-code Resonon. You write in a .non file, select code, and press a key to run it — the sound changes while the editor keeps a connection open to a running session. On top of that loop the extension gives you syntax highlighting, as-you-type error underlines, hover docs, completions, and one-key transport.

This page is about the editor itself: getting connected, the evaluate loop, and the panels and shortcuts around it. The live-coding workflow — building a piece up evaluation by evaluation — is the next page.

Installing the Extension

Open VSCode and go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X).
Search for RESONON.
Install it.

The extension bundles a language server, so once it’s installed you get editor intelligence for .non files automatically — no extra setup.

Your First Connection

You don’t have to start a server by hand. Open a .non file, write a line of code, select it, and press Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows/Linux):

PRINT "Hello, RESONON!";

The first time you evaluate, the extension spins up a local Resonon server, connects to it, and runs your code against it. Every later evaluation reuses that same runtime, so the session remembers everything you’ve run.

If you’d rather manage the connection yourself, the RESONON item in the status bar (bottom-right) and the sidebar both let you start, pick, or connect to a server explicitly.

The Evaluate Loop

Live coding in Resonon is a tight loop:

Select the code you want to run (or just put the cursor on its line).
Evaluate with Cmd+Enter.
Listen, tweak the code, and evaluate again.

Because the runtime persists between evaluations, you build a piece up incrementally — define a track once, then keep sending it new patterns without redefining anything. Output from PRINT and PUT shows up in the Output panel (Cmd+Shift+U, then pick “RESONON” from the dropdown).

Transport From the Keyboard

You can drive playback without leaving the editor or typing transport commands:

Key	Action
F5	Play / Pause — toggles playback
Shift+F5	Stop — halts playback and mutes output
Ctrl+Shift+F5	Reset — wipes the session, fresh runtime

These send the equivalent of PLAY;, STOP;, and RESET; to the active server, and only fire while a .non file is focused. What each one actually does to your session is covered in Live Workflow.

Click the Resonon icon in the activity bar to open the RESONON sidebar. It groups everything into five views:

View	What it’s for
Servers	All discovered, spawned, and manually added servers. Click to connect or set active.
Server Controls	Start, stop, and restart the active server.
Transport	Play, pause, stop, and reset buttons for the active server.
Evaluate	Run the current selection or the whole file.
Views	Open the Console, Mixer, Routing, and MIDI Monitor panels.

Servers in the list are labelled by where they came from:

Discovered — found automatically over the local network (UDP broadcast).
Spawned — started from inside VSCode with Start Server.
Manual — added by hand with Add Server….

Connecting to other people’s servers and sharing a session is its own topic — see Server & Collaboration.

Language Intelligence

The bundled language server (LSP) reads your code as you type — before you ever evaluate it.

Hover over any symbol for its type, signature, and docs: variables, functions, built-in classes and methods, and module members like MyModule.some_function.
Completions appear as you type, including after a . for method calls — the LSP infers the receiver’s type and suggests its methods.
Go to Definition (Cmd+Click or F12) jumps to where a symbol is defined. It even works on a shader path string inside gfx.load_shader("…"), opening the backing .glsl file.
Real-time diagnostics underline parse errors as you type.

You’ll see two kinds of error underline. LSP diagnostics are parse errors caught while typing. Server diagnostics are runtime errors returned after you evaluate — type errors, undefined variables, and anything that can only surface at run time. Both show up as red underlines, on hover, and in the Problems panel (Cmd+Shift+M). Server diagnostics clear on your next evaluation; LSP ones clear when you fix the parse error.

The second status-bar item, LSP, shows the language server’s state. If it reads $(error) LSP, hover it for details, and check that resonon-lsp is on your PATH (or point resonon.lsp.path at it).

View Panels

The Views section of the sidebar opens dedicated panels as integrated terminals:

View	Shows
Console	The server console with output and shortcut hints
Mixer	Track levels and mixing controls
Routing	The MIDI and audio routing overview
MIDI Monitor	Live MIDI messages on the system

Console, Mixer, and Routing connect to the active server; the MIDI Monitor runs standalone and shows all MIDI activity on the system. These are the same TUI views you can launch from the command line with resonon view … — see Live Workflow.

Multi-Client Sessions

Several editors (or other clients) can connect to one server at the same time and share its session — patterns and variables defined by one are visible to all. Each client picks a display name (the resonon.client.name setting, the Set Display Name command, or your system username), shown in the status bar and output. When the output gets busy, Toggle Output Filter (Own / All) switches between your own evaluations and everyone’s. The collaboration story — performing together, teaching, multi-window — is covered in Server & Collaboration.

Reference

Commands

Command	Keybinding	Description
RESONON: Connect to Server	—	Auto-connect: use active server, pick one, or spawn a new one
RESONON: Disconnect from Server	—	Disconnect from the active server
RESONON: Connect to Server…	—	Connect to a specific server (sidebar context menu)
RESONON: Set as Active Server	—	Set a connected server as the evaluation target
RESONON: Add Server…	—	Manually add a server by host and port
RESONON: Refresh Servers	—	Refresh the server list
RESONON: Start Server	—	Start a local server and connect to it
RESONON: Stop Server	—	Stop the active server’s process
RESONON: Restart Server	—	Stop and re-start the active server
RESONON: Play / Pause	F5	Toggle playback on the active server
RESONON: Stop	Shift+F5	Stop playback and mute output
RESONON: Reset	Ctrl+Shift+F5	Reset the server session
RESONON: Evaluate Selection or Line	Cmd+Enter / Ctrl+Enter	Run the selection or current line
RESONON: Evaluate File	—	Run the entire file
RESONON: Open Console / Mixer / Routing / MIDI Monitor	—	Open the corresponding view panel
RESONON: Toggle Output Filter (Own / All)	—	Show only your output or all clients’
RESONON: Set Display Name	—	Set your display name for multi-client sessions

Settings

Configure these under RESONON in VSCode settings (Cmd+,):

Setting	Default	Description
`resonon.server.path`	`""`	Path to the `resonon` binary. Empty searches PATH; set it if `resonon` isn’t on your PATH.
`resonon.server.port`	`5555`	WebSocket port used when spawning a server from VSCode.
`resonon.lsp.enabled`	`true`	Enable LSP features (hover, completion, go to definition).
`resonon.lsp.path`	`""`	Path to the `resonon-lsp` binary. Empty searches PATH.
`resonon.client.name`	`""`	Display name for multi-client sessions. Empty uses your system username.

{
  "resonon.server.path": "/usr/local/bin/resonon",
  "resonon.client.name": "Alice"
}

Status Bar

Icon	State	Click
`$(circle-slash) RESONON`	Disconnected	Connect to server
`$(sync~spin) RESONON`	Connecting / Reconnecting	—
`$(circle-filled) RESONON: Name (as You)`	Connected	Open the server menu

When connected, the status bar shows the server name and your display name (e.g. RESONON: Studio (as Alice)). A second item shows LSP state: $(check) LSP running, $(sync~spin) LSP starting, $(circle-slash) LSP stopped, $(error) LSP errored (hover for details).

Next Steps

Your editor is wired up. Now learn the workflow it’s built for, then the language itself.

Live Workflow — build a session live, and the full transport controls
Values & Variables — the language fundamentals