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<p>This guide will show how to setup <ahref="https://code.visualstudio.com/">Visual Studio Code</a> to edit Geometry Scripts. However, the same concepts apply to other IDEs.</p>
<p>This guide assumes you have already installed Visual Studio Code and setup the <ahref="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python">Python extension</a>. If not, please setup those tools before continuing.</p>
<p>When the Geometry Script add-on starts, it generates a Python typeshed file that can be used to provide code completion.
All we have to do is add the right path to the Python extension's configuration:</p>
<ol>
<li>Open Blender preferences and expand the <em>Geometry Script</em> preferences</li>
<li>Copy the <em>Typeshed Path</em></li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/addon_preferences.png"alt="A screenshot of the Geometry Script preferences"/></p>
<olstart="3">
<li>In VS Code, open the Settings UI (<code>Shift+CTRL+P</code> or <code>Shift+CMD+P</code>><code>Preferences > Open Settings (UI)</code>)</li>
<li>Find the setting <code>Python > Analysis: Extra Paths</code></li>
<li>Click <em>Add Item</em>, then paste in the path copied from Blender and click <em>OK</em></li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/vscode_extra_paths.png"alt="A screenshot of the Python > Analysis: Extra Paths setting with the path pasted in"/></p>
<olstart="6">
<li>Create a new Python file, such as <code>Repeat Grid.py</code> and start writing a script. As you type, you should get helpful suggestions for every available node.</li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/vscode_code_completion.png"alt="A screenshot of a script with the documentation for instance_on_points appearing as the user types."/></p>
<h2id="linking-with-blender"><aclass="header"href="#linking-with-blender">Linking with Blender</a></h2>
<p>Writing a script is great, but we want to see it run in Blender. Thankfully, Blender's Text Editor lets us link with an external file, and a simple tool from Geometry Script can make the process more seamless:</p>
<ol>
<li>Open a <em>Text Editor</em> space.</li>
<li>Click the open button in the top of the editor, and navigate to your Python file.</li>
<li>Click the gear icon or press <em>N</em>, and uncheck <em>Make Internal</em>. This will ensure that changes made outside of Blender can be easily brought in.</li>
<li>Click <em>Open Text</em>.</li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/open_file.png"alt="A screenshot of Blender's file picker, with the Make Internal checkbox unchecked."/></p>
<olstart="5">
<li>At the top right of the Text Editor, open the <em>Geometry Script</em> menu and enable <em>Auto Resolve</em>. Enabling this feature will make the text data-block in Blender update every time you save the file outside of Blender.</li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/auto_resolve.png"alt="A screenshot of the Geometry Script menu with Auto Resolve checked"/></p>
<olstart="6">
<li>To enable hot reload, open the <em>Text</em> menu and enable <em>Live Edit</em>. This will re-run your Geometry Script whenever it changes, updating the node tree live.</li>
</ol>
<p><imgsrc="../images/live_edit.png"alt="A screenshot of the Text menu with Live Edit checked"/></p>
<p>And that's it! You're setup to start writing scripts. In the next section we'll take a look at the API, and all of the things you can do with it.</p>
