# XLIDE: VBA without excel

> Source: <https://github.com/WilliamSmithEdward/xlide_vscode>
> Published: 2026-05-27 12:08:18+00:00

Edit Excel VBA code directly in VS Code. Browse modules in a sidebar tree,
edit with syntax highlighting and symbol navigation (Go to Definition,
Find All References, Rename Symbol), save changes back to the `.xlsm`

file
with Ctrl+S, and expose every operation to GitHub Copilot via the Language
Model API.

**VS Code** 1.95+**Python 3.10+**-- the VBA read/write backend runs as a child process- Python packages:
`pyOpenVBA >= 3.0.1`

,`openpyxl >= 3.1.0`

No COM automation, no Office installation, no win32com -- works on Windows, macOS, Linux, and remote containers.

```
git clone https://github.com/WilliamSmithEdward/xlide_vscode.git
cd xlide_vscode

# TypeScript side
npm install
npm run compile        # type-check + esbuild bundle -> out/extension.js

# Python side (optional venv)
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate   # or: source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r python/requirements.txt
```

Press **F5** in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the
extension loaded and the watch compiler running.

```
xlide_vscode/
  src/
    extension.ts            # activate() -- wires everything together
    pythonBridge.ts         # JSON-RPC 2.0 client over child_process stdio
    xlideFileSystem.ts      # xlide-vba:// virtual FileSystemProvider
    xlsmExplorer.ts         # Sidebar TreeDataProvider
    commands.ts             # VS Code command registrations
    agentTools.ts           # vscode.lm.registerTool() for Copilot
    moduleDump.ts           # Shared export-to-folder logic (UI + AI lane)
    vbaSymbolIndex.ts       # In-memory cross-module symbol index
    vbaLanguageProviders.ts # DocumentSymbol / Definition / References / Rename
  python/
    server.py               # JSON-RPC 2.0 server (stdin/stdout, newline-delimited)
    xlide/
      vba_io.py             # pyOpenVBA wrappers -- listModules, readModule, writeModule
      excel_io.py           # openpyxl wrappers -- readCells, writeCells
  syntaxes/
    vba.tmLanguage.json     # TextMate grammar (MS-VBAL spec-accurate)
  language-configuration/
    vba-language-configuration.json   # Brackets, indent rules, folding
  walkthrough/              # Markdown content for VS Code Getting Started tab
  docs/
    architecture.md         # Full architecture reference
```

| Decision | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Long-lived Python process | Amortises ~200 ms Python startup across all requests |
`FileSystemProvider` over `TextDocumentContentProvider` |
Read/write virtual FS -- Ctrl+S triggers `writeFile` with no custom save command |
Virtual URI scheme `xlide-vba://` |
Decouples workbook path + module name from the editor's file concept |
Shared `moduleDump.ts` |
Export logic is single-source-of-truth for both UI commands and Copilot agent tools |
| No COM / no Office | Portability -- pyOpenVBA reads the OVBA binary format directly |
| Confirmation on write tools | Prevents AI agents from silently mutating production workbooks |

| Method | Params | Returns |
|---|---|---|
`listModules` |
`{ path }` |
`[{ name, type }]` |
`listSubs` |
`{ path, module }` |
`[{ name, kind, line }]` |
`readModule` |
`{ path, module }` |
`{ source }` |
`writeModule` |
`{ path, module, source }` |
`{}` |
`renameModule` |
`{ path, module, newName }` |
`{}` |
`deleteModule` |
`{ path, module }` |
`{}` |
`readCells` |
`{ path, sheet, range }` |
`{ values }` |
`writeCells` |
`{ path, sheet, startCell, data }` |
`{}` |

Registered as `vba`

in `package.json`

with extensions `.bas`

, `.cls`

, `.frm`

.
The TextMate grammar in `syntaxes/vba.tmLanguage.json`

is scoped to
`source.vba`

and covers all reserved identifiers from MS-VBAL v20250520
(section 3.3.5.2: statement-keywords, marker-keywords, operator-identifiers,
reserved-names, special-forms, reserved-type-identifiers, literal-identifiers,
def-type directives, and implementation-reserved identifiers).

| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
`npm run compile` |
Type-check + dev bundle |
`npm run watch` |
Incremental type-check + esbuild watch |
`npm run package` |
Production bundle (minified) |
`vsce package --no-dependencies` |
Build `.vsix` for distribution |

| Tool name | Reference | Reads/Writes | Confirm |
|---|---|---|---|
`xlide_listModules` |
`#xlideListModules` |
R | No |
`xlide_listSubs` |
`#xlideListSubs` |
R | No |
`xlide_readModule` |
`#xlideReadModule` |
R | No |
`xlide_writeModule` |
`#xlideWriteModule` |
W | Yes |
`xlide_readCells` |
`#xlideReadCells` |
R | No |
`xlide_writeCells` |
`#xlideWriteCells` |
W | Yes |
`xlide_exportModules` |
`#xlideExportModules` |
W | Yes |
`xlide_configureExportMode` |
`#xlideConfigureExportMode` |
W | Yes |

Stored beside each workbook as `<workbookname>.extension.repo.json`

:

```
{
  "exportFolder": "C:/absolute/path/to/export",
  "exportMode": "trueUp",
  "managedFiles": ["Module1.bas", "Sheet1.cls"]
}
```

`trueUp`

(default) -- replace existing, add new, delete stale files tracked in
`managedFiles`

. `replaceExistingOnly`

-- only replaces files already on disk.

XLIDE VBA browsing for Live Share **guests** is currently not supported.
Microsoft's Live Share platform restricts the shared-service RPC channel
(`vsls.shareService`

) to extensions on a curated first-party allowlist, so
third-party extensions like XLIDE cannot proxy VBA read/write calls from a
guest to the host. The XLIDE Explorer therefore returns an empty tree for
guests and shows an informational welcome view.

What still works in a Live Share session:

| Role | XLIDE behaviour |
|---|---|
Host |
Full local VBA editing -- open, edit, save `.xlsm` /`.xlsb` /`.xlam` modules exactly as if no session were active. |
Guest |
Can fully view and edit any VBA module the host has open in the editor (Live Share shares those buffers normally). Cannot browse the XLIDE Explorer or open new modules independently -- only the host can navigate and open them. XLIDE panel shows a "not supported" notice. |
Guest without XLIDE installed |
No action needed -- XLIDE is host-only. Joining a session does not require the extension. |

Related upstream issue: [microsoft/live-share#4877](https://github.com/microsoft/live-share/issues/4877)
(third-party `shareService`

allowlist, closed as Not Planned).

[docs/architecture.md](/WilliamSmithEdward/xlide_vscode/blob/main/docs/architecture.md)-- full architecture reference[MS-VBAL specification](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/microsoft_general_purpose_programming_languages/ms-vbal/)[pyOpenVBA](https://github.com/WilliamSmithEdward/pyOpenVBA)