Sonic Pi for VS Code

Code. Music. Live. — Write and perform Sonic Pi music directly from VS Code.

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Features

Syntax Highlighting & IntelliSense

Full language support for .spi files with context-aware autocompletion for 43 synths, 96 samples, 34 FX, 150 scales, 70 chords, and 163 functions.

Run & Stop with Keybindings

Press F5 to run your code, Shift+F5 to stop. Run just a selection with Ctrl+F5 (Cmd+F5 on macOS).

Rich Hover Documentation

Hover over any synth, sample, FX, scale, chord, note, or function to see detailed documentation with options tables and code examples.

Built-in Tutorial

The complete 85-chapter Sonic Pi tutorial is built right into the extension. Browse chapters in the sidebar tree view or read them in a styled webview panel.

Live Connection to Sonic Pi

Connects to a running Sonic Pi instance over OSC with automatic port discovery, authentication, and heartbeat keep-alive. The status bar shows your connection state at a glance.

Error Diagnostics

Sonic Pi runtime errors and syntax errors appear inline in the editor and in the Problems panel — no need to switch windows.

55 Bundled Examples

Browse and open examples organized by difficulty: Apprentice, Illusionist, Magician, and Wizard.

Audio Recording

Start, stop, and save audio recordings as WAV files — all from within VS Code.

Code Snippets

31 snippets for common patterns like live_loop, with_fx, play, sample, and more.

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Quick Start

1. Install Sonic Pi from sonic-pi.net
2. Open Sonic Pi (the application must be running)
3. Create a .spi file in VS Code
4. Write some code:

   live_loop :beat do
     sample :drum_bass_hard
     sleep 0.5
   end

5. Press F5 to hear your music!

The extension auto-connects to Sonic Pi when you open a .spi file.

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Requirements

• VS Code 1.109+
• Sonic Pi v4.x running on the same machine

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Keybindings

Keybinding	Command
F5	Run buffer
Shift+F5	Stop all
Ctrl+F5 / Cmd+F5	Run selection

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Settings

Setting	Default	Description
sonicpi.autoConnect	true	Auto-connect on file open
sonicpi.osc.host	127.0.0.1	Sonic Pi server address
sonicpi.osc.sendPort	4557	OSC send port
sonicpi.osc.listenPort	4558	OSC listen port
sonicpi.heartbeatInterval	2000	Keep-alive interval (ms)
sonicpi.sonicPiPath	""	Custom Sonic Pi path
sonicpi.logLevel	info	Log verbosity

See the full User Manual for detailed configuration examples.

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Commands

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "Sonic Pi" to see all available commands:

• Run / Run Selection / Stop
• Connect / Disconnect
• Open Tutorial / Open Examples
• Beautify Buffer
• Start Recording / Stop Recording / Save Recording

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Tutorial

The extension includes the complete Sonic Pi tutorial:

1. Click the Sonic Pi icon in the Activity Bar
2. Browse chapters in the tree view
3. Click a chapter to read it in a styled webview

Topics covered: synths, samples, FX, randomisation, programming structures, live coding, data structures, state, MIDI, OSC, multichannel audio, and more.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or pull request on GitHub.

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License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License.

Tutorial content is derived from the Sonic Pi project by Sam Aaron, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Acknowledgments

• Sonic Pi by Sam Aaron — the live coding music synthesizer that makes this extension possible
• The Sonic Pi community for the incredible documentation and examples