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< h1 id = "adding-languages" > < a class = "header" href = "#adding-languages" > Adding languages< / a > < / h1 >
< h2 id = "submodules" > < a class = "header" href = "#submodules" > Submodules< / a > < / h2 >
< p > To add a new language, you should first add a tree-sitter submodule. To do this,
you can run the command< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > git submodule add -f < repository> helix-syntax/languages/tree-sitter-< name>
< / code > < / pre >
< p > For example, to add tree-sitter-ocaml you would run< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > git submodule add -f https://github.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter-ocaml helix-syntax/languages/tree-sitter-ocaml
< / code > < / pre >
< p > Make sure the submodule is shallow by doing< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > git config -f .gitmodules submodule.helix-syntax/languages/tree-sitter-< name> .shallow true
< / code > < / pre >
< p > or you can manually add < code > shallow = true< / code > to < code > .gitmodules< / code > .< / p >
< h2 id = "languagestoml" > < a class = "header" href = "#languagestoml" > languages.toml< / a > < / h2 >
< p > Next, you need to add the language to the < a href = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/blob/master/languages.toml" > < code > languages.toml< / code > < / a > found in the root of
the repository; this < code > languages.toml< / code > file is included at compilation time, and
is distinct from the < code > language.toml< / code > file in the user's < a href = "../configuration.html" > configuration
directory< / a > .< / p >
< p > These are the available keys and descriptions for the file.< / p >
< table > < thead > < tr > < th > Key< / th > < th > Description< / th > < / tr > < / thead > < tbody >
< tr > < td > name< / td > < td > The name of the language< / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > scope< / td > < td > A string like < code > source.js< / code > that identifies the language. Currently, we strive to match the scope names used by popular TextMate grammars and by the Linguist library. Usually < code > source.< name> < / code > or < code > text.< name> < / code > in case of markup languages< / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > injection-regex< / td > < td > regex pattern that will be tested against a language name in order to determine whether this language should be used for a potential < a href = "https://tree-sitter.github.io/tree-sitter/syntax-highlighting#language-injection" > language injection< / a > site.< / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > file-types< / td > < td > The filetypes of the language, for example < code > [" yml" , " yaml" ]< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > shebangs< / td > < td > The interpreters from the shebang line, for example < code > [" sh" , " bash" ]< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > roots< / td > < td > A set of marker files to look for when trying to find the workspace root. For example < code > Cargo.lock< / code > , < code > yarn.lock< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > auto-format< / td > < td > Whether to autoformat this language when saving< / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > comment-token< / td > < td > The token to use as a comment-token< / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > indent< / td > < td > The indent to use. Has sub keys < code > tab-width< / code > and < code > unit< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > config< / td > < td > Language server configuration< / td > < / tr >
< / tbody > < / table >
< h2 id = "queries" > < a class = "header" href = "#queries" > Queries< / a > < / h2 >
< p > For a language to have syntax-highlighting and indentation among other things, you have to add queries. Add a directory for your language with the path < code > runtime/queries/< name> /< / code > . The tree-sitter < a href = "https://tree-sitter.github.io/tree-sitter/syntax-highlighting#queries" > website< / a > gives more info on how to write queries.< / p >
< h2 id = "common-issues" > < a class = "header" href = "#common-issues" > Common Issues< / a > < / h2 >
< ul >
< li >
< p > If you get errors when building after switching branches, you may have to remove or update tree-sitter submodules. You can update submodules by running< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > git submodule sync; git submodule update --init
< / code > < / pre >
< / li >
< li >
< p > Make sure to not use the < code > --remote< / code > flag. To remove submodules look inside the < code > .gitmodules< / code > and remove directories that are not present inside of it.< / p >
< / li >
< li >
< p > If a parser is segfaulting or you want to remove the parser, make sure to remove the submodule < em > and< / em > the compiled parser in < code > runtime/grammar/< name> .so< / code > < / p >
< / li >
< li >
< p > The indents query is < code > indents.toml< / code > , < em > not< / em > < code > indents.scm< / code > . See < a href = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/114" > this< / a > issue for more information.< / p >
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