Getting Started#

All you need to do is install the Pigweed extension from the extension marketplace. It is also available on Open VSX for VS Code forks like Cursor, AntiGravity, etc.

If you start your project from one of Pigweed’s quickstart or showcase example projects, you will be prompted to install the extension as soon as you open the project.

Once installed, use the preconfigured targets in your project to get code intelligence.

Preconfigured targets#

To get code intelligence, you define target patterns in your build file that specify which targets to generate compilation databases for (e.g., for a shared team configuration or CI).

Define a generator target: Add a pw_compile_commands_generator target to your BUILD.bazel file.

load("@pigweed//pw_ide/bazel/compile_commands:pw_compile_commands_generator.bzl", "pw_compile_commands_generator")

pw_compile_commands_generator(
    name = "refresh_compile_commands",
    target_patterns = ["//..."],
)

Tip

You can also specify specific platforms or dependencies. See the Usage Guide for advanced configuration.

Refresh compile commands: Run the target you created:
```
bazel run //:refresh_compile_commands
```
Select the target: Use the Pigweed: Select Code Analysis Target command in VS Code (or click the status bar item) to select the generated compilation database.

You can now select a target platform from the status bar item at the bottom of your window or by running the Pigweed: Select Code Analysis Target command.

Once you select a target platform, the clangd extension will be automatically configured to use the clang toolchain in the Bazel environment and the compilation database associated with the selected target platform.

Other IDEs#

If you use an editor other than VS Code (e.g. Vim, Emacs, etc.), you can still benefit from Pigweed’s code intelligence by using the preconfigured targets workflow.

Generate compile commands: Follow the steps in Preconfigured targets above to configure and generate your compilation databases.
Configure clangd: Point your editor’s clangd configuration to the generated compile_commands.json file. You can find these files in the .compile_commands/ directory in your project root after running the generator target.