atom-language-nsis

Language syntax, auto-completions, formatter and build system for Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS), as well as language syntax for NSIS Language Files.

Screenshot of NSIS with Fira Mono font & the Hopscotch theme

Features

• syntax grammar for NSIS and NSIS Language Files (.nlf)
• auto-complete core NSIS commands, variables and predefines
• auto-complete core Plugins:
  • AdvSplash
  • Banner
  • BgImage
  • Dialer
  • InstallOptions
  • LangDLL
  • Math
  • nsDialogs
  • nsExec
  • NSISdl
  • Splash
  • StartMenu
  • System
  • UserInfo
  • VPatch
• auto-complete core libraries (“Useful Headers”):
  • FileFunc
  • LogicLib
  • Memento
  • Modern UI
  • MultiUser
  • Sections
  • StrFunc
  • WinMessages
  • WinVer
  • WordFunc
  • x64
• Drunken NSIS
• Formatting
• Build Tools
• Linting
• Environment Variables

You can further extend this package with snippets for third-party plug-ins.

Installation

Note

The following guide assumes that you're by now using Pulsar, a community-driven fork of the Atom editor. Should you still be using Atom, use apm command instead of ppm.

Package Manager

Install language-nsis from the editor's Package Manager or the command-line equivalent:

$ ppm install language-nsis

Using Git

Change to your Atom packages directory:

Windows

# Powershell
$ cd $Env:USERPROFILE\.pulsar\packages

:: Command Prompt
$ cd %USERPROFILE%\.pulsar\packages

Linux & macOS

$ cd ~/.pulsar/packages/

Clone repository as language-nsis:

$ git clone https://github.com/idleberg/atom-language-nsis language-nsis

Inside the cloned directory, install its dependencies:

$ ppm ci

Build the source:

$ ppm run build

Package Dependencies

This package automatically installs third-party packages it depends on. You can prevent this by disabling the Manage Dependencies option in the package settings.

Usage

Completion

With most commands, you can specify available options before completion. For instance, rather than completing RequestExecutionLevel and then specifying an option, you can directly choose RequestExecutionLevel user from the completion menu.

To complete compile time commands, variables or predefines, make sure to omit special characters like !, $ and brackets:

• include completes to !include
• INSTDIR completes to $INSTDIR
• NSIS_VERSION completes to ${NSIS_VERSION}

However, you have to type __LINE__ to complete to ${__LINE__}.

There are several special cases for your convenience:

• MB_OK completes to MessageBox MB_OK "messagebox_text"
• onInit completes to a Function .onInit block
• LogicLib completes to !include "LogicLib.nsh"

Drunken NSIS

Fuzzy syntax completions are available through the “Drunken NSIS” snippets, which iron out some of the inconsistencies of the NSIS language, for instance word order.

Example:

• FileRead equals ReadFile
• ReadINIStr equals INIStrRead
• SectionSetText equals SetSectionText
• LogSet equals SetLog
• FindFirst equals FirstFind
• ${FindLine} equals ${LineFind}

Formatting

Scripts can be formatted using the experimental @nsis/dent package. To do so, run Format Document or adjust your settings for auto-formatting.

Building

There are many ways to compile NSIS scripts in Atom. But before you read on, make sure makensis is in your PATH environment variable.

This package contains a build system to compile your NSIS scripts. To trigger a build, select “NSIS: Save & Compile” from the command-palette or use the keyboard shortcut.

If you prefer working with custom compiler arguments, you can specify them in the package settings. Optionally, you can also specify the path to makensis.

Linting

This package will install an Atom linter provider for makensis. By default, NSIS documents get linted when opened or saved. Make sure to refer to the linter-makensis documentation to learn about available lint modes and other settings.

Other Commands

There are several other, previously unmentioned commands available from the command-palette:

Command	Description
NSIS: Command Reference	Look up NSIS command online
NSIS: Open Package Settings	Opens settings page
NSIS: Show Version Info	Shows current version of NSIS
NSIS: Show Compiler Flags	Shows output of makensis /HDRINFO
NSIS: Convert Language File	Converts NLF to JSON and vice versa

Environment Variables

This extension supports a variety of ways to provide environment variables such as NSISDIR or NSISCONFDIR. The following precedence applies:

1. .env files
2. system-wide environment variables

Note: Some operating systems require the editor to be launched from terminal in order to access system-wide environment variables.

Additionally, you can pass special environment variables prefixed with NSIS_APP_ as definitions to your installer script.

Example

# .env
NSIS_APP_ENVIRONMENT=development

# installer.nsi
!if ${NSIS_APP_ENVIRONMENT} == "development"
  DetailPrint "Valuable Debug Information"
!endif

Related

• node-makensis - Node wrapper for makensis
• vscode-nsis - NSIS package for Visual Studio Code

License

This work is under The MIT License.