zed-kanata ⌨️

A Zed editor extension that provides syntax highlighting for Kanata keyboard configuration files (.kbd).

✨ Features

• 🎨 Syntax highlighting for .kbd files via tree-sitter-kanata
• 🔄 Auto-indentation for better code formatting
• 🔗 Bracket matching to help with nested configurations
• 💬 Comment support with line comments (;;)
• 🔍 Real-time error diagnostics via custom Rust-based LSP server
  • Automatically downloaded and installed on first use
  • Available for macOS (x86_64, ARM64), Linux (x86_64, ARM64), and Windows (x86_64, ARM64)
  • Powered by the official kanata-parser
• 🎯 Go-to-definition for aliases and layer names
  • Jump to defalias definitions from @alias references
  • Navigate to deflayer definitions from layer name references
• ✨ Auto-formatting to align deflayer blocks according to defsrc layout
  • Preserves the spatial keyboard layout from defsrc
  • Automatically aligns all keys in deflayers for better readability

📦 Installation

From Zed Extensions

Once published to the Zed extension registry:

1. Open Zed
2. Open the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+P on Linux/Windows)
3. Search for "zed: extensions"
4. Search for "kanata" and install

🔧 Development Installation

To install the development version:

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/willpuckett/zed-kanata.git
cd zed-kanata

2. In Zed:
   • Open the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
   • Run "zed: install dev extension"
   • Select the zed-kanata directory

The extension will automatically compile and install. The LSP server binary will be automatically downloaded from GitHub releases on first use.

🚀 Usage

Once installed, the extension automatically activates when you open any .kbd file, providing:

• Syntax highlighting for all Kanata configuration syntax
• Auto-indentation for nested expressions
• Bracket matching and navigation

📝 Example Configuration

Create a file with the .kbd extension:

;; My Kanata Configuration
(defcfg
  process-unmapped-keys yes
  danger-enable-cmd no
)

(defsrc
  esc  f1   f2   f3   f4   f5   f6   f7   f8   f9   f10  f11  f12
  grv  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    0    -    =    bspc
  tab  q    w    e    r    t    y    u    i    o    p    [    ]    \
  caps a    s    d    f    g    h    j    k    l    ;    '    ret
  lsft z    x    c    v    b    n    m    ,    .    /    rsft
  lctl lmet lalt           spc            ralt rmet menu rctl
)

(deflayer default
  _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _
  _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _
  _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _
  _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _
  _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _
  _    _    _              _              _    _    _    _
)

🔧 Troubleshooting

Extension not loading

1. Ensure you have the latest version of Zed
2. Check that the extension is properly installed via the extensions menu
3. Try reinstalling the dev extension

Syntax highlighting not working

1. Ensure the file has a .kbd extension
2. Restart Zed after installation
3. Check Zed's logs (~/Library/Logs/Zed/Zed.log on macOS) for errors

📄 License

MIT License

🔗 Related Projects

• ⌨️ Kanata - The keyboard remapper this extension supports
• 🌳 tree-sitter-kanata - Tree-sitter grammar for Kanata (used by this extension)
• 💻 vscode-kanata - VSCode extension for Kanata with language server support

🗺️ Roadmap

• Publish to Zed extension registry
• Language server integration for diagnostics
• Go-to-definition for aliases and layers
• Formatting support for aligning deflayer blocks
• Code snippets for common Kanata patterns
• Hover information for key codes and actions

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Note: This is an unofficial extension and is not affiliated with the official Kanata project.