CIF for Visual Studio Code

This extension adds support for CIF (Crystallographic Information File) to VS Code.

Features

• Syntax highlighting
• Completion and validation for names
• Hover over value to see corresponding _key and data_.

Setting: Disable Non-Standard Data Name Warnings

By default, CIF validation shows warnings for data names (tags) that are not defined in the currently loaded CIF dictionaries.

If you prefer not to see these warnings, you can disable them in settings:

1. Open Settings by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and pressing , (comma key)
2. Search for "CIF: Warn On Non Standard Data Names"
3. Uncheck the option to disable warnings

CIF Dictionaries

This software uses CIF dictionaries provided by the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), available at https://www.iucr.org/resources/cif/dictionaries.

You can load additional dictionaries manually using the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Available commands

• CIF: Add Dictionary Select and load a dictionary file from your local system.

• CIF: Show Loaded Dictionaries Displays the list of currently active CIF dictionaries.

• CIF: Remove Dictionary Unload a previously added dictionary.

Technical Details

If you want to build the program yourself or better understand how it works, see the docs/ directory.

Contact

For enquiries related to the development of this extension, or to provide suggestions or feedback, please contact Dr Kaisa Helttunen.

References

This extension has been described in the following publication:

Helttunen, K. & Kainulainen, H. (2025). CIF extension for Visual Studio Code. J. Appl. Cryst. 58, 1469-1475.