serena-vbnet 0.1.0

Visual Basic .NET language support for Serena MCP Server

serena-vbnet

Visual Basic .NET language support for Serena MCP Server

Enable AI-assisted development for VB.NET codebases with full language intelligence:

• ✅ Symbol extraction (Module, Class, Sub, Function, Property)
• ✅ Go-to-definition
• ✅ Find references
• ✅ Code completion
• ✅ Diagnostics

Quick Start

# Install Serena and VB.NET plugin
pip install serena serena-vbnet

# Setup VB.NET support (one-time)
serena-vbnet setup

# Use with your VB.NET project
cd my-vbnet-project
serena init
# Edit .serena/project.yml: add "vbnet" to languages list
serena start-mcp-server

That's it! Your VB.NET project now has AI-assisted development capabilities through Claude Code, Cursor, or other tools that support MCP.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 or later
• Serena MCP Server: pip install serena

Install Plugin

pip install serena-vbnet

Setup VB.NET Support

serena-vbnet setup

This command:

1. Downloads pre-built Roslyn LanguageServer with VB.NET support (~25MB)
2. Installs to ~/.serena/language_servers/roslyn_vbnet/
3. Configures Serena to recognize VB.NET projects

Build from source (optional):

serena-vbnet setup --build

Requires .NET 8 SDK and takes 10-15 minutes.

Usage

Configure Your VB.NET Project

cd /path/to/your/vbnet-project
serena init

Edit .serena/project.yml:

languages:
  - vbnet

Start Serena

serena start-mcp-server

Use with AI Tools

Claude Code:

• Configure MCP server in .mcp.json
• Serena automatically provides VB.NET intelligence

Cursor / other IDEs:

• Connect to Serena via MCP protocol
• Get code completion, go-to-definition, find-references for VB.NET

CLI Commands

serena-vbnet setup          # Install and configure VB.NET support
serena-vbnet verify         # Verify installation
serena-vbnet info           # Show installation information
serena-vbnet update         # Update to latest version
serena-vbnet uninstall      # Remove VB.NET support
serena-vbnet --help         # Show all commands

What Makes This Work

Microsoft's Roslyn LanguageServer has full VB.NET support in source code, but the distributed NuGet packages don't include VB.NET workspace services.

This plugin uses a custom-built Roslyn LanguageServer with VB.NET enabled. Pre-built binaries are available for all platforms, or you can build from source.

See Why a custom build? for technical details.

Features

Symbol Extraction

Extracts VB.NET-specific constructs:

• Module (similar to static class)
• Class / Interface / Structure
• Sub (void method) / Function (method with return value)
• Property / Field
• Enum / Event / Delegate

Code Intelligence

• Go-to-definition: Jump to symbol declarations
• Find references: Find all usages of symbols
• Code completion: IntelliSense for VB.NET
• Diagnostics: Real-time compiler errors and warnings

Project Support

Recognizes VB.NET projects:

• .vb source files
• .vbproj project files
• .sln solution files

Example Project Structure

my-vbnet-app/
├── .serena/
│   └── project.yml           # Add "vbnet" to languages
├── MyApp.sln
├── MyApp/
│   ├── MyApp.vbproj
│   ├── Program.vb
│   ├── Module1.vb
│   └── Class1.vb
└── Tests/
    ├── Tests.vbproj
    └── UnitTests.vb

Troubleshooting

"Serena not found"

pip install serena

"Language server not installed"

serena-vbnet setup --force

Build from source failing

Ensure .NET 8 SDK is installed:

dotnet --version  # Should show 8.0.x or later

Download from: https://dot.net

Verification

serena-vbnet verify

This checks:

• Language server installation
• VB.NET assemblies present
• Serena configuration

Architecture

serena-vbnet (PyPI Plugin)
    ↓
Downloads from: roslyn-vbnet-languageserver (GitHub Releases)
    ↓
Installs to: ~/.serena/language_servers/roslyn_vbnet/
    ↓
Patches: Serena's ls_config.py
    ↓
Serena recognizes: .vb files and provides VB.NET intelligence

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Report issues on GitHub Issues
2. Submit PRs for improvements
3. Help improve documentation

Related Projects

• roslyn-vbnet-languageserver - Build automation for Roslyn LS with VB.NET
• Serena MCP Server - AI-assisted development framework
• Roslyn - .NET Compiler Platform (upstream)

License

MIT License - See LICENSE

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Serena Docs: oraios.github.io/serena

Acknowledgments

• Microsoft for the excellent Roslyn compiler platform
• Serena team for the MCP server framework
• VB.NET community for keeping the language alive

---

Made with ❤️ for the VB.NET community