Configure your IDE ​

To be a great developer you need great tools. In this guide we will walk you through setting up your choice of integrated development environment (IDE). This guide provides the steps to setting up either Visual Studio Code (VS Code) or JetBrains GoLand.

Which IDE to choose? ​

A few things to consider when choosing your IDE. VS Code and GoLand provides support for a wide range of languages including Go and therefore are the favourites amongst the alis.exchange community. VS Code being open source is completely free whereas GoLand has an annual license fee. Plugins have been built by the alis.exchange community for both IDEs, to create the best possible developer experience.

Visual Studio Code ​

1. Follow the relevant installation instructions for your device.

2. In the IDE, under the extensions tab, search for and install the latest versions of the following plugins:

Plugin Configuration ​

The aip linter plugin requires that there is either a .api-linter.json or .api-linter.yaml file in the project root. This file states which rules should be enabled or disabled. Read the installation notes on the extension page.

Jetbrains GoLand ​

1. Follow the relevant installation instructions for your device.

Start off using the trial version. Notify your organisation to purchase a license for your account if this was not yet provided.

2. In the IDE, open the Settings (⌘,) and navigate to Plugins. In the marketplace, search for and install the latest versions of the following plugins:

Plugin Configuration ​

AIP Linter Plugin ​

The AIP linter plugin requires the installation of the executable file built by Google. This can be done by running in the terminal (Mac: ⌥ + F12 or Windows: ALT + F12):

go install github.com/googleapis/api-linter/cmd/api-linter@latest

Once this is installed, you will need to point the plugin to this downloaded api-linter.exe file. In Settings/Tools/AIP Linter set the api_linter_executable to the downloaded executable. This should be in the /Users/{YourUsername}/go/bin directory.

The Import Paths are used to find imported *.proto files. At this stage, we will simply add the Google protos.

❗ Ensure that you have run either the alis init or alis get google command from your terminal to get the relevant protos downloaded locally.

Unselect the option to Configure automatically and add the path to the Google proto directory, /Users/{YourUsername}/alis.build/google/proto, to the Import Paths.

Your final configuration should look similar to the image below.

Protocol Buffers Plugin ​

Similar to the AIP Linter Plugin, the Protocol Buffers Plugin requires a specification of the directories where imported protos can be found. At this stage, we will simply add the Google protos.

Follow these steps to add your organisation's protos directory.

Select the Configure Automatically checkbox and Apply.

While leaving the JetBrains Protoeditor directory path, add the path to the Google define directory, /Users/{YourUsername}/alis.build/google/define, to the Import Paths.

Your final configuration should look similar to the image below.

What's next? ​

Now that your IDE is set up and the alis.exchange CLI is installed, try your hand at making your first request to a product or building your own product.