Bug: VSCode visualizer doesn't resolve imported variables

[adrianbw]

When a state chart includes imported values, the visualizer doesn't seem to be resolving them, which makes the visualizer fail. This makes it really hard to share code across the various parts of our system. Given that the visualizer is a huge selling point, this is probably going to make me recommend not using xstate.

Here's without imports:

And with:

I've created a reproduction of this issue here: https://github.com/adrianbw/xstate-vscode-import-problem.

[adrianbw]

I'd be happy to try helping with this, but I'm having trouble getting the repo working with VSCode. If there are directions for that somewhere, I'd appreciate it.

[nikuz]

@davidkpiano this is actually a serious problem. I also prefer to keep my states as enums and action types outside of the state description to not bloat the state file. I guess this might be related to how the Stately.ai online editor works - it also expect all the variables defined in one file. But this limitation in VS Code makes it unusable for large projects.

I was going to adapt XState library and showcase the cool state charts to my team but now I can't do it without breaching our code organization guidelines.

[sparachi]

I have the same issue in our project. I tried to import the states definition from an external file and it did not work. But if states are defined in the demo file inline it works great. The sample project @adrianbw has perfectly sums up the problem.

[Dylansc22]

Echoing @adrianbw sentiment -- same problem for me in my project. Sad to see there hasn't been any movement on this in over 6 months. Does anyone have a work around for the interim?

[yordan-kanchelov]

@davidkpiano do you think this will be confirmed as an issue and prioritized soon? I imagine I'm not the only one who would be happy to support its development financially. Personally, I’d be willing to contribute if that helps move things forward.