For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

BoxLang Home Configuration

The BoxLang Homes panel — manage BoxLang Home directories, modules, logs, and class files from the VS Code sidebar.

The BoxLang Homes panel provides a central interface for managing BoxLang Home directories directly within VS Code. It appears in the BoxLang sidebar alongside the Servers and Help panels.


What is BoxLang Home?

BoxLang Home (~/.boxlang by default) is the directory where BoxLang stores:

  • Configurationboxlang.json runtime settings

  • Modules — Installed BoxLang modules from ForgeBox

  • Class files — Compiled BoxLang classes (cache)

  • Logs — Runtime and application log files

  • Custom tags — User-defined custom tag libraries


Panel Structure

The BoxLang Homes tree view displays:

Each registered BoxLang Home appears as a top-level item with nested folders and files.


Actions

Top-Level Home Actions

Hover over a BoxLang Home to reveal action buttons:

Action
Description

Clear Class Files 🗑️

Delete all compiled .class files. Useful after upgrading BoxLang or when experiencing class caching issues.

Open BoxLang Home 📂

Open the BoxLang Home directory in your system file manager.

Delete Home 🗑️

Remove a registered BoxLang Home. Cannot delete the default home.

Open Config File ✏️

Open boxlang.json for editing.

Log Actions

Hover over a log file in the tree:

Action
Description

Open Log 📄

Open the log file in the editor. Useful for inspecting runtime errors and warnings.

Clear Log 🗑️

Clear the log file contents. Useful for focusing on recent activity.

Module Actions

The modules directory and individual modules have their own actions.

On the modules directory:

Action
Description

Install Module

Install a BoxLang module from ForgeBox. Prompts for the module slug (e.g., bx-compat-cfml).

On an installed module:

Action
Description

Remove Module 🗑️

Uninstall the module from this BoxLang Home.

Open Module Home Page 🌐

Open the module's ForgeBox page or documentation in your browser.


Installing Modules

Modules extend BoxLang with additional functionality — compatibility layers, premium features, framework integrations, and more.

From the Panel

  1. In the BoxLang Homes panel, expand a BoxLang Home.

  2. Hover over the modules folder and click ➕ Install Module.

  3. Enter the module slug when prompted (e.g., bx-compat-cfml).

  4. The module is downloaded from ForgeBox and installed.

Common Modules

Module
Slug
Purpose

CFML Compatibility

bx-compat-cfml

Compatibility layer for CFML code

PDF

bx-pdf

PDF generation and manipulation

Redis

bx-redis

Redis cache and session provider

CSV

bx-csv

CSV file processing

Spreadsheet

bx-spreadsheet

Excel/Spreadsheet operations

Modules installed in the default BoxLang Home are available to all projects. To install project-specific modules, use a workspace-scoped BoxLang Home or boxlang.json modulesDirectory.


Managing Multiple Homes

You can register multiple BoxLang Home directories:

  1. Click the ➕ button in the BoxLang Homes tree view title bar.

  2. Select or enter the path to a BoxLang Home directory.

  3. The new home appears in the tree view with its own modules, logs, and config.

Use cases for multiple homes:

  • Project isolation — Separate homes for different projects

  • Version testing — Test against different BoxLang configurations

  • Team environments — Shared home directory with pre-installed modules


Settings ReferenceCommands ReferenceProject ConfigurationMiniServer

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