OpenCL for Visual Studio Code

June 18, 2026 · View on GitHub

This extension adds OpenCL C/C++ language support to VS Code.

Features

¹ Powered by opencl-language-server.

Install OpenCL Language Server prerequisities:

1.1. OpenCL Runtime [Intel, NVidia, AMD]

1.2. [Windows] Latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Version
Offline Kernel Compilation feature requires OpenCL SDK:

a. [Windows, Linux]: ioc64 from Intel® SDK for OpenCL™ 2019

(On macOS openclc is preinstalled at /System/Library/Frameworks/OpenCL.framework/Libraries/openclc)
Kernel Formatting feature requires clang-format. By default, the extension searches for the utility inside ms-vscode.cpptools extension.
Install the extension following instructions in INSTALL.md.
Open any .cl or .ocl file, the extension will download the compatible version of OpenCL Language Server.
If activation succeeds, syntax highlighting is enabled, the OpenCL Devices explorer view appears, and no error notification is shown from the OpenCL Language Server. See TROUBLESHOOTING.md if extension activation failed.

Setting	Description	Default
`OpenCL.server.enable`	Enables the OpenCL Language Server. Disabling this turns off Kernel Diagnostics, Code Completion, and OpenCL Devices Information.	`true`
`OpenCL.server.path`	Path to a local OpenCL language server binary. When set, the extension skips automatic download and uses this binary directly. The binary must be compatible with the extension version. Use the OpenCL: Register Local Language Server command to set this safely - the extension registers the binary to perform integrity checks later.	`""`
Kernel Diagnostics
`OpenCL.server.buildOptions`	Build options passed when building the program. See the list of supported options.	`[]`
`OpenCL.server.deviceID`	Device ID of the OpenCL device used for diagnostics, or `0` for automatic selection. Use the `OpenCL: Select` command or the OpenCL Devices explorer to set this.	`0`
`OpenCL.server.maxNumberOfProblems`	Maximum number of problems reported by the language server.	`100`
`opencl.trace.server`	Traces the communication between VS Code and the OpenCL language server. Useful for debugging.	`"off"`
OpenCL Devices Information
`OpenCL.explorer.localizedProperties`	Display localized property names in the explorer view. Disable to show raw OpenCL property names instead.	`true`
Kernel Formatting
`OpenCL.formatting.name`	Formatting utility to use. Defaults to `clang-format` from the ms-vscode.cpptools extension. Specify an absolute path to use a different version.	`"clang-format"`

Command	Description
`OpenCL: Info`	Opens a new tab with information about all available OpenCL devices.
`OpenCL: Select`	Select the OpenCL device to use for kernel diagnostics.
`OpenCL: Toggle View`	Toggle the explorer view between localized and raw property names.
`OpenCL: Register Local Language Server`	Register a user-specified local binary as the OpenCL language server. Use this when GitHub.com is unavailable or a prebuilt binary is missing for your platform.
`OpenCL: Unregister Local Language Server`	Remove a previously registered local binary. The extension will revert to automatically downloading the language server from GitHub.com.

This extension provides predefined set of VS Code tasks for kernel compilation using ioc32/ioc64 or openclc (on macOS).

See TASKS.md for details.

OpenCL is the trademark of Apple Inc.