SaltStack Jinja — Zed Extension

Syntax highlighting for SaltStack .sls files in the Zed editor.

Highlights YAML structure, Salt module calls, Jinja2 templates, and more — all in a single file type.

syntax hightlight example:

---

What gets highlighted

Element	Example	Color
State ID	gitea_user:	red/salmon
Salt module	file.managed:	yellow
Property key	name:, uid:, mode:	teal/blue
String value	gitea, /bin/bash	green
Number	2978, 644	orange
Boolean	True, False	orange
Jinja expression	{{ slspath }}	cyan
Jinja block	{% if %}, {% for %}	purple
Jinja comment	{# comment #}	gray

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Installation

From the Zed Extension Registry (easiest)

1. Open Zed
2. Press Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Linux/Windows) to open Extensions
3. Search for SaltStack Jinja
4. Click Install

Done — any .sls file you open will automatically use the SaltStack Jinja syntax.

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Manual install (if not yet in the registry)

Step 1 — Download the extension

Download and unzip zed-saltstack-jinja.zip, or clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/zed-saltstack-jinja

Step 2 — Install as a dev extension in Zed

1. Open Zed
2. Press Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Linux/Windows)
3. Click Install Dev Extension
4. Select the zed-saltstack-jinja folder
5. Zed will compile the extension automatically (requires an internet connection the first time)

Step 3 — Open a .sls file

Open any SaltStack state file. Zed will automatically detect the .sls extension and apply the SaltStack Jinja syntax. You can also manually select the language by clicking the language name in the bottom-right corner of the editor and choosing SaltStack Jinja.

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Supported file types

Extension	Description
.sls	SaltStack state and pillar files
.jinja	Standalone Jinja2 templates
.jinja2	Standalone Jinja2 templates
.j2	Jinja2 shorthand

---

Example

{% set mode = salt['pillar.get']('app:mode', 'production') %}

gitea_user:
  user.present:
    - name: gitea
    - uid: 2978
    - shell: /bin/bash

gitea_service:
  file.managed:
    - source: salt://{{ slspath }}/files/gitea.service
    - template: jinja
    - user: gitea
    - mode: "0640"

{% if mode == 'production' %}
gitea_enabled:
  service.running:
    - name: gitea
    - enable: True
{% endif %}

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Troubleshooting

The extension installs but .sls files show no highlighting

Clear the extension cache and reinstall:

# macOS
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed/extensions/installed/saltstack-jinja

# Linux
rm -rf ~/.local/share/zed/extensions/installed/saltstack-jinja

Then uninstall and reinstall the extension in Zed.

The language doesn't appear in the language picker

Check Zed's log for errors: open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) and search for zed: open log. Look for any lines mentioning saltstack or jinja2.

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License

MIT