Working in PyCharm

RobotCode adds Robot Framework support to PyCharm, and to IntelliJ IDEA with its Python plugin: it helps you write and navigate code, runs and debugs your tests and reports problems while you type. This page shows where these things appear in the window and lists the actions RobotCode adds. The pages of this guide explain each task in detail; to install RobotCode and set up a project first, see Get Started with PyCharm.

Not everything from VS Code

RobotCode in PyCharm does not yet offer everything that RobotCode in VS Code does. There is no Test Explorer, for example: you run tests from the run markers in the editor, from the context menus and from run configurations, and see their results in the Run or Debug tool window. There is also no Documentation Viewer, no Keywords view and no command that starts the REPL. PyCharm and VS Code compares both.

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1. The editor. RobotCode completes keywords, variables and imports, shows the documentation of keywords, highlights the code by its meaning and marks problems while you type. See Writing Code and Finding Information.
2. The run markers beside each test and task, and on the first line of a suite file, run or debug that test, task or suite; their icon shows the last result. See Running Tests.
3. The Project view runs files and folders from their context menu and creates new Robot Framework files with New | Robot Framework File.
4. The Run tool window shows a run: the output of the process in the Terminal tab, and the results tree with the log messages of each test in the Debug Console tab. See Running Tests.
5. RobotCode's widget in the status bar shows the Robot Framework version and the selected configuration profiles, see below.

The status bar widget

In a project with Robot Framework files, a robot.toml or a .robot.toml, and in any project once you open a Robot Framework file, the status bar shows RobotCode's widget. It is listed as "Robot Framework" among the status bar widgets.

Text	Meaning
RF 7.5	RobotCode runs with Robot Framework 7.5. Selected configuration profiles follow, as in RF 7.5 · dev.
RobotCode	RobotCode checks the Python interpreter or waits for the language server. With an error icon, the interpreter cannot be used, and the tooltip says why, see The Python interpreter.
RobotCode off	RobotCode is switched off for the project.

Its tooltip lists the versions of RobotCode, Robot Framework, Robocop (when it is installed) and Python, the path of the interpreter and the profiles. A click opens a menu with RobotCode's actions:

Actions

RobotCode's actions are in the menu Tools | RobotCode and in the menu of the status bar widget:

Action	What it does
Enable RobotCode for This Project	Switches RobotCode on again; it is shown only while RobotCode is switched off for the project.
Select Configuration Profiles...	Chooses the robot.toml profiles that the language server, the test discovery and runs use, see Configuration profiles.
Configure Python Interpreter...	Opens the settings of the Python interpreter of the project.
Restart RobotCode Language Server	Checks the Python interpreter again, restarts the language server and reads the tests again.
Clear Cache and Restart RobotCode Language Server	Also deletes RobotCode's analysis cache, while the language server runs.
Refresh Robot Framework Tests	Reads the tests again, from which the run markers come.
Show Language Server Log	Opens the Language Servers tool window with the log of the language server, see Troubleshooting.
Show What's New	Opens the news about the latest RobotCode release in the web browser, as the notification after an update does.

More actions appear where they fit:

• File | New... | Robot Framework File, also in the New menu of the Project view, creates a suite file, a resource file or a file from one of your own file templates with the extension robot or resource.
• Run with Profile... and Debug with Profile... in the context menus of the editor, the editor tab, the Project view and the run markers run once with a profile you choose, see Running Tests.

Find Action (Ctrl+Shift+A, Cmd+Shift+A on macOS), also under Help | Find Action..., runs these actions by name: type RobotCode to list the actions of Tools | RobotCode. It finds settings as well, for example RobotCode's settings pages when you type Robot Framework.

RobotCode defines no keyboard shortcuts of its own; PyCharm's shortcuts work, for example Ctrl+Shift+F10 (Ctrl+Shift+R on macOS) to run the test or suite at the cursor. The shortcuts in this guide are those of PyCharm's default keymaps for Windows and macOS. On Linux, PyCharm uses a keymap for GNOME, KDE or other desktops, in which some shortcuts differ; Settings | Keymap shows yours.

Output and logs

RobotCode has no tool window of its own. The log of its language server is in the Language Servers tool window of the LSP4IJ plugin, which RobotCode uses to talk to its language server; Tools | RobotCode | Show Language Server Log opens it. When RobotCode cannot read the tests of the project, a notification "RobotCode could not discover the tests" shows the error, with Retry and, if the project folder contains a robot.toml, Open robot.toml. When a selected configuration profile is the reason, because robot.toml does not define it, the notification "RobotCode cannot find the selected profile" appears instead, with Remove from Selection and Select Configuration Profiles.... See Troubleshooting.

Pages of this guide

Writing Robot Framework Code in PyCharmCompletion, parameter info, documentation, inlay hints, highlighting, quick fixes, rename, formatting and new files while you write Robot Framework code in PyCharm.

Finding Information in PyCharmGo to declarations, find usages, use the structure view, breadcrumbs and Go to Symbol, and show references above keywords in PyCharm.

Running Tests in PyCharmRun Robot Framework tests from the gutter, the editor and the Project view, edit Robot Framework run configurations, run with a profile, read the results tree and open the report in PyCharm.

Debugging in PyCharmDebug Robot Framework tests in PyCharm: breakpoints with conditions and logging, stopping at failures, stepping, variables, Evaluate, watches and the Robot Debug Console.

Configuring RobotCode in PyCharmWhere a setting belongs in PyCharm: robot.toml or the Robot Framework settings pages, shared or personal; plus the Python interpreter, configuration profiles and switching RobotCode off.

Diagnostics and Linting in PyCharmWhere RobotCode reports problems in PyCharm, how severities map, how to use Robocop, change or hide diagnostics, find unused keywords and variables, and clear the analysis cache.

Troubleshooting RobotCode in PyCharmCheck the versions RobotCode uses in PyCharm, restart the language server, clear the cache, read the logs in the Language Servers tool window and report an issue.

RobotCode in PyCharm and VS CodeWhat RobotCode offers in PyCharm compared with VS Code: the same language features, but no Test Explorer, Documentation Viewer or REPL command yet, and what PyCharm does differently.