Stylus

Last modified: 11 February 2024

Available only in PyCharm Professional: download to try or compare editions

Required plugins:

Stylus  -  Install the plugin on the Settings | Plugins page, tab Marketplace. The plugin is available only in PyCharm Professional.

File Watchers  -  The plugin is available only in PyCharm Professional, where it is enabled by default.

PyCharm lets you translate your Stylus code into CSS on the fly.

Before you start

  1. Make sure you have Node.js on your computer.

  2. Install and enable the Stylus plugin on the Settings | Plugins page, tab Marketplace, as described in Installing plugins from JetBrains Marketplace.

  3. Make sure the File Watchers plugin is enabled in the settings. Press to open the IDE settings and then select Plugins. Click the Installed tab. In the search field, type File Watchers. For more information about plugins, refer to Managing plugins.

Installing Stylus

Compiling the Stylus code

To compile your code automatically, you need to install a compiler and configure a Stylus File Watcher which will track changes to your files and run the compiler.

When you open a file, PyCharm checks whether an applicable File Watcher is available in the current project. If such File Watcher is configured but disabled, PyCharm displays a popup that informs you about the configured File Watcher and suggests to enable it.

If an applicable File Watcher is configured and enabled in the current project, PyCharm starts the compiler automatically upon the event specified in the New Watcher dialog.

  • If the Auto-save edited files to trigger the watcher checkbox is selected, the File Watcher is invoked as soon as any changes are made to the source code.

  • If the Auto-save edited files to trigger the watcher checkbox is cleared, the File Watcher is started upon save (File | Save All, ) or when you move focus from PyCharm (upon frame deactivation).

Learn more from File Watchers.

PyCharm creates a separate file with the generated output. The file has the name of the source Stylus file and the extension .css. The location of the generated files is defined in the Output paths to refresh field of the New Watcher dialog. However, in the Project Tree, they are shown under the source file which is now displayed as a node.

Create a File Watcher

  1. In the Settings dialog () , click File Watchers under Tools. The File Watchers page that opens shows the list of already configured File Watchers.

  2. Click the Add button or press and choose the Stylus predefined template from the list.

  3. In the Program field, specify the path to the executable file:

    • stylus for macOS and Unix.

    • stylus.bat for Windows.

    Type the path manually or click the Browse button and choose the file location in the dialog that opens.

  4. Proceed as described in File Watchers.

Configuring syntax highlighting

You can configure Stylus-aware syntax highlighting according to your preferences and habits.

See also

Procedures

Reference