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Validate a folder of X12 or EDIFACT files in VS Code

EDI Viewer is a free VS Code extension for X12 and EDIFACT files. It checks each file you open for free: ISA field widths, control numbers and counts in every envelope, segments that do not belong to the transaction set or message, and empty mandatory elements. To check a whole folder at once, its Validate a folder of EDI files tool reads every X12 and EDIFACT file under the folder and gives one report with the errors, warnings and trading partners of each file, as Markdown and CSV. That tool is Zovo Pro (USD 19 once, for every Zovo extension), with 3 free tries.

Free, MIT license. Extension ID zovo.zovo-edi-viewer, version 0.1.1. Needs VS Code 1.90.0 or newer.

Steps in VS Code

1. Install EDI Viewer from the Marketplace, or press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on macOS) and run ext install zovo.zovo-edi-viewer.
2. Click an .edi, .x12 or .edifact file, or one named by its transaction number such as .850 or .837. It opens as EDI text with colours. Files that start with ISA, UNA or UNB are found by their first line too.
3. Run "EDI Viewer: Open in EDI Viewer" from the Command Palette, the editor title bar or the Explorer right-click menu. The header shows the standard, the version, the transaction sets and either No problems found or the number of errors and warnings.
4. Open the Problems tab. Each problem has its line, and a click shows the segment. In the Tree tab, click a segment to see each element with its ID, name, value and code meaning.
5. In the text editor, the same checks show in VS Code's Problems panel for every EDI file you have open, and they run again while you type. Run "EDI Viewer: Format EDI (one segment per line)" to read a file that is all on one line.

Where Zovo Pro saves time

The tree, the segments table with its filter, the Problems tab, names on hover, problems in the Problems panel, Format EDI and Minify EDI are free, with no limit and no sign-in.

When a partner sends a batch of files, or you keep an archive of test files, opening each one takes too long. Validate a folder of EDI files checks every X12 and EDIFACT file in the folder and its subfolders. It opens one report in two new tabs, Markdown and CSV, with one row per file: the standard, the status (ok, errors, warnings or not read), the counts of errors, warnings and transactions, the transaction types, the sender and receiver (ISA06 and ISA08, or the UNB sender and recipient) and the first problem with its line. Save the tabs where you want. The other Pro tools of EDI Viewer are Export EDI to JSON or CSV and Compare two EDI files.

With Validate a folder of EDI files (Zovo Pro)

6. Click Validate folder... in the viewer toolbar, run "EDI Viewer: Validate a folder of EDI files (Pro)" from the Command Palette, or right-click a folder in the Explorer and pick the Validate a folder of EDI files entry.
7. If it asks, pick the folder. It reads each file that starts with ISA, UNA or UNB, whatever its extension, with a progress bar and Cancel.
8. Read the Markdown report, sort the CSV in a table viewer, then open the files with errors in EDI Viewer to see each problem.

Validate a folder of EDI files works 3 times on your computer before it asks for a license, and a try counts only when you get a result. Opening a file shows no popup and no countdown.

Zovo Pro costs USD 19 once. It is not a subscription, and it turns on the Pro tools in every Zovo extension, not only EDI Viewer. After a card payment (Stripe) your license key shows on the next page. In VS Code, run "Zovo Pro: Enter Zovo Pro license key" from the Command Palette and paste it. The key is checked on your computer, with no network call. With GitHub Sponsors, pick the "$19 one time" tier, then run "Zovo Pro: I already paid: unlock with GitHub Sponsors" and sign in with the same GitHub account. With PayPal, send USD 19 with "Zovo Pro" in the note and the key comes by email within a day.

A team of 5: USD 59 once, by card or by PayPal. Every rule and every Pro tool is on the Zovo Pro page.

Steps in Cursor, Windsurf or VSCodium

1. Open the Extensions view with Ctrl+Shift+X (Cmd+Shift+X on macOS).
2. Search for zovo.zovo-edi-viewer and click Install. Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium install from Open VSX, where it is published as zovo/zovo-edi-viewer.
3. If your editor has no gallery, download the .vsix from the Open VSX page and run "Extensions: Install from VSIX...".
4. Then use it the same way as in VS Code.

What EDI Viewer handles

• X12 with the separators read from the ISA header, with or without line breaks.
• EDIFACT with UNA or the default separators, and the release character ?.
• Envelope checks for ISA/IEA, GS/GE and ST/SE, and for UNB/UNZ, UNG/UNE and UNH/UNT.
• Names and code lists for 850, 855, 810, 856, 997, 999, 820, 837P, 837I, 835, 270, 271, 276, 277, 204, 214, 940 and 945, and for ORDERS, ORDRSP, DESADV, INVOIC, IFTMIN, PRICAT, APERAK and CONTRL.

What it does not do

• The checks are the ones listed here: envelopes, control numbers, counts, segment placement and empty mandatory elements. Rules from a trading partner's implementation guide are not checked.
• Files up to 64 MB open in the viewer, and up to 500,000 segments are shown. The folder check skips larger files.
• The folder check skips node_modules, .git, dist, out and hidden folders, and looks at up to 5,000 EDI files.
• The viewer is read-only. It shows problems but does not fix them.

Other options

• pyx12. Free, open source Python tool that validates X12 health care (HIPAA) files. Run it in a shell loop to check a folder.
• Stedi EDI Inspector. A free web page that parses one X12 file you paste in and explains each segment. One file at a time, in the browser.
• Your EDI translator. If your company already runs an EDI translator, it checks files as they come in, often with your partners' rules. It runs outside VS Code.

Install counts and Open VSX status were checked on 12 November 2026. Descriptions in quotes are the extensions' own.

Questions

More about EDI Viewer

Read the EDI Viewer page for every feature and setting, or the source code on GitHub.

Related guides

• Read an X12 or EDIFACT file in VS Code
• Convert an EDI file to JSON or CSV
• Open an Excel .xlsx file in VS Code
• Open an Excel file in Cursor