Block Plugin

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"Scratchblocks" redirects here. For the blocks used in the editor, see Blocks. For the library for building creative computing interfaces, see Scratch Blocks.

This article or section documents the current version of Scratch (version 3.0). For this article in Scratch 2.0, see Block Plugin (2.0).

The Block Plugin, also known as scratchblocks4, is a plugin for the Scratch Wiki and Forums (although it only supports 2.0 blocks on the Forums) maintained by the user blob8108 that allows script images to be constructed through text that is parsed and rendered. The plugin itself can be played around with on its homepage. For example:

define dance (speed)
set [dist v] to ((speed) * (distance to (mouse-pointer v)))
repeat until <(timer) > [10]>
  move (dist) steps
  next costume
  play note (pick random (40) to (100)) for (0.5) beats
  say [Wow! Scratch scripts on the Wiki!]
end

Basic Syntax

Main article: Block Plugin/Syntax

On the Scratch Wiki, block code must be inserted between the <scratchblocks>...</scratchblocks> tags, while on the forums, they are inserted between [scratchblocks]...[/scratchblocks] tags. On the Scratch Wiki, uniquely, a single block can also be inserted inline between <sb>...</sb> tags to avoid breaking lines.

The block plugin tries to match the code you write as close as possible and does not check you've used the correct syntax. The block text is only used to find the correct color.

The basic syntax of the Block Plugin is as follows:

Code	Use	Example	Result
block name	a block	erase all	erase all
end	stops a C block (only necessary if more blocks come after the C block)	repeat (5) move (10) steps end say [Done!]	repeat (5) move (10) steps end say [Done!]
[text]	a text input	say [Hello World!]	say [Hello World!]
(var)	a variable or reporter block	(x position)	(x position)
(12.34)	a number input	wait (0.5) seconds	wait (0.5) seconds
(item v)	an insertable dropdown input	broadcast (You Win v)	broadcast (You Win v)
[item v]	an uninsertable dropdown input	set [my variable v] to (0)	set [my variable v] to (0)
<bool>	a boolean block	<mouse down?>	<mouse down?>
[#ABCDEF]	a color input	<touching color [#0000FF]?>	<touching color [#0000FF]?>
define	a custom block hat	define jump (height)	define jump (height)
// comment	a comment	show // now you see me	show // now you see me
...	a placeholder block denoting an arbitrary script	if <(var) = [this]> then ... end	if <(var) = [this]> then ... end

Advanced Syntax

The following is some more in-depth syntax of scratchblocks3.

Code	Use	Example	Result
block { more blocks } optional text	Custom C blocks	do { ... } in [Sprite2 v]::control	do { ... } in [Sprite2 v]::control
(stack block as reporter::stack)	Cause a block to have a stack block as an input.	decorate (show::looks stack)	decorate (show::looks stack)
:: [category or #color] [shape]	Force a block to look a certain way. Possible category options include: motion looks sound pen variables list events control sensing operators custom custom-arg extension grey undefined #colors can be any hexadecimal RGB color, for example #ff0000 which produces a pure red. Possible shapes include: hat stack ring boolean reporter cap cat	a cool block:: #ff00ff cap	a cool block:: #ff00ff cap
::ring	Replicate Snap!'s "ringify" feature. This can be used in conjunction with the above colon syntax as well. It looks like a reporter, but it has a difference.	Look,({It's in a ring!}@addInput::ring	Look,({It's in a ring!}@addInput::ring
@greenFlag	Add a green flag to the code in a block it's not usually in.	<@greenFlag pressed?::events>	<@greenFlag pressed?::events>
@delInput @addInput	Replicate Snap!'s feature for adding and deleting inputs.	create variable [foo] [bar] @delInput @addInput::variables	create variable [foo] [bar] @delInput @addInput::variables
@loopArrow	Add the loop arrow seen in repeat C-blocks in Scratch.	if <[1]=[1]> then repeat{ . . . } @loopArrow::control	if <[1]=[1]> then repeat{ . . . } @loopArrow::control

Block Styles

Different style blocks can be used using the 'version' attribute: Scratch 2.0 style blocks can be used by using '2.0' and 3.0 high-contrast blocks using 'hc-3'. Examples of both are below.

when gf clicked
    repeat (10) // comment in 2.0
        move (5) steps
    end
    say [Cool! Scratchblocks in 2.0!]
    stop [this script v]

when gf clicked
    repeat (10) // comment in high contrast
        move (5) steps
    end
    say [Also in high contrast!]
    stop [this script v]

Helper Tools

Here are some tools that will convert real blocks in Scratch projects into scratchblocks code.

Scratch 3.0

The user apple502j developed a library called parse-sb3-blocks, which reads blocks from a Scratch 3 project.json and converts them to the scratchblocks syntax. They also created a scratchblocks code generator that can read projects shared on the Scratch website, which can be used here.

Scratch 2.0

The user jvvg developed a converter written in PHP that converts scripts in the backpack. The forum thread for this converter can be viewed here.

Scratch 1.4

The user LS97 developed a plugin for the Scratch program itself that converts a script into scratchblocks (the original) code. The forum thread for the plugin can be viewed here.

See Also

• The style guide for using the Block Plugin on the Scratch Wiki

External Links

Official scratchblocks homepage