diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 49dd3bd4..3457d56e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -3441,6 +3441,12 @@
                     "default": true,
                     "markdownDescription": "When you switch to another analyzer, close the open files of the one you are leaving and reopen the files you had open in the one you are switching to. Files with unsaved changes are never closed."
                 },
+                "nlp.newPass.codeRegion": {
+                    "type": "boolean",
+                    "scope": "application",
+                    "default": false,
+                    "markdownDescription": "Start every new rules pass with a `@CODE` region, which runs before the rules. Use it to set up globals for the pass, or to skip the pass with `exitpass()` (for example, to run only some passes)."
+                },
                 "nlp.format.enable": {
                     "type": "boolean",
                     "scope": "resource",
diff --git a/src/sequence.ts b/src/sequence.ts
index 95067387..deda98ed 100644
--- a/src/sequence.ts
+++ b/src/sequence.ts
@@ -680,6 +680,13 @@ export class SequenceFile extends TextFile {
 
 		switch (type) {
 			case newPassType.RULES:
+				// Setting nlp.newPass.codeRegion: a @CODE region runs before the rules, for
+				// pass setup or exitpass() (nlp-engine#391).
+				if (vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('nlp').get<boolean>('newPass.codeRegion', false)) {
+					newpass = newpass.concat('@CODE\n');
+					newpass = newpass.concat('L("hello") = 0;\n');
+					newpass = newpass.concat('@@CODE\n\n');
+				}
 				newpass = newpass.concat('@NODES _ROOT\n\n');
 
 				newpass = newpass.concat('@RULES\n');