Skip to main content

​
Overview

The vscode.tasks namespace provides functions to register task providers and execute tasks programmatically. This complements the Tasks Guide which covers creating custom task types.

​
Key Functions

​
registerTaskProvider

Register a task provider that can supply tasks dynamically. 
function registerTaskProvider(
  type: string,
  provider: TaskProvider
): Disposable
​
type
string
required
The task kind type this provider is registered for
​
provider
TaskProvider
required
A task provider implementation
Example: 
import * as vscode from 'vscode';

class MyTaskProvider implements vscode.TaskProvider {
  provideTasks(): vscode.ProviderResult<vscode.Task[]> {
    const task = new vscode.Task(
      { type: 'myTask' },
      vscode.TaskScope.Workspace,
      'My Task',
      'myExtension',
      new vscode.ShellExecution('echo Hello')
    );
    return [task];
  }

  resolveTask(task: vscode.Task): vscode.ProviderResult<vscode.Task> {
    return task;
  }
}

const provider = new MyTaskProvider();
vscode.tasks.registerTaskProvider('myTask', provider);

​
fetchTasks

Fetches all available tasks in the system, including tasks from tasks.json and contributed providers. 
function fetchTasks(filter?: TaskFilter): Thenable<Task[]>
Example: 
// Get all tasks
const allTasks = await vscode.tasks.fetchTasks();
console.log(`Found ${allTasks.length} tasks`);

// Filter by type
const npmTasks = await vscode.tasks.fetchTasks({ type: 'npm' });
npmTasks.forEach(task => {
  console.log(`NPM task: ${task.name}`);
});

​
executeTask

Executes a task that is managed by the editor. 
function executeTask(task: Task): Thenable<TaskExecution>
Example: 
// Find and execute a task
const tasks = await vscode.tasks.fetchTasks({ type: 'npm' });
const buildTask = tasks.find(t => t.name === 'build');

if (buildTask) {
  const execution = await vscode.tasks.executeTask(buildTask);
  console.log('Task started');
}
When running a ShellExecution or ProcessExecution task in an environment where a new process cannot be started, an error will be thrown. In such environments, only CustomExecution tasks can be run.

​
Properties

​
taskExecutions

The currently active task executions or an empty array. 
const taskExecutions: readonly TaskExecution[]
Example: 
const runningTasks = vscode.tasks.taskExecutions;
console.log(`Currently running ${runningTasks.length} tasks`);

​
Events

​
onDidStartTask

Fires when a task starts. 
const onDidStartTask: Event<TaskStartEvent>
Example: 
vscode.tasks.onDidStartTask(event => {
  const task = event.execution.task;
  console.log(`Task started: ${task.name}`);
});

​
onDidEndTask

Fires when a task ends. 
const onDidEndTask: Event<TaskEndEvent>
Example: 
vscode.tasks.onDidEndTask(event => {
  const task = event.execution.task;
  console.log(`Task ended: ${task.name}`);
});

​
onDidStartTaskProcess

Fires when the underlying process has been started. This event will not fire for tasks that don’t execute an underlying process. 
const onDidStartTaskProcess: Event<TaskProcessStartEvent>

​
onDidEndTaskProcess

Fires when the underlying process has ended. 
const onDidEndTaskProcess: Event<TaskProcessEndEvent>

​
Complete Example

import * as vscode from 'vscode';

export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
  // Register task provider
  const provider = vscode.tasks.registerTaskProvider('myBuild', {
    provideTasks: () => {
      const task = new vscode.Task(
        { type: 'myBuild' },
        vscode.TaskScope.Workspace,
        'Build Project',
        'myExtension',
        new vscode.ShellExecution('npm run build')
      );
      return [task];
    },
    resolveTask: (task) => task
  });

  context.subscriptions.push(provider);

  // Monitor task execution
  context.subscriptions.push(
    vscode.tasks.onDidStartTask(event => {
      vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
        `Started: ${event.execution.task.name}`
      );
    })
  );

  context.subscriptions.push(
    vscode.tasks.onDidEndTask(event => {
      vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
        `Completed: ${event.execution.task.name}`
      );
    })
  );

  // Command to run custom task
  const runTask = vscode.commands.registerCommand(
    'myExtension.runTask',
    async () => {
      const tasks = await vscode.tasks.fetchTasks({ type: 'myBuild' });
      if (tasks.length > 0) {
        await vscode.tasks.executeTask(tasks[0]);
      }
    }
  );

  context.subscriptions.push(runTask);
}

Tasks Guide

Learn how to create custom task providers

Task Configuration

Configure tasks in tasks.json

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us