Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:- Node.js (20.x or later)
- npm (comes with Node.js)
- Visual Studio Code
- git-lfs - Required for cloning the repository
Initial Setup
Launch the Extension
Launch by pressing
F5 (or Run → Start Debugging) to open a new VS Code window with the extension loaded.You may need to install the esbuild problem matchers extension if you run into issues building the project.
VS Code Extensions
When opening the project, VS Code will prompt you to install recommended extensions. These extensions are required for development - please accept all installation prompts. If you dismissed the prompts, you can install them manually from the Extensions panel.Development Workflow
Watch Mode
For an efficient development workflow, use one of these commands:Running Tests
Run tests locally:Code Formatting
Before submitting a PR, format your code:Linux-Specific Setup
VS Code extension tests on Linux require the following system libraries:dbuslibasound2libatk-bridge2.0-0libatk1.0-0libdrm2libgbm1libgtk-3-0libnss3libx11-xcb1libxcomposite1libxdamage1libxfixes3libxkbfile1libxrandr2xvfb
Installing on Debian-based distributions
For Debian-based distributions (e.g., Ubuntu), install these libraries using apt:Webview Development
The project includes a separate webview UI component. To work on the webview:Common Issues
Build errors related to esbuild
Build errors related to esbuild
Protocol Buffer errors
Protocol Buffer errors
Make sure you’ve run
npm run protos before building the project.Extension not loading in debug mode
Extension not loading in debug mode
Try closing the debug VS Code window and pressing
F5 again. If the issue persists, run npm run clean:build and rebuild.Next Steps
Architecture
Learn about the project structure
Contributing Guidelines
Read the contributing guidelines