@vscode/vsce

What is @vscode/vsce?

@vscode/vsce is a command-line tool designed to help developers package, publish, and manage Visual Studio Code extensions. It simplifies the process of creating and distributing extensions by providing a set of commands that handle common tasks such as packaging the extension into a .vsix file, publishing it to the Visual Studio Code Marketplace, and more.

What are @vscode/vsce's main functionalities?

Packaging an Extension

This feature allows you to package your Visual Studio Code extension into a .vsix file, which can then be shared or published. The code sample demonstrates how to use the `createVSIX` method to package an extension.

const vsce = require('@vscode/vsce');

async function packageExtension() {
  try {
    await vsce.createVSIX();
    console.log('Extension packaged successfully');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error packaging extension:', error);
  }
}

packageExtension();

Publishing an Extension

This feature allows you to publish your extension to the Visual Studio Code Marketplace. The code sample demonstrates how to use the `publish` method with a personal access token to publish an extension.

const vsce = require('@vscode/vsce');

async function publishExtension() {
  try {
    await vsce.publish({
      pat: 'your-personal-access-token'
    });
    console.log('Extension published successfully');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error publishing extension:', error);
  }
}

publishExtension();

Listing Published Extensions

This feature allows you to list all the extensions you have published. The code sample demonstrates how to use the `list` method to retrieve and display the list of published extensions.

const vsce = require('@vscode/vsce');

async function listExtensions() {
  try {
    const extensions = await vsce.list();
    console.log('Published extensions:', extensions);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error listing extensions:', error);
  }
}

listExtensions();

Other packages similar to @vscode/vsce

yo

Yeoman (yo) is a scaffolding tool that helps developers quickly set up new projects with best practices and tools. While it is not specific to Visual Studio Code extensions, it can be used to generate the initial structure of a VS Code extension project. Compared to @vscode/vsce, Yeoman focuses more on project scaffolding rather than packaging and publishing.

generator-code

generator-code is a Yeoman generator specifically designed for creating Visual Studio Code extensions. It helps you scaffold a new extension project with all the necessary files and configurations. Unlike @vscode/vsce, which focuses on packaging and publishing, generator-code is used for the initial setup of the extension project.

vsce

vsce is the original command-line tool for packaging and publishing Visual Studio Code extensions. It provides similar functionalities to @vscode/vsce, such as creating .vsix files and publishing to the marketplace. The main difference is that @vscode/vsce is a more recent and possibly more maintained version of the tool.

README

vsce

The Visual Studio Code Extension Manager

Requirements

• Node.js at least 14.x.x

Or simply Docker.

Linux

In order to save credentials safely, this project uses keytar which uses libsecret, which you may need to install before publishing extensions. Setting the VSCE_STORE=file environment variable will revert back to the file credential store. Using the VSCE_PAT environment variable will also avoid using keytar.

Depending on your distribution, you will need to run the following command:

• Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libsecret-1-dev
• Alpine: apk add libsecret
• Red Hat-based: sudo yum install libsecret-devel
• Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S libsecret

Usage

Install vsce globally:

npm install --global @vscode/vsce

Verify the installation:

vsce --version

vsce is meant to be mainly used as a command line tool. It can also be used a library since it exposes a small API. When using vsce as a library be sure to sanitize any user input used in API calls, as a security measurement.

Usage via Docker

You can also build a container for running vsce:

$ DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --tag vsce "https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-vsce.git#main"

Validate the container:

docker run --rm -it vsce --version

Publish your local extension:

docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd)":/workspace vsce publish

Configuration

You can configure the behavior of vsce by using CLI flags (run vsce --help to list them all). Example:

vsce publish --baseImagesUrl https://my.custom/base/images/url

Or you can also set them in the package.json, so that you avoid having to retype the common options again. Example:

// package.json
{
  "vsce": {
    "baseImagesUrl": "https://my.custom/base/images/url"
    "dependencies": true,
    "yarn": false
  }
}

Development

First clone this repository, then:

$ npm install

$ npm run watch:build # or `watch:test` to also build tests

Once the watcher is up and running, you can run out of sources with:

node vsce

About

This tool assists in packaging and publishing Visual Studio Code extensions.

Read the Documentation on the VS Code website.