check-vscode-extensions

check-vscode-extensions

🔍 Intelligently detect VSCode/Cursor/WindSurf extension status, support multi-editor environments, provide one-click installation commands

Have you ever encountered these situations in team development:

• New team member submits messy code in PR, CI fails
• ESLint errors locally but they have no idea
• You remind them to install extensions, they say "I didn't see the recommendation"

👆 If you nodded, this tool is built for you.

✨ Core Features

• 🔍 Smart Editor Detection - Automatically identify VSCode, Cursor, WindSurf
• 📊 Multi-Editor Support - Detect all running editors simultaneously
• 🛠️ Path Conflict Resolution - Intelligently handle code command conflicts
• 🎨 User-Friendly Interface - Colorful output with clear status indicators
• ⚡ Precise Installation Guide - Provide directly executable installation commands
• 📦 Zero Configuration - Works out of the box, no complex setup required
• 🌍 Internationalization - Support for English and Chinese

🚀 Quick Start

Method 1: Use npx (Recommended)

npx check-vscode-extensions

Method 2: Global Installation

npm install -g check-vscode-extensions
check-vscode-extensions

Method 3: Project Integration

npm install --save-dev check-vscode-extensions

Add scripts to your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "check:env": "check-vscode-extensions",
    "postinstall": "check-vscode-extensions"
  }
}

📊 Usage Examples

✅ All Extensions Installed

$ npx check-vscode-extensions
✅ All required extensions are installed in Cursor
ℹ️ 🔍 Detected Cursor is running, checked its extension status.

⚠️ Missing Extensions

$ npx check-vscode-extensions
ℹ️ Current editor: VSCode
ℹ️ Missing extensions: dbaeumer.vscode-eslint, esbenp.prettier-vscode

💡 Installation commands (copy and run):
code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

Or install all at once:
code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint && code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

🔄 Multi-Editor Detection

$ npx check-vscode-extensions
ℹ️ Detected multiple editors running: Cursor, VSCode
✅ All required extensions are installed in Cursor
ℹ️ ⚠️ VSCode missing extensions: esbenp.prettier-vscode

Installation commands:

VSCode:
"/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code" --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

📋 Default Detected Extensions

Extension ID	Extension Name	Description
dbaeumer.vscode-eslint	ESLint	JavaScript/TypeScript code linting
esbenp.prettier-vscode	Prettier	Code formatting tool

🎯 Use Cases

Team Development

{
  "scripts": {
    "postinstall": "check-vscode-extensions"
  }
}

Automatically check after project clone, eliminate extension missing issues.

CI/CD Integration

# .github/workflows/check-env.yml
- name: Check VSCode Extensions
  run: npx check-vscode-extensions

Git Hooks

# .husky/pre-commit
npx check-vscode-extensions

🔧 Customization

Currently, the tool detects a fixed list of extensions. For customization:

Option 1: Fork and Customize

• Fork this project
• Modify the requiredExtensions array in lib/index.js
• Publish your own npm package

Option 2: Local Script

Download the source code to your project and modify directly:

# Download script
curl -o check-extensions.js https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leeguooooo/check-vscode-extensions/main/lib/index.js

# Modify requiredExtensions array
# Run
node check-extensions.js

Common Extension Examples

const requiredExtensions = [
  // Basic extensions
  'dbaeumer.vscode-eslint',
  'esbenp.prettier-vscode',

  // Frontend development
  'bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss',
  'ms-vscode.vscode-typescript-next',

  // Backend development
  'ms-python.python',
  'golang.go',

  // Utility extensions
  'eamodio.gitlens',
  'ms-vscode.vscode-json'
]

🧠 How It Works

Smart Detection Flow

graph TD
    A[Start Detection] --> B{Check Environment Variables}
    B -->|CURSOR_TRACE_ID| C[Cursor Environment]
    B -->|TERM_PROGRAM=vscode| D[VSCode Environment]
    B -->|No Special Variables| E[Detect Running Processes]

    E --> F{Scan Active Editors}
    F --> G[VSCode Process]
    F --> H[Cursor Process]
    F --> I[WindSurf Process]

    C --> J[Get Extension List]
    D --> J
    G --> J
    H --> J
    I --> J

    J --> K{Check Required Extensions}
    K -->|Missing| L[Generate Install Commands]
    K -->|Complete| M[Show Success Status]

Core Technical Features

• 🔍 Multi-layer Detection: Environment Variables → Process Scanning → CLI Verification
• 🛠️ Path Conflict Resolution: Intelligently handle code command conflicts
• 📊 Concurrent Editor Support: Detect multiple running editors simultaneously
• ⚡ Zero Dependencies: Uses only Node.js built-in modules

📊 Comparison with Other Solutions

Feature	VSCode Recommended Extensions	check-vscode-extensions
Auto-detect extension status	❌	✅
Terminal missing extension alerts	❌	✅
One-click install commands	❌	✅
Support Cursor/WindSurf	❌	✅
Multi-editor detection	❌	✅
CI/CD integration	❌	✅
Zero configuration	❌	✅

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

❓ Editor Not Detected

Ensure your editor has CLI commands installed and enabled:

• VSCode: Cmd+Shift+P → "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH"
• Cursor: Usually installs cursor command automatically

❓ Wrong Editor Detected

Check which editor your system code command points to:

which code
# If it points to Cursor but you want VSCode, reinstall VSCode CLI

❓ Permission Errors

Ensure you have permission to execute editor CLI:

# Test if CLI is available
code --version
cursor --version

Supported Platforms

• ✅ macOS: Full support
• ⚠️ Windows: Partial support (path adaptation needed)
• ⚠️ Linux: Partial support (path adaptation needed)

Currently optimized for macOS, Windows and Linux support is under development

🌍 Language Support

The tool supports multiple languages:

• English (default)
• 中文 (Chinese)

Set language via environment variable:

# English (default)
npx check-vscode-extensions

# Chinese
LANG=zh-CN npx check-vscode-extensions

🔄 Changelog

v1.0.0 (2024-01-XX)

• 🎉 Initial release
• ✅ Support VSCode, Cursor, WindSurf detection
• ✅ Multi-editor concurrent detection
• ✅ Smart path conflict resolution
• ✅ Zero dependencies design
• 🌍 Internationalization support

🤝 Contributing

We welcome all forms of contributions!

🐛 Report Issues

• Use Issue Templates
• Provide detailed environment information and error logs

💡 Feature Suggestions

• Discuss in Discussions
• Describe use cases and expected outcomes

🔧 Code Contributions

• Fork the project
• Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
• Commit changes: git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature'
• Push branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
• Submit Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

🌟 Star History

If this tool helps you, please give it a ⭐️!

🚀 Automate extension checking, make team collaboration more efficient!

Made with ❤️ by leeguoo

📖 Documentation

• 中文文档 - Chinese documentation
• Usage Guide - Detailed usage instructions
• Release Guide - How to release new versions