Create Plugin#

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yo code

The generator will ask the following questions：

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- **Choose Extension Type**：For example “New Extension (TypeScript)” or “New Extension (JavaScript)”.
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- **Extension name and description**：Fill in the extension name and description as prompted.
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- **Git initialization**：Whether to initialize a Git repository.
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- **Package manager**：Choose using npm or yarn.

After generation completes, you will have a basic project structure scaffolded.

Understanding the Structure#

Open the generated project, you will see some important files and directories:

• package.json

  This file defines the extension’s basic information, dependencies, as well as VS Code activation events and command registrations.

  For example:

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  {
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    "name": "my-sample-extension",
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    "displayName": "My Sample Extension",
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    "description": "A simple VS Code extension.",
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    "version": "0.0.1",
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    "engines": {
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      "vscode": "^1.60.0"
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    },
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    "activationEvents": [
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      "onCommand:extension.helloWorld"
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    ],
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    "main": "./out/extension.js",
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    "contributes": {
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      "commands": [
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        {
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          "command": "extension.helloWorld",
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          "title": "Hello World"
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        }
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      ]
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    },
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    "scripts": {
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      "vscode:prepublish": "npm run compile",
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      "compile": "tsc -p ./"
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    },
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    "devDependencies": {
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      "typescript": "^4.0.0",
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      "vscode": "^1.1.37",
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      "@types/node": "^12.0.0"
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    }
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  }

• src/extension.ts (or extension.js)

  This is the entry point of the extension; this code runs when the extension is activated.

  For example, a simple sample:

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  import * as vscode from 'vscode';
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  export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
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      console.log('Congratulations, your extension "my-sample-extension" is now active!');
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      let disposable = vscode.commands.registerCommand('extension.helloWorld', () => {
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          vscode.window.showInformationMessage('Hello World from your VS Code extension!');
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      });
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      context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
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  }
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  export function deactivate() {}

Run and Debug#

• After opening the project, in VS Code’s Debug panel, you will see a configuration named Launch Extension.
• Press F5; VS Code will start a new Extension Development Host.
• In the new window, via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P), run the registered command, for example typing “Hello World” to test whether the extension works properly.

Publish Extension#

When development and testing are complete, you may consider publishing the extension to the VS Code Marketplace for others to use:

• Install the vsce tool to help package and publish extensions:

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  npm install -g vsce

• In the project root, run the packaging command:

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  vsce package

• Follow the guidance in the official documentation to complete the publishing process. (Official docs: https://code.visualstudio.com/api/working-with-extensions/publishing-extension)

Extension Activation#

VS Code extensions are activated according to the activationEvents array in package.json. Here are the main activation event types：