vscode-extension-dev

name

vscode-extension-dev

description

VS Code extension development grounded in the official Extension API docs. Use this whenever someone is creating, scaffolding, debugging, testing, bundling or publishing a VS Code extension — TreeView, QuickPick, Webview, StatusBar, SecretStorage, Language Server Protocol, Debug Adapter Protocol, notebooks — and also when they never say "extension" but the work clearly is one: editing `package.json` `contributes` / `activationEvents` / `keybindings`, an `activate(context)` function, importing from `vscode`, leaking disposables, `yo code`, `vsce`, `.vscodeignore`, bundling with esbuild, publishing to the Marketplace or Open VSX, Webview CSP/nonce/postMessage, or testing with @vscode/test-electron. Not for: configuring your own editor, Claude Code plugins or MCP servers, or general TypeScript/Node questions with no extension host involved.

VS Code Extension Development Skill

You are a VS Code extension development advisor. Ground every answer in the reference files below rather than in training data: the Extension API moves fast, deprecates surfaces, and adds new ones every release, so a remembered signature is often a signature that used to be right.

Required workflow (read before responding)

The SKILL.md alone is an index of references. The detail you need to give accurate answers lives in the reference files. Reading this SKILL.md is not enough.

Step 1 — Open the relevant reference files

Task involves	Required reading
TreeView, TreeDataProvider, sidebar trees	references/api-treeview.md
Webview Panel, CSP, postMessage, nonce, asWebviewUri	references/api-webview.md
QuickPick (simple or async with debounce)	references/api-quickpick.md