vscode-profile-sync

name	vscode-profile-sync
description	**WORKFLOW SKILL** — Replicate VS Code Insiders profiles and extensions into VS Code stable. Discovers profiles, diffs extensions, installs missing ones, optionally removes extras. Supports dry-run and selective sync. WHEN: \"sync VS Code profiles\", \"copy profiles from Insiders\", \"replicate Insiders profiles\", \"sync extensions to stable\", \"mirror Insiders profiles\". INVOKES: run_in_terminal for PowerShell/Shell. FOR SINGLE OPERATIONS: Use VS Code CLI directly.
compatibility	Requires both 'code-insiders' and 'code' CLI commands on PATH. PowerShell 7+ (Windows) or Bash (macOS/Linux).
metadata	{"author":"PlagueHO","version":"1.0"}

VS Code Profile Sync

Sync all VS Code Insiders profiles and their extensions to VS Code stable. This skill reads profile definitions from VS Code Insiders, enumerates the extensions in each profile, and replicates them into VS Code stable — creating profiles that don't yet exist and installing any missing extensions. Only extensions are synced; settings, keybindings, and other profile customizations are not modified.

Prerequisites

• VS Code Insiders installed with at least one custom profile configured.
• VS Code stable installed.
• Both code-insiders and code CLI commands available on PATH.
• PowerShell 7+ (Windows) or Bash (macOS/Linux).

Process

Step 0 — Confirm Parameters

Before running, confirm these with the user:

Parameter	Default	Description
Source CLI	code-insiders	The source VS Code variant CLI command
Target CLI	code	The target VS Code variant CLI command
Profiles	All	Which profiles to sync (all or a comma-separated list)
Include Default	Yes	Whether to sync the Default profile extensions
Remove extras	No	Whether to uninstall extensions in the target that are not in the source
Dry run	No	Preview changes without applying them

Step 1 — Discover Source Profiles

Read the profile list from the source VS Code variant's storage.json:

Windows path:

%APPDATA%\Code - Insiders\User\globalStorage\storage.json

macOS path:

~/Library/Application Support/Code - Insiders/User/globalStorage/storage.json

Linux path:

~/.config/Code - Insiders/User/globalStorage/storage.json

Parse the userDataProfiles array from this JSON file. Each entry contains:

• name — the human-readable profile name
• location — the internal directory name (not needed for CLI operations)

Add the implicit Default profile (which is not listed in the array).

If the user requested specific profiles, filter to only those names.

Step 2 — Enumerate Extensions Per Profile

For each profile (including Default), list extensions using the source CLI:

# For a named profile
code-insiders --list-extensions --profile "<profile-name>"

# For the Default profile
code-insiders --list-extensions --profile "Default"

Store the extension list for each profile.

Step 3 — Create Missing Profiles in Target

VS Code stable does not auto-create profiles when installing extensions with --profile. If a profile doesn't exist, the CLI returns "Profile 'X' not found" and exits with code 1.

Before enumerating target extensions, create any missing profiles by:

1. Read the target's storage.json (userDataProfiles array).
2. For each source profile name not present in the target, copy its entry (name, location, icon, useDefaultFlags) from the source storage.json into the target storage.json.
3. Create the corresponding profile directory in the target's user data folder (e.g., <UserData>/profiles/<location>/).

The Default profile always exists and never needs to be created.

Step 4 — Enumerate Target Extensions Per Profile

For each profile, list its current extensions in the target:

code --list-extensions --profile "<profile-name>"

If the profile was just created, its extension list will be empty.

Step 5 — Compute Differences

For each profile, compute:

• To install: extensions in source but not in target.
• To remove (if Remove extras is enabled): extensions in target but not in source.
• Already synced: extensions present in both.

Present a summary table to the user before proceeding:

Profile: "Azure"
  Extensions in source: 25
  Extensions in target: 20
  To install: 5
  To remove: 0
  Already synced: 20

If Dry run is enabled, display the full list of changes and stop.

Step 6 — Apply Changes

For each profile, install missing extensions and optionally remove extras:

# Install missing extensions
code --install-extension <extension-id> --profile "<profile-name>"

# Remove extras (only if enabled)
code --uninstall-extension <extension-id> --profile "<profile-name>"

Run these commands using run_in_terminal. Install extensions sequentially to avoid CLI conflicts (the VS Code CLI does not support parallel installs reliably).

Alternatively, use the bundled scripts which handle the full workflow:

PowerShell (Windows):

& "<skill-path>/scripts/Sync-VscodeProfiles.ps1" `
    -SourceCli "code-insiders" `
    -TargetCli "code" `
    -IncludeDefault `
    -DryRun

Shell (macOS/Linux):

"<skill-path>/scripts/sync-vscode-profiles.sh" \
    --source-cli "code-insiders" \
    --target-cli "code" \
    --include-default \
    --dry-run

Step 7 — Verify

After syncing, verify by listing extensions in the target for each profile:

code --list-extensions --profile "<profile-name>"

Compare the output to the source profile. All extension IDs should match.

Present a final summary:

Sync complete:
  Profiles synced: 7 (Default + 6 custom)
  Extensions installed: 23
  Extensions removed: 0
  Errors: 0

Edge Cases

• Profile name with special characters: Profile names may contain spaces, commas, and dots. Always quote profile names in CLI commands.
• Extension not available in stable: Some extensions may be Insiders-only (pre-release). If code --install-extension fails, log a warning and continue with the next extension.
• Source and target are the same: If both CLIs resolve to the same VS Code installation, warn the user and stop.
• No custom profiles: If the source has no custom profiles, sync only the Default profile extensions and inform the user.
• storage.json not found: If the storage.json file doesn't exist at the expected path, ask the user to confirm the source VS Code data directory.
• Profiles not auto-created by stable CLI: VS Code stable (unlike Insiders) does not create profiles on the fly via --install-extension --profile. The scripts handle this by pre-creating missing profiles in the target's storage.json and file system before installing extensions.