vscode-extension

name	vscode-extension
description	Scaffold a new VS Code extension project from the zirkelc/template-vscode-extension GitHub template. Creates the GitHub repo, clones it, updates placeholders, and opens it in VS Code.

New VS Code Extension

Scaffold a new VS Code extension from the template-vscode-extension template.

Step 1: Gather Project Info

Ask the user for:

• Identifier: extension id / repo name, lowercase-hyphenated (e.g. my-extension)
• Display name: human-readable name shown in the marketplace (e.g. My Extension)
• Description: one-line description
• Publisher: VS Code marketplace publisher ID (e.g. zirkelc)
• Visibility: public or private (default: public)

Step 2: Determine Target Directory

Check the current working directory with pwd and ls.

Already in the project dir — use this path if:

• The CWD name matches <identifier>, or
• The CWD is empty (no files) and the user confirms this is the intended project directory

In this case, create the repo without --clone, then clone into .:

gh repo create <identifier> \
  --template zirkelc/template-vscode-extension \
  --description "<description>" \
  --[public|private] \
  --gitignore ""

git clone "$(gh repo view <identifier> --json url -q .url)" .

Not in the project dir — clone into a new subdirectory. Run from ~/Developer:

gh repo create <identifier> \
  --template zirkelc/template-vscode-extension \
  --description "<description>" \
  --[public|private] \
  --clone \
  --gitignore ""

If the command fails (name conflict, auth issue, etc.): stop and report the error.

The project dir is referred to as <project-dir> in subsequent steps (either CWD or ~/Developer/<identifier>).

Step 3: Update Placeholders

Read package.json in <project-dir>. Identify all placeholder values and replace them with the user's values:

Placeholder	Replace with
name field (extension identifier)	<identifier>
displayName field	<display name>
description field	<description>
publisher field	<publisher>
Repository URLs containing the template name	updated with <identifier>

Also scan README.md for the template title/description and replace with the extension's display name and description.

Use targeted edits — do not reformat or rewrite files beyond the placeholder substitutions.

Step 4: Install Dependencies

cd <project-dir> && pnpm install

Step 5: Open in VS Code

code <project-dir>

Tell the user the project is ready and remind them to:

• Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host and test the bundled "Hello World" command
• Run pnpm compile to type-check and bundle
• Update the marketplace category, keywords, and icon in package.json before publishing
• Run pnpm package to produce a .vsix for local install, pnpm vsce publish to publish