Vscode Extension

Building + publishing a VS Code extension

A VS Code extension is a TypeScript module on the Extension API (package.json manifest with contributes, activationEvents, main). Source in integrations/<name>/. Publish to two marketplaces from one .vsix: the Visual Studio Marketplace (vsce) and Open VSX (ovsx — what Cursor / Windsurf / VSCodium / Gitpod install from). Command playbook: pooriaarab/scripts scripts/vscode-extension/README.md.

The trap that segfaults packaging: Node version

vsce package / vsce publish / ovsx publish run an esbuild-based bundler that segfaults on Node 22 and 25 (exit 139, no useful error). Use Node 20 LTS (/opt/homebrew/opt/node@20/bin on PATH, or nvm use 20). Same class of failure as several other CLIs — if packaging dies silently, check Node first.

The other traps

1. vsce rejects SVG in README.md. vsce package errors "SVGs are restricted in README.md" if the README embeds any .svg image. Use PNG, or remove the image. It also warns on a missing repository/license — add both to package.json to keep the listing clean.
2. package.json needs publisher. The publisher field = the Marketplace publisher id / the Open VSX namespace. Set it before packaging.
3. The VS Code Marketplace publisher form fights automation. Creating a publisher at marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage/createpublisher is a React form whose Create button doesn't reliably submit via browser automation (coordinate scaling + trusted-event issues), and it needs a Microsoft-account login + an Azure DevOps PAT (scope: Marketplace → Manage) for vsce publish -p <PAT>. Create the publisher + PAT by hand — it's a 5-minute human step, not worth automating.
4. Open VSX is the easy path. GitHub login at open-vsx.org, sign the one-time Eclipse Publisher Agreement, mint an access token — then it's fully headless.

Build + package

export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/node@20/bin:$PATH"   # Node 20
npm install && npm run compile
npx @vscode/vsce package                             # -> <name>-<version>.vsix

Publish

Open VSX (headless, do this one first):

npx ovsx create-namespace <publisher> -p <OVSX_TOKEN>   # once
npx ovsx publish <name>-<version>.vsix -p <OVSX_TOKEN>   # -> live for Cursor/Windsurf/VSCodium/Gitpod

VS Code Marketplace (after the human publisher + PAT exist):

npx @vscode/vsce publish -p <AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT>

Store the tokens in the product .env.local (OVSX_TOKEN, VSCE_PAT), never commit.

Related skills

• raycast-extension — the other dev-tool command surface (needs store screenshots, unlike this).
• marketplace-app-hosting — extensions don't need hosting; they're published bundles.