vscode-hacker-meta

Meta tooling for hacking VS Code extensions: pack a project and install the VSIX into every install CLI available on the machine — native VS Code, code-server, and the Remote-SSH server (when run on the remote host).

Usage

npx vscode-hacker-meta pack <extension-dir> [--out <dir>]
npx vscode-hacker-meta install <vsix-file> [--post-install-script <path>]

• pack <dir> — packs the extension with vsce (which runs its vscode:prepublish build) and prints the produced VSIX path (default output: <dir>/build/).
• install <vsix-file> — installs the given VSIX through every install CLI on the machine. The path must be specified explicitly; nothing is discovered.
• --post-install-script <path> — optional executable invoked as script <installed-extension-dir> after each successful install to verify the package. Must be registered explicitly; nothing is auto-discovered. A non-executable script (e.g. 644 after a fresh clone) is run via bash.

Example:

npx vscode-hacker-meta pack ./
npx vscode-hacker-meta install build/vscode-hacker-markdown-0.0.1.vsix \
  --post-install-script tools/post_install.sh

How install works

1. The target folder name (<publisher>.<name>-<version>) is read from the VSIX's extension.vsixmanifest, so any extension's VSIX works.
2. The VSIX is installed through every CLI that exists on the machine:
   • code (native) → ~/.vscode/extensions — a PATH code that is the Remote-SSH shim (lives under ~/.vscode-server/) is skipped; it is handled as the server install below.
   • code-server → ${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/code-server/extensions
   • remote-cli → ~/.vscode-server/extensions (newest of both server layouts: cli/servers/*/server/bin/remote-cli/code and bin/*/bin/remote-cli/code)
3. The install arg order matters: --install-extension <vsix> --force (a --force before the value makes VS Code's CLI ignore the option).
4. Each install is verified (extension dir exists) and the registered post-install script runs; a CLI that fails is a warning when another install succeeded. The command fails only if nothing was installed.
5. If a CLI forwards the install to a connected VS Code instance instead of installing locally (a common remote-cli behavior outside a real VS Code terminal), the dir check catches it and reports a warning.

Development

npm install
npm run build   # tsc -> dist/
npx . pack <path-to-extension-repo>
npx . install <path-to-extension-repo>/build/<name>-<version>.vsix

Requires vsce (global, or installed anywhere) to pack; falls back to npx @vscode/vsce.