Task Buttons VSCode Extension

A VSCode extension that adds configurable task buttons to the status bar for quick execution of tasks defined in your workspace's tasks.json.

Features

• Workspace-specific configuration: Each workspace can have its own set of task buttons
• Configurable buttons: Customize button names, icons, and tooltips
• Live configuration updates: Changes to the configuration file are automatically applied
• Task integration: Executes tasks directly from your workspace's tasks.json

Setup

1. Install the extension
2. Create a .vscode/task-buttons.json file in your workspace root
3. Configure your task buttons (see configuration below)
4. The buttons will automatically appear in the status bar

Configuration

Create a .vscode/task-buttons.json file in your workspace with the following structure:

{
  "buttons": [
    {
      "name": "Build",
      "task": "build",
      "icon": "🔨",
      "tooltip": "Build the project"
    },
    {
      "name": "Test",
      "task": "test",
      "icon": "🧪",
      "tooltip": "Run tests"
    },
    {
      "name": "Start",
      "task": "dev",
      "icon": "▶️"
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

• name (required): Display name for the button
• task (required): Name of the task from tasks.json to execute
• icon (optional): Icon to display before the button name (emoji or text)
• tooltip (optional): Tooltip text when hovering over the button

Example Workspace Setup

1. tasks.json

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm run build"
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm test"
    },
    {
      "label": "dev",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm run dev"
    }
  ]
}

2. task-buttons.json

{
  "buttons": [
    {
      "name": "Build",
      "task": "build",
      "icon": "🔨",
      "tooltip": "Build the project"
    },
    {
      "name": "Test",
      "task": "test",
      "icon": "🧪",
      "tooltip": "Run all tests"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dev Server",
      "task": "dev",
      "icon": "🚀",
      "tooltip": "Start development server"
    }
  ]
}

Commands

The extension provides the following commands:

• Task Buttons: Refresh - Manually refresh the task buttons (useful if configuration changes aren't detected)

How It Works

1. The extension loads on VSCode startup
2. It looks for .vscode/task-buttons.json in the current workspace
3. For each button configuration, it creates a status bar item
4. When clicked, the button executes the corresponding task from tasks.json
5. The extension watches for changes to the configuration file and updates buttons automatically

Development

To set up the extension for development:

1. Clone the repository
2. Run npm install to install dependencies
3. Open in VSCode and press F5 to launch a new Extension Development Host
4. Test the extension in the development environment

Requirements

• VSCode version 1.74.0 or higher
• Workspace with tasks.json file containing the tasks you want to execute

License

MIT