Near Smart Contracts VS Code Extension

A comprehensive VS Code extension for developing, building, testing, and deploying Near Protocol smart contracts in Rust, JavaScript and Typescript

Features

• Multi-language support: Create contracts in Rust, JavaScript, and TypeScript
• Smart contract templates: Quick scaffolding with best practices for all languages
• Advanced build systems: Language-specific optimized build configurations
• Cross-language testing: Comprehensive testing support for all contract types
• Deployment automation: Easy deployment to testnet/mainnet with environment management
• Rich code snippets: Extensive snippet libraries for common patterns in all languages
• Task integration: Built-in VS Code tasks for Near operations
• Toolchain management: Automated setup for Rust, and Node.js environments
• Contract optimization: Production-ready optimization for WASM outputs
• Binding generation: Generate client bindings for contract interaction

🎛️ Integrated Sidebar Panel

• Project Explorer: Quick-access buttons for contract creation, building, and deployment
• Contract Manager: Automatic detection and status tracking of NEAR contracts in your workspace
• Account Manager: Manage NEAR accounts with easy configuration and switching

🔧 Developer Experience

• Task integration: Built-in VS Code tasks for Near operations
• Toolchain management: Automated setup for Rust and Node.js environments
• Contract optimization: Production-ready optimization for WASM outputs
• Binding generation: Generate client bindings for contract interaction
• File system watchers: Auto-refresh contract list when files change

Installation

Prerequisites

Before using this extension, ensure you have the following installed:

1. Node.js (v16 or higher)
2. Near CLI:

   npm install -g near-cli
   

For Rust Contracts:

3. Rust with WASM target:

   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
   rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
   cargo install cargo-near
   cargo install near-cli-rs
   

Installing the Extension

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended):

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Near Studio"
4. Click Install

Manual Installation:

1. Download the latest .vsix file from Releases
2. In VS Code, go to Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Click the "..." menu and select "Install from VSIX..."
4. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Usage

Getting Started with the Sidebar

1. Open the NEAR Studio Sidebar:

• Click the NEAR Studio icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
• Or use Command Palette: "View: Show Near Studio"

2. Project Explorer Panel:

• Click "🚀 Create New Contract" for quick contract creation
• Use "🔨 Build Contract" to build your current contract
• Use "📦 Deploy Contract" for one-click deployment

3. Contract Manager Panel:

• Automatically shows all NEAR contracts in your workspace
• Displays contract type (Rust 🦀, JavaScript/TypeScript 📜)
• Shows build status (✅ Built, ⚠️ Not Built)
• Click any contract to open its folder

4. Account Manager Panel:

• Click "Add Account" to configure NEAR accounts
• Switch between testnet/mainnet accounts
• View currently configured account

Available Commands

All commands are accessible via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and the sidebar:

Contract Creation

• Near: Create New Near Contract - Interactive contract creation wizard
• Near: Create Rust Contract - Create Rust smart contract
• Near: Create JavaScript Contract - Create JavaScript smart contract
• Near: Create TypeScript Contract - Create TypeScript smart contract

Development & Build

• Near: Build Contract - Build the current contract (auto-detects language)
• Near: Test Contract - Run contract tests
• Near: Optimize Contract - Build optimized production version
• Near: Generate Bindings - Generate client interaction code

Deployment & Management

• Near: Deploy Contract - Deploy to Near network
• Near: Initialize Near Project - Set up new Near project

Toolchain Setup

• Near: Setup Rust Toolchain - Install Rust development tools

🔧 Language-Specific Features

Rust Contracts 🦀

• Full near-sdk-rs support with latest features
• NEAR CLI RS integration for modern Rust toolchain
• Optimized build configurations for production deployments
• Comprehensive testing with mock blockchain environment
• Advanced snippets for storage, cross-contract calls, and testing

Snippet Examples:

• near-contract - Complete contract structure
• near-view - View method
• near-call - Call method
• near-payable - Payable method
• near-cross-contract - Cross-contract calls
• near-test - Test module setup

JavaScript/TypeScript Contracts 📜

• Type-safe development with full TypeScript support
• Modern ES6+ syntax with near-sdk-js
• Integrated testing with Jest
• Rich type definitions for all NEAR primitives

Snippet Examples:

• near-contract-js/ts - Contract class structure
• near-view-js/ts - Typed view methods
• near-call-js/ts - Typed call methods
• near-storage-js/ts - Storage collections
• near-cross-contract-js/ts - Promise-based cross-contract calls

📁 Project Structures

Rust Contract

my-rust-contract/
├── Cargo.toml              # Rust package configuration
├── rust-toolchain.toml     # Rust toolchain specification
├── src/
│   └── lib.rs             # Main contract code
├── build.sh               # Build script
├── optimize.sh            # Production optimization
├── deploy.sh              # Deployment script
└── target/                # Build artifacts

JavaScript/TypeScript Contract

my-js-contract/
├── package.json           # NPM package configuration
├── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript configuration (TS only)
├── jest.config.json       # Test configuration
├── src/
│   └── index.js/ts       # Main contract code
├── build/                 # WASM output
├── build.sh              # Build script
└── deploy.sh             # Deployment script

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "cargo: command not found"

   • Install Rust: https://rustup.rs/
   • Add to PATH and restart VS Code

2. "near: command not found"

   • Install NEAR CLI: npm install -g near-cli
   • For Rust: Install cargo install near-cli-rs
   • Restart terminal/VS Code

3. Contracts not showing in sidebar

   • Click the "🔄 Refresh" button in Contract Manager
   • Ensure your project has Cargo.toml or package.json
   • Check that files contain NEAR-related dependencies

4. "wasm32-unknown-unknown target not found"

   • Add target: rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

5. Sidebar not appearing

   • Click the NEAR Studio icon in the Activity Bar
   • Or use Command Palette: "View: Show Near Studio"

Language-Specific Debugging

Rust

• Use cargo check for fast syntax checking
• Enable debug symbols for testing: cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown
• Use RUST_BACKTRACE=1 for detailed error traces

JavaScript/TypeScript

• Enable source maps in near-sdk-js build
• Use VS Code debugger with Node.js configuration
• Check browser console for runtime errors

Performance Optimization

Contract Size Optimization

• Rust: Use opt-level = "z" and LTO
• JS/TS: Minimize dependencies and use tree-shaking

Gas Optimization

• Minimize storage operations
• Use efficient data structures
• Batch operations when possible
• Profile gas usage with NEAR tools

🗺️ Roadmap

• [x] Integrated sidebar panel with Project Explorer, Contract Manager, and Account Manager
• [x] Real-time contract detection with file system watchers
• [x] Contract status tracking (built vs. not built)
• [ ] Advanced debugging support for all languages
• [ ] Visual contract designer with drag-and-drop interface
• [ ] Real-time gas profiling and optimization suggestions
• [ ] Contract security analysis and vulnerability detection
• [ ] Integration with NEAR indexing services
• [ ] Automated contract auditing and best practice validation

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our contributing guidelines and code of conduct.

💬 Support

• Documentation: https://docs.near.org/
• Discord: https://discord.gg/nearprotocol
• Issues: Report on GitHub
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions for feature requests

🚀 Ready to build the future with NEAR? Install Near Studio and start coding smart contracts with the best developer experience on VS Code!