Kylin CMake Workflow
Kylin CMake Workflow is a community-maintained CMake extension from KylinIdeTeam for Visual Studio Code. It is based on the upstream ms-vscode.cmake-tools project, but is distributed as a separate extension with its own maintenance scope, packaging choices, and integration targets. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
This extension is intended for teams that prefer a clangd-first C/C++ workflow. It is also part of the KylinIdeTeam.kylin-cpp-pack extension pack, and installing that extension pack is the recommended setup for the full C/C++ experience. If you install this extension, disable the official ms-vscode.cmake-tools extension to avoid command and feature overlap.
Major Changes and Enhancements
- No runtime dependency on
ms-vscode.cpptools
- CMake and CMakeCache syntax highlighting and language-service settings (
cmake.enableLanguageServices, cmake.languageServerOnlyMode) have been removed from this extension; install the CMake IntelliSense extension to get CMake language support
- On Windows, if a quick-debug launch would normally auto-generate a
cppvsdbg configuration (MSVC-style toolchain, no cmake.debugConfig.type set), the launch is intercepted and a dialog is shown instead, offering to install CodeLLDB, write a CodeLLDB-based cmake.debugConfig to the workspace, or open the debug-configuration documentation
CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS is always appended to the CMake invocation at configure time, including in CMake Presets mode, unless the preset or cmake.configureArgs already sets it- A fork-private API is exposed at
getApi(1000) (separate from the upstream versioned slots). It adds getCompileCommand(uri) — which resolves a compile command from the CMake code model for any source or header file — and an onCompileCommandsChanged event. Project-lookup also falls back to longest-prefix path matching so files outside the immediate source root are handled correctly
- On Windows, configure presets that specify a Ninja generator but omit
CMAKE_C_COMPILER / CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER now trigger Visual Studio developer-environment probing, the same way presets with an explicit cl compiler do
- Telemetry is disabled
Installation
To install this extension, follow these steps:
- Open the Extensions view in VS Code (
Ctrl+Shift+X).
- Search for
KylinIdeTeam.kylin-cmake-tools.
- Click
Install.
Additionally, install the KylinIdeTeam.kylin-cpp-pack extension pack for tighter integration with the surrounding C/C++ tooling.
Upstream and Support
This repository tracks and adapts upstream CMake Tools behavior where it makes sense for the Kylin distribution. Bugs, packaging changes, and feature requests for this extension should be reported to the Kylin repository, not to the Microsoft extension team.
Important doc links
Some of the links below point to upstream Microsoft documentation for general CMake and VS Code usage.
Issues? Questions? Feature requests?
PLEASE, if you experience any problems, have any questions, or have an idea
for a new feature, create an issue on the GitHub page!
