Node.js Runner - VS Code Extension

A powerful Visual Studio Code extension for executing JavaScript and TypeScript files with a simple play button and integrated console output.

✨ Features

🎯 Core Functionality

▶️ One-Click Execution: Play button directly in the editor toolbar
📊 Integrated Console: All output displayed directly in VS Code
🔄 Real-time Output: Live streaming of program output
⚡ Smart Detection: Automatic recognition of .js and .ts files
🎛️ Flexible: Execute current file or app.js
📋 Side Panel: Dedicated panel with file explorer and quick actions

🛠️ Advanced Features

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts:
- Ctrl+F5: Execute current file
- Ctrl+Shift+F5: Execute app.js
- Ctrl+Shift+N: Open Node.js Runner panel
- Ctrl+Shift+X: Stop running process
- Ctrl+Shift+W: Toggle watch mode
- Ctrl+Shift+H: Show execution history
🔄 Watch Mode: Auto-restart on file changes with live monitoring
📊 Execution Tracking: Time measurement and detailed execution history
🎨 Status Bar Integration: Live status with watch mode indicator
🛑 Process Control: Stop running processes with smart detection
🧹 Output Management: Clear and manage output with history
⚙️ Configurable: Customizable Node.js settings
🌐 Multi-language: English and German interface

📋 Side Panel

📁 File Explorer: Browse all JavaScript/TypeScript files in workspace
⚡ Quick Actions: One-click access to all commands
⚙️ Settings: View and modify extension settings
🔄 Auto-refresh: Automatically updates when files change

🚀 Quick Start

Installation: Install the extension from VS Code Marketplace
Open File: Open a .js or .ts file
Execute: Click the ▶️ play button in the toolbar or use Ctrl+F5
View Output: See results in the "Node.js Runner" output channel
Panel Access: Click the Node.js Runner icon in the activity bar

📋 Usage

Play Button Options

Action	Shortcut	Description
Run Current File	`Ctrl+F5`	Executes the currently opened file
Run app.js	`Ctrl+Shift+F5`	Executes app.js from workspace root
Stop Running	`Ctrl+Shift+X`	Stops the running process
Toggle Watch Mode	`Ctrl+Shift+W`	Auto-restart on file changes
Execution History	`Ctrl+Shift+H`	View last 10 execution runs
Clear Output	-	Clears the console
Open Panel	`Ctrl+Shift+N`	Opens the Node.js Runner side panel

Supported File Types

✅ JavaScript (.js) - Direct execution with Node.js
✅ TypeScript (.ts) - Automatic compilation with ts-node

Right-click on JavaScript/TypeScript files for quick access:

▶️ Run Node.js File
▶️ Run app.js

⚙️ Configuration

Go to VS Code Settings and search for "Node.js Runner":

{
  "nodejs-runner.nodeExecutable": "node",
  "nodejs-runner.clearOutputBeforeRun": true,
  "nodejs-runner.showRunningIndicator": true,
  "nodejs-runner.autoSaveBeforeRun": true,
  "nodejs-runner.nodeArguments": [],
  "nodejs-runner.language": "en"
}

Language Settings

English: "nodejs-runner.language": "en" (default)
German: "nodejs-runner.language": "de"

Advanced Node.js Arguments

{
  "nodejs-runner.nodeArguments": [
    "--experimental-modules",
    "--max-old-space-size=4096"
  ]
}

🎯 Examples

Example app.js

console.log('🚀 Hello from app.js!');
console.log('📅 Current time:', new Date().toLocaleString());

setTimeout(() => {
    console.log('✅ Processing completed!');
    console.log('- Version:', process.version);
    console.log('- Platform:', process.platform);
}, 1000);

Example TypeScript

interface User {
    name: string;
    age: number;
}

const user: User = {
    name: 'John Doe',
    age: 30
};

console.log('👤 User:', user);
console.log('🎉 TypeScript is running perfectly!');

🔧 TypeScript Support

For TypeScript files you need ts-node:

# Global installation
npm install -g ts-node

# Or project-local
npm install ts-node --save-dev

The extension automatically tries:

ts-node (globally installed)
npx ts-node (project-local)

📊 Output Channel Features

Formatted Output

🔄 Status Indicators: Clearly recognizable symbols
📁 Path Display: Complete file path
⚙️ Configuration: Node.js version and arguments
✅/❌ Exit Codes: Success/error status

Example Output

🔄 Running: app.js
📁 Path: C:\\workspace\\app.js
⚙️ Node: node
--------------------------------------------------
🚀 Hello from app.js!
📅 Current time: 8/17/2025, 3:30:45 PM
✅ Processing completed!
--------------------------------------------------
✅ Process completed successfully (exit code: 0)

Scripts

npm run compile         # Compile TypeScript
npm run watch          # Watch mode for development
npm run package        # Production build
npm run lint           # Run ESLint
npm run test           # Run tests

📂 Project Structure

node-js-engine/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts        # Main extension code
│   ├── panels.ts          # Side panel providers
│   ├── i18n/              # Internationalization
│   │   ├── index.ts       # I18n manager
│   │   ├── en.ts          # English translations
│   │   └── de.ts          # German translations
│   └── test/              # Tests
├── resources/
│   └── icon.svg           # Extension icon
├── package.json           # Extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript config
├── webpack.config.js      # Webpack config
└── README.md              # This file

🐛 Troubleshooting

Node.js Not Found

# Install Node.js or configure path
"nodejs-runner.nodeExecutable": "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe"

TypeScript Errors

# Install ts-node
npm install -g ts-node

Permission Errors (Linux/Mac)

# Node.js executable permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/node

🤝 Contributing

Fork the repository
Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Commit changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
Push to branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open pull request

📄 License

MIT License

📧 Contact & Support

Website: pyengine.de
Email: admin@pyengine.de
Bug Tracker: bug.pyengine.de/program/5
Support: Create an issue on GitHub

🎉 Changelog

0.0.3 (Current)

🔄 Watch Mode: Auto-restart on file changes (Ctrl+Shift+W)
📊 Execution Time Tracking: Display execution duration for each run
📋 Execution History: View last 10 runs with details (Ctrl+Shift+H)
🎯 Enhanced Status Bar: Watch mode indicator and improved UI
⌨️ New Shortcuts: Additional keyboard shortcuts for new features
🛠️ Improved Panels: Enhanced side panel with new actions

0.0.2

🔄 Dynamic Play/Stop Button: Button changes based on process state
🛑 Smart Process Detection: Automatic detection of running/stopped processes
🎨 Monochrome Icons: VS Code Activity Bar compliant icons
🐛 Bug Tracker Integration: Direct link to bug reporting system
⚙️ Fixed Configuration: Properly registered settings in VS Code

0.0.1

✨ Initial Release
▶️ Play Button Integration
📊 Output Channel Support
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
⚙️ Configuration Options
🔄 Process Management
🎯 TypeScript Support
📋 Side Panel Integration
🌐 Multi-language Support (EN/DE)

💡 Roadmap

[ ] 🔧 Environment Variables Support
[ ] 📦 NPM Script Integration
[ ] 🧪 Testing Framework Integration
[ ] 🔍 Debugging Support
[ ] 📈 Performance Monitoring
[ ] 🌐 Remote Execution

Developed with ❤️ for the VS Code Community

Feedback and feature requests are welcome! Create an issue on GitHub.

PyEngine Node.js Runner

RL-Dev