MDM VS Code Extension
A Visual Studio Code extension that surfaces your MDM CLI data directly in the sidebar.
Manage your markdown-driven Skills, Agents, and Rules through the VS Code UI, with MDM running under the hood.
Features
- Activity Bar icon - dedicated MDM panel in the left sidebar
- Three collapsible sections: Skills · Agents · Rules — each grouped by Global / Project scope
- Skill management - find, install, update, audit, and remove skills without leaving the editor
- Agent management - add and remove configured agents per scope; warns when an agent's rules file isn't linked
- Rules management - link / unlink agent rule files to
AGENTS.md from the sidebar
- Doctor in the status bar - one-click
$(pulse) MDM button to run mdm doctor and stream output to a channel
- Live data fetched from the MDM CLI on demand; per-section refresh button reloads without restarting VS Code
- Copy name context menu action on any item
- Graceful error handling - shows a clear message and settings shortcut when the CLI is not found
Requirements
The MDM CLI must be installed and reachable in your PATH:
# verify
mdm --version
If you installed the CLI to a non-standard location, set mdm.cliPath in VS Code settings.
Extension Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
mdm.cliPath |
"mdm" |
Path to the mdm executable. Override when the CLI is not in PATH. |
CLI Commands Used
The extension drives Skills, Agents, and Rules entirely through mdm <subcommand> --json. Output is validated against per-shape type guards before being rendered, so an unfamiliar CLI response surfaces as an in-tree error rather than a silent failure.
Implementation details are documented in AGENTS.md.
Development
Requires Bun ≥ 1.x.
git clone https://github.com/sethcarney/mdm-vscode.git
cd mdm-vscode
bun install
bun run compile
Press F5 in VS Code to open the Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.
Scripts
| Command |
Description |
bun run compile |
Compile TypeScript to out/ |
bun run watch |
Watch mode |
bun run lint |
Run ESLint |
bun run format |
Apply Prettier formatting |
bun run format:check |
Verify Prettier formatting (CI runs this) |
bun run package |
Package as .vsix |
Releasing
Bump the version in package.json and push to main:
# edit package.json: "version": "1.2.0"
git commit -am "chore: release v1.2.0"
git push origin main
The release workflow detects the new version, packages the extension, generates SLSA provenance, and creates a GitHub release with the .vsix attached. Download the .vsix from the release and upload it manually to the VS Code Marketplace.
License
Apache-2.0
