Velo Assistant for VS Code

Velo Assistant is a Visual Studio Code extension that connects your editor to your Velo backend and Velo CLI. It lets you generate new Flutter projects from reusable, backend-managed feature blocks and templates instead of rebuilding the same boilerplate every time.

Why Velo Assistant

• Starting a new app usually means copying an old project, cleaning it up, and wiring dependencies again.
• Teams repeatedly rebuild the same navigation, auth, API clients, and folder layouts across many apps.
• Keeping “starter projects” up to date is painful; most drift away from your current best practices.

Velo Assistant flips this:

• Your Velo backend owns the catalog of feature blocks and templates.
• The Velo CLI applies those blocks into a fresh Flutter project.
• The VS Code extension makes all of this available from inside your editor, in a single terminal-driven flow.

Instead of hand-wiring new apps, you reuse blocks that are already aligned with your current architecture, packages, and conventions.

Features

• Launch the Velo CLI generator directly from VS Code.
• Generate new Flutter projects from Velo feature blocks and templates.
• Use backend-managed dependencies so code stays aligned with your catalog.
• Run the full Velo CLI in the integrated terminal without leaving the editor.
• Works with the same Velo backend you already use for the Android Studio plugin.

Requirements

• A running Velo backend (for example: http://recalled.cloud:9999).
• Velo CLI installed and available on your PATH (the velocli binary).
• Flutter SDK installed and available on your PATH.

Getting started

1. Install the extension

   • Download the .vsix file and install it via Extensions → … → Install from VSIX.
   • After installation, reload VS Code when prompted.

2. Configure the extension

   • Open Settings → Extensions → Velo Assistant.
   • Set:
     • Velo: Cli Path to the velocli command (for example velocli or a full path).
     • Velo: Terminal Name if you want a custom name for the integrated terminal.

3. Open a workspace

   • Open a folder where you want the new Flutter project to be generated.

4. Run the Flutter project wizard

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) to open the Command Palette.
   • Run Velo: Start Flutter Project Wizard.
   • A terminal named “Velo” opens in the current workspace folder.
   • The Velo CLI wizard starts (velocli start --ide vscode), connects to your backend, and loads your catalog.
   • Follow the prompts to:
     • Set project name and package.
     • Choose platforms (Android, iOS, web, desktop).
     • Select feature blocks and templates from your Velo catalog.
   • When the wizard completes, your Flutter project is created in the workspace folder.

5. Use the Velo CLI directly

   • Run Velo: Open Velo CLI in Terminal from the Command Palette.
   • A Velo terminal opens and runs the velocli command so you can use other commands without leaving VS Code.

Typical workflows

• Bootstrap a new app

  • Decide the feature set in your Velo admin dashboard.
  • In VS Code, run Velo: Start Flutter Project Wizard.
  • Generate a project with the selected blocks and templates.

• Standardize team starters

  • Keep your starter architecture and dependencies in Velo blocks and templates.
  • Developers use the extension to generate new projects that always start from the same baseline.

Extension settings

Velo Assistant contributes the following settings:

• velo.cliPath
  Command used to invoke the Velo CLI. Default: velocli.

• velo.terminalName
  Name of the integrated terminal created for Velo commands. Default: Velo.

Commands

• Velo: Start Flutter Project Wizard
  Starts the interactive Velo CLI wizard in an integrated terminal and generates a Flutter project using your Velo catalog.

• Velo: Open Velo CLI in Terminal
  Opens a Velo terminal and runs the velocli command so you can use the CLI manually.

Why this plugin

If you frequently build Flutter apps, Velo Assistant helps you:

• Cut down on repeated boilerplate when starting new projects.
• Keep new apps aligned with your latest architecture and package choices.
• Use a single, backend-driven catalog across tools (Android Studio plugin, CLI, and now VS Code).

By combining a backend-managed catalog, a powerful CLI, and an editor extension, Velo Assistant gives you a repeatable way to spin up production-ready Flutter project foundations directly from Visual Studio Code.