Athena Workspace for VS Code
Keep the standalone Athena Companion if you use it. This extension is an additional connection method and does not launch or require that EXE.
Install on the laptop
- Download
athena-vscode.vsix from your Athena site.
- In desktop VS Code, open Extensions, choose the
... menu, then Install from VSIX.... Select the downloaded file. Review VS Code's publisher/trust prompts. This is a local VSIX, not a Marketplace publication or a verified publisher listing.
- Open your existing project folder (for example
C:\xampp\htdocs\mnp) and trust the workspace if appropriate.
- Run Athena: Connect a Folder from the Command Palette. Choose an open folder or browse for another folder using VS Code's folder picker.
- Confirm the server and folder. The extension opens your Athena site in the browser automatically. Sign in if needed, then approve the account/folder connection in VS Code.
The folder appears in Athena's sidebar and can be added to existing project groups. Athena: Connect Workspace Folders connects each folder in a multi-root workspace. No full-project upload is performed; requested file contents and command output travel to your Athena server and may be included in replies, stored conversations, or enabled memory features.
- List/read/search/create/edit tools operate in the connected folder. Traversal, symlinks/junctions, secret paths and Windows device paths are rejected.
- Edits use VS Code's editor APIs, save to the original file, show the edited document, and preserve previous disk contents under
.athena-backups. Unsaved editor changes cause an edit to be rejected until you save or discard them.
- Each shell command requires a VS Code approval showing the exact command and working directory. Windows uses PowerShell; other desktop hosts use
/bin/sh. Commands run with your account's permissions, so an approved command can access paths beyond the folder. Commands time out after two minutes and output is limited.
- Workspace Trust is required. The extension does not auto-connect on startup or execute commands on activation. Untrusted/virtual workspaces are unsupported.
- The Athena status-bar item shows connection count and lets you disconnect. Athena: Show Activity opens the output log. Logs do not print pairing codes or file contents; command output is logged.
- Closing VS Code, removing a folder in Athena, or Athena: Disconnect All Folders ends the connections and cancels active tools. Reconnect after a server restart. No inbound laptop port, separate companion process, registry handler or Windows startup service is installed.
Server and remote hosts
Change Athena: Server URL in user/machine settings if necessary. Only HTTPS origins are accepted. The default is this deployment's Tailscale address; the laptop must be connected to the Tailnet. TLS verification stays enabled.
The extension runs in VS Code's workspace extension host. With remote development, file/command operations run on that extension host, not necessarily your physical laptop. This version accepts filesystem file: folders; virtual URI schemes are rejected. Use a normal local desktop workspace for laptop files.
Build
Use Node 22 or newer, then npm ci, npm test, and npm run package. The output is athena-vscode.vsix. No Marketplace publishing occurs during packaging.
Open the Athena activity-bar icon to see folders connected by this VS Code window, pairing status, and workspace folders available to connect. Use the inline disconnect button to revoke a connection. This view does not list connections from other laptops or server project groups. The Assistant panel is a disabled preview only: no chat, generation, or automatic edits are implemented. Existing Athena browser tools remain available.
