Env Ready
A VS Code extension that shows a fullscreen splash page and a status-bar indicator while waiting for other extensions to finish activating. Hard to miss, auto-closes the moment everything is ready.
Built for GitHub Codespaces / dev containers where the editor window opens before tooling like the Python extension (Pylance) has finished loading — and beginner students don't realise they need to wait before the ▶ Run button appears.
What it looks like
When configured extensions are still activating, the editor area is taken over by a splash page:
🐍
Setting up your environment
Loading the extensions you need to start coding.
This usually takes just a few seconds.
▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ ← animated indeterminate progress bar
⟳ Activating extensions…
💡 This page will close automatically when everything is ready.
A subtle status-bar item also shows ⟳ Environment loading… in the bottom-left.
When all configured extensions are active:
- The splash page closes automatically.
- Status bar flips to
✓ Environment ready for a few seconds.
- A toast notification confirms: "Environment ready — you can start coding!"
Configuration
Add to your workspace .vscode/settings.json or to the settings block in devcontainer.json:
{
"envReady.waitFor": [
"ms-python.python",
"ms-python.vscode-pylance"
]
}
If envReady.waitFor is empty (the default), the extension does nothing. So it's safe to install in any project — it only activates when you opt in.
All settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
envReady.waitFor |
[] |
Array of extension IDs (e.g. "ms-python.python") to wait for. The extension watches each one and only marks itself "ready" when all of them are active. |
envReady.timeoutSeconds |
60 |
Fallback timeout. If extensions still haven't activated after this many seconds, mark "ready" anyway so the indicator doesn't get stuck. |
envReady.loadingText |
"Environment loading…" |
Text shown in the status bar while waiting. |
envReady.readyText |
"Environment ready" |
Text shown once everything is active. |
envReady.showReadyToast |
true |
Whether to pop a toast notification when becoming ready. |
envReady.hideAfterSeconds |
10 |
After becoming ready, hide the status-bar item after this many seconds. Set to 0 to keep it visible forever. |
envReady.showSplash |
true |
Whether to show the fullscreen splash page. Set to false for the status-bar-only experience. |
envReady.splashTitle |
"Setting up your environment" |
Title shown on the splash page. |
envReady.splashMessage |
"Loading the extensions you need to start coding. This usually takes just a few seconds." |
Description text shown on the splash page. |
Compatibility
Works on VS Code Desktop, VS Code in the browser (Codespaces), and vscode.dev. The webview API is identical across all of them.
On Desktop, where extensions are typically pre-loaded, the early-return check usually fires and the splash doesn't even appear. On Codespaces / fresh containers, the splash takes over the editor while extensions stream in.
The splash webview has scripts disabled. All animation is pure CSS — no JavaScript, no remote content, nothing to audit. Safe to install anywhere.
Installing
From the VS Code Marketplace
code --install-extension danielcreggatu.env-ready
Or via the Extensions sidebar in VS Code, or by adding it to a devcontainer.json:
"customizations": {
"vscode": {
"extensions": ["danielcreggatu.env-ready"]
}
}
Issues and feedback
Bug reports and feature requests are welcome at github.com/danielcregg/vscode-env-ready/issues.
License
MIT
