Kilo CLI Launcher

Launch Kilo CLI in a fresh side terminal directly from the editor toolbar.

Kilo CLI Launcher is an unofficial VS Code extension for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It stays deliberately small: one click, one new terminal, no telemetry or background services.

Install from the Visual Studio Marketplace · Install from Open VSX · View the changelog

Quick Start

1. Install the extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace or Open VSX.
2. Install Kilo CLI by following the official Kilo CLI documentation.
3. Open a file and click the Kilo launcher button in the editor title.

Disclaimer This extension is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Kilo or KiloCode. Kilo-related names are used only to identify the compatible CLI. See TRADEMARKS.md.

Features

• Adds a launcher button to the editor title area
• Opens a fresh terminal beside the active editor on every launch
• Uses the active editor workspace when available, with a fallback to the first open workspace folder
• Runs a configurable Kilo CLI command
• Leaves installation decisions to the user and links only to the official Kilo CLI documentation
• Supports quoted Windows executable paths
• Does not collect telemetry, analytics, or personal data

Requirements

• VS Code ^1.103.0
• Kilo CLI available in the integrated terminal environment, or a working custom launch command configured in settings

Configuration

For security, cliCommand is read only from the user-level machine setting or its default. Workspace and workspace-folder overrides are ignored, so a cloned repository cannot replace the command launched from the toolbar. terminalName remains a window-scoped presentation setting.

Use the Command Palette to open the extension settings:

• Kilo CLI launcher: Open Settings

Examples:

Default command:

"kilocodeCliLauncher.cliCommand": "kilo"

Launch through npx:

"kilocodeCliLauncher.cliCommand": "npx --yes @kilocode/cli"

Windows executable path with spaces:

"kilocodeCliLauncher.cliCommand": "\"C:\\Program Files\\Kilo CLI\\kilo.cmd\""

Windows executable path with arguments:

"kilocodeCliLauncher.cliCommand": "\"C:\\Program Files\\Kilo CLI\\kilo.cmd\" --workspace \"C:\\Workspaces\\Sample Project\""

How It Works

Each launch creates a new terminal beside the current editor and sends the configured command immediately. Existing terminals are not reused.

When possible, the launcher opens the terminal in the workspace folder of the active editor. If the active editor is outside the workspace, it falls back to the first workspace folder in the current VS Code window.

Launching is available only in trusted workspaces. The launcher runs the configured command only in VS Code's integrated terminal; review the workspace and command before you trust or launch it.

The extension does not install Kilo CLI, create installer scripts, or inspect shell execution. If kilo is unavailable, use the terminal error and open the official Kilo CLI documentation to choose and run an installation method yourself.

Troubleshooting

The terminal opens but kilo is not recognized

Follow the official Kilo CLI documentation, then confirm that kilo works in a regular integrated terminal.

If your setup relies on shell initialization, restart VS Code after installation so new terminals inherit the updated environment.

Nothing happens after clicking the button

Check kilocodeCliLauncher.cliCommand and verify that the same command works in a regular terminal.

Custom executable path on Windows

Quote executable paths that contain spaces. This is required for commands such as "C:\Program Files\Kilo CLI\kilo.cmd".

Custom launch commands

Commands such as npx --yes @kilocode/cli are supported.

Multi-root workspaces

The launcher prefers the workspace folder of the active editor. To control where Kilo starts in a multi-root window, open a file from the target workspace before clicking the toolbar button.

Privacy

Kilo CLI Launcher does not collect telemetry, analytics, or personal data.

Architecture

The runtime intentionally has two small modules:

• src/extension.ts connects VS Code commands, Workspace Trust, settings, and terminal creation.
• src/command-utils.ts contains pure normalization and workspace-resolution helpers covered by Node unit tests.

Compiled CommonJS output is written to out/ for the VS Code extension host. The extension has no production npm dependencies, background services, network client, telemetry, or persistent storage.

Environment Variables

The extension requires no runtime environment variables and does not load .env files. Kilo CLI itself may use its own environment or authentication configuration; follow the official Kilo documentation for those requirements.

For development only, VSCODE_VERSION selects the VS Code build used by the extension-host tests. It defaults to the minimum supported version, 1.103.0; CI also tests the current stable release. Publishing credentials must stay outside the repository and be supplied through the publisher CLI's credential store or protected CI secrets.

Development

Development requires Node.js 22 and npm. Install the exact dependency tree from package-lock.json:

npm ci

Available commands:

Before opening a pull request:

npm run typecheck
npm run check

To test another editor version in PowerShell:

$env:VSCODE_VERSION = 'stable'
npm run test:integration

npm run package creates an ignored .vsix file in the workspace root. Generated out/, .vscode-test/, coverage, logs, local .env files, and package artifacts are intentionally untracked.

The repository includes unit tests, metadata checks, VS Code integration smoke tests, and CI coverage for Windows and Linux.

Release And Deployment

Releases are distributed through the Visual Studio Marketplace and Open VSX. Before publishing:

1. Update package.json, package-lock.json, CITATION.cff, and CHANGELOG.md to the same version and real release date.
2. Run npm ci, npm run audit, and npm run check from a clean checkout.
3. Run npm run package and install the resulting VSIX locally for a final smoke test.
4. Publish the verified artifact with authenticated Marketplace and Open VSX tooling.
5. Create the matching Git tag and GitHub release, then verify both marketplace listings.

CI validates pushes and pull requests but intentionally does not publish releases. Do not commit publisher tokens or place them in .env files.

Support

Open a GitHub issue for bugs and feature requests. For support details, see SUPPORT.md.

Financial support for the independent maintainer is available through GitHub Sponsors: github.com/sponsors/TheStreamCode.

Want one launcher for every agent? Try Super CLI, a single sidebar for Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Grok, Kilo, Antigravity, OpenCode, and more.

License

Released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.