[DEPRECATED] vs-cron

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension that runs tasks periodically.

The extension is now marked as DEPRECATED ... it is RECOMMENDED to use vscode-powertools by e.GO Digital.

If you have suggestions and other kind of issues for that new extension, feel free to open an issue here.

Table of contents

1. Install
2. How to use
   • Settings
     • Jobs
       • Commands
       • Scripts
   • Commands
3. Documentation

Install [↑]

Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter:

ext install vs-cron

Or search for things like vs-cron in your editor.

How to use [↑]

Settings [↑]

Open (or create) your settings.json in your .vscode subfolder of your workspace.

Add a cron.jobs section:

{
    "cron.jobs": {
    }
}

Jobs [↑]

{
    "cron.jobs": {
        "jobs": [
            {
                "name": "My AutoSave using CronTab format",
                "description": "Saves all opened files all 30 seconds.",
                
                "time": "*/30 * * * * *",
                "action": "workbench.action.files.saveAll"
            },
            
            {
                "name": "My Script using specific date",
                "description": "Runs a script at a specific time.",
                
                "format": "date",
                "time": "1979-09-05 23:09:00",
                "action": {
                    "type": "script",
                    "script": "./my-cron-script.js"
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Actions [↑]

The action can be a string, for executing a command, or an object with a type property:

Commands [↑]

{
    "cron.jobs": {
        "jobs": [
            {
                "name": "My AutoSave",
                "description": "Saves all opened files all 5 minutes.",
                
                "time": "*/5 * * * *",
                "action": {
                    "type": "command",
                    "command": "workbench.action.files.saveAll"
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

The action property has the following format:

Scripts [↑]

{
    "cron.jobs": {
        "globals": "Marcel K! Marcel K! Marcel K!",
    
        "jobs": [
            {
                "name": "My Script",
                "description": "Runs a script every minute.",

                "action": {
                    "type": "script",
                    "script": "./my-cron-script.js",
                    
                    "options": "TM",
                    "state": 23979
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

The action property has the following format:

The ./my-cron-script.js script file must have a public / exported tick() function:

exports.tick = function(args) {
    // access VS Code API (s. https://code.visualstudio.com/Docs/extensionAPI/vscode-api)
    var vscode = require('vscode');

    // access Node.js API provided by VS Code
    // s.  (s. https://nodejs.org/api/)
    var fs = require('fs');

    // access an own module
    var myModule = require('./my-module.js');

    // access a module used by the extension:
    // s. https://mkloubert.github.io/vs-cron/modules/_helpers_.html
    var helpers = args.require('./helpers');

    // access a module that is part of the extentsion
    // s. https://github.com/mkloubert/vs-cron/blob/master/package.json
    var moment = args.require('moment');
    
    // access the global data from the settings
    // 
    // from the example above this is: "Marcel K! Marcel K! Marcel K!"
    var globals = args.globals;

    // access the data from the settings
    // 
    // from the example above this is: "TM"
    var opts = args.options;

    // share / store data (while current session)...
    // ... for this script
    var myState = args.state;  // 23979 at the beginning (s. settings above)
    args.state = new Date();
    // ... with other scripts of this type
    args.globalState['myScript'] = new Date();
    
    // access permanent data storages
    // s. https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/blob/master/src/vs/workbench/common/memento.ts
    var myAppWideValue = args.appState.get('myAppValue');  // app wide
    args.workspaceState.update('myWorkspaceValue', 'New workspace wide value');  // workspace wide

    // share data between two executions
    var prevVal = args.previousValue;  // data from the previous execution
    args.nextValue = 'This is a value only for the next execution';  // data for the next execution
    
    // registers for a one-time event
    args.once('myEvent', function(v) {
        // 'v' should be 'Anders Hejlsberg'
        // if upcoming 'args.emit()' is called
        args.log("From 'myEvent': " + v);
    });
    
    // emit 'myEvent' event (s. above)
    args.emit('myEvent', 'Anders Hejlsberg');

    // open HTML document in new tab (for reports e.g.)
    args.openHtml('<html>This is an HTML document</html>', 'My HTML document').then(function() {
        // HTML opened
    }, function(err) {
        // opening HTML document failed
    });

    // deploys 'index.html' to 'My SFTP server'
    // s. https://github.com/mkloubert/vs-deploy
    args.deploy(['./index.html'], ['My SFTP server']).then(function() {
        // file deployed
    }, function(err) {
        // deployment failed
    });

    // ...
}

The args parameter uses the JobScriptModuleExecutorArguments interface.

You can return a number (sync execution), a Promise or nothing (default exit code 0).

Commands [↑]

Press F1 to open the list of commands and enter one of the following commands:

Documentation [↑]

The full API documentation can be found here.