Status Bar Parameter

Pick a value once in the status bar, then reuse that value in every task, launch config, or .code-workspace entry that references the parameter.

Minimal tasks.json example:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "build",
            "type": "process",
            "command": "./build.sh",
            "args": ["${input:target}"],
            "problemMatcher": []
        }
    ],
    "inputs": [
        {
            "id": "target",
            "type": "command",
            "command": "statusBarParam.get.target",
            "args": ["x86_64", "armv7", "aarch64"]
        }
    ]
}

Switch target to aarch64 in the status bar, and the task runs as:

./build.sh aarch64

Nothing else changes: the build script, the launch config, and any other task that references ${input:target} all follow the one selection.

Configuration

Add a parameter with Status Bar Parameter: Add Parameter or from the Status Bar Parameter view in the activity bar. The wizard asks for the target file, type, id, values or shell command, and optional advanced settings. You can also insert a complete example and edit it in JSON.

Parameters can live in:

• tasks.json, including global user tasks
• launch.json
• *.code-workspace

Select a value by clicking its status-bar item or running Status Bar Parameter: Change Selection. Selections persist across restarts, and the extension works in remote windows.

To change or remove a parameter, edit or delete its entry in the inputs section of the configuration file it lives in.

Use the selected value with VS Code variable substitution:

• ${input:<id>} works only in the tasks/launch input scope that defines the parameter.
• ${command:statusBarParam.get.<id>} works from any configuration file.

Parameter ids must use only letters, digits, _, ., or -, and must be unique across all configuration files because they share one command namespace.

Advanced Configuration

The extension reads VS Code inputs entries whose type is "command" and whose command is statusBarParam.get.<id>, matching the input id. Configure parameter behavior under args.

Value Shapes

Array parameters can use these value shapes:

• Plain values return and display the same string.

  "args": ["x86_64", "armv7", "aarch64"]
  

• Display labels show a friendly label while returning the raw value. Plain values and display-labelled values can be mixed.

  "args": [
      "x86_64",
      { "value": "aarch64-linux-gnu", "displayValue": "$(rocket) ARM64 (Linux)" }
  ]
  

• Named/map outputs let one selection drive several returned values. They cannot be mixed with plain or display-labelled values, have no keyless reference, and must be read per key with ${command:statusBarParam.get.<id>.<key>}.

  {
      "id": "compiler",
      "type": "command",
      "command": "statusBarParam.get.compiler",
      "args": {
          "values": [
              { "displayValue": "gcc", "value": { "cc": "gcc", "cxx": "g++" } },
              { "displayValue": "clang", "value": { "cc": "clang", "cxx": "clang++" } }
          ]
      }
  }
  

  "options": {
      "env": {
          "CC": "${command:statusBarParam.get.compiler.cc}",
          "CXX": "${command:statusBarParam.get.compiler.cxx}"
      }
  }
  

Tip: A displayValue can embed VS Code product icons using the $(icon-name) syntax — e.g. "$(rocket) Production", or $(sync~spin) to animate.

Options

Set these on the parameter's args object:

• canPickMany: select multiple values.
• joinSeparator: join multiple selected values during substitution. Defaults to a single space. It is used verbatim, so write a real character rather than an escape — "\n", not "\\n". (The wizard interprets a typed \n, \t, \r, or \\ once and stores the character it denotes.)
• initialSelection: value(s) used before any selection is stored. Use the raw value for plain/display-labelled values and the displayValue for named/map values.
• showName: override whether this parameter shows its id in the status bar.
• showSelection: override whether this parameter shows the selected value in the status bar.

Example:

{
    "id": "targets",
    "type": "command",
    "command": "statusBarParam.get.targets",
    "args": {
        "values": ["x86_64", "armv7", "aarch64"],
        "canPickMany": true,
        "joinSeparator": ",",
        "initialSelection": ["x86_64", "aarch64"],
        "showName": true
    }
}

With that selection, ${input:targets} substitutes to x86_64,aarch64 — still a single argument (see Argument Boundaries).

Command Parameters

Command parameters build the pick list from shell output.

{
    "id": "branch",
    "type": "command",
    "command": "statusBarParam.get.branch",
    "args": {
        "shellCmd": "git branch --format=%(refname:short)",
        "cwd": ".",
        "separator": "\n"
    }
}

• shellCmd is required.
• cwd sets the working directory for the shell command.
• separator splits command output into selectable values. Without it, output is split on newlines.
• Command parameters produce plain string values, not named/map outputs.

Settings

• statusBarParam.showNames (default false): show each parameter id before its selected value. A parameter with no visible selection still shows its greyed id so the status-bar item remains identifiable.
• statusBarParam.showSelections (default true): show selected values in the status bar.

Argument Boundaries

VS Code expands ${input:<id>} or ${command:...} to one string, and each element of a task's args array is passed as one argument. A multi-select join is one argument too.

To produce multiple shell-split words, reference the parameter in a shell task's command string and quote carefully, or pass separate values through options.env or separate args elements.