SkipCourse Tracker is a VS Code extension designed to streamline syncing your local coding projects directly to SkipCourse. It aggregates your workspace files and uploads them using automated browser interactions powered by Playwright.
Features
Direct Workspace Syncing: Upload your current project's code files directly to SkipCourse with a single click or command.
Status Bar Integration: Access sync functionality instantly via the status bar item labeled Sync to SkipCourse.
Automated First-time Login: Prompts for login and opens a Playwright browser window to log in to SkipCourse, storing your session profile locally.
Smart Workspace Exclusion: Automatically ignores large dependencies and lockfiles (such as node_modules, go.mod, .git, .lock files) to ensure fast and lightweight uploads.
Automatic Metadata Detection: Infers the upload project name dynamically from your VS Code workspace name.
How It Works
Authentication: On extension activation, the tracker checks for a stored browser profile in your home directory (~/.skipcourse-tracker-profile). If missing, it launches a visible browser window allowing you to log in to SkipCourse.
Aggregation: The extension runs a workspace search (vscode.workspace.findFiles) to gather all relevant code files. It decodes and compiles them into a single formatted payload.
Upload: It automates a headless Playwright browser instance, navigates to the project upload page, populates the project details (workspace name and codebase contents), and submits the project.
Installation
From Source
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/skipcourse-tracker.git
cd skipcourse-tracker
Install dependencies:
npm install
Compile the extension:
npm run compile
Press F5 in VS Code to open a Development Host window with the extension loaded, or package it using vsce:
npx @vscode/vsce package
Commands
This extension contributes the following commands:
skipcourse-tracker.manualUpload (Title: SkipCourse Upload): Synchronizes the active workspace files with SkipCourse. Can be run from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P).
skipcourse-tracker.resetProfile (Title: Reset SkipCourse Profile): Deletes the locally stored Playwright profile (~/.skipcourse-tracker-profile by default or the configured profilePath) and prompts you to re-authenticate.
Requirements
VS Code^1.125.0 or higher.
Playwright browser binaries. Playwright will use Chrome / Chromium depending on the platform settings. If needed, you can install Playwright dependencies by running:
npx playwright install chromium
Extension Settings
The extension now exposes a few optional settings (Preferences → Settings → Extensions → SkipCourse Tracker):
skipcourse-tracker.browserPath (string): Optional path to a local browser executable (Chrome/Chromium/Edge/Brave). If empty, Playwright's bundled browser is used when available.
skipcourse-tracker.profilePath (string): Optional absolute path for storing the persistent Playwright profile. Defaults to ~/.skipcourse-tracker-profile.
skipcourse-tracker.headed (boolean): When true, launches the browser in headed mode (useful for debugging or interactive login). Defaults to false.
These settings are optional — sensible defaults are used when unset.
Known Issues
Please ensure your internet connection is stable when performing a manual sync.
If you run into issues with Playwright browser startup, ensure that your system has the required dependencies to run Chromium.
If you change your account's password or enter it wrong on setup, remove the directory under ~/.skipcourse-tracker-profile to reset the extension and log in again.
