Patchloom for VS Code

The official VS Code extension for Patchloom. Set up your workspace for AI agent workflows in seconds: detect the CLI, generate agent rules, configure MCP servers, and run structured file operations from the command palette.

Install

Install from the VS Code Marketplace or the Open VSX Registry.

Or search for Patchloom in the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).

Get started in 30 seconds

Install the Patchloom CLI (or run Patchloom: Install Patchloom from the command palette)
Open a project and run Patchloom: Setup Workspace

The extension finds the CLI automatically. If it's not on PATH, point patchloom.path to it in settings.

Features

One-click workspace setup

Run Patchloom: Setup Workspace to walk through everything your project needs: binary detection, AGENTS.md generation, and MCP server configuration.

Agent rules generation

Patchloom: Initialize Project generates an AGENTS.md file from patchloom agent-rules. If one already exists, the extension opens a diff so you can merge updates manually.

MCP server configuration

Patchloom: Configure MCP injects the Patchloom MCP server into your editor's config. Supports:

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)
Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)
Windsurf (~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json)

Status bar

The status bar shows binary readiness and CLI version at a glance. Click it to see full diagnostics.

Quick actions

Patchloom: Quick Action opens an interactive picker with six operations:

Action	What it does
Replace text	Literal text replacement with diff preview before applying
Tidy file	Whitespace and newline cleanup with diff preview
Set structured value	Update a JSON, YAML, or TOML key with diff preview
Search text	Find pattern matches across workspace files (results in output channel)
Create file	Scaffold a new file and open it in the editor
Read structured value	Read a JSON/YAML/TOML key and copy to clipboard

Batch operations

Patchloom: Batch Apply opens a JSON plan template where you can compose multiple operations (replace, tidy, doc set). The extension pipes the plan to patchloom batch --apply so all changes land atomically.

Output channel

All CLI invocations, arguments, and output are logged to the Patchloom output channel. Run Patchloom: Show Output to open it. Useful for debugging and copying full error messages for bug reports.

Compatibility diagnostics

The extension detects outdated CLI builds and warns with upgrade guidance. It requires Patchloom 0.1.0 or newer.

Commands

Command	Description
`Patchloom: Setup Workspace`	Guided walkthrough for binary, AGENTS.md, and MCP readiness
`Patchloom: Initialize Project`	Generate or diff `AGENTS.md` from `patchloom agent-rules`
`Patchloom: Configure MCP`	Inject Patchloom MCP server config into editor config files
`Patchloom: Quick Action`	Build a Patchloom CLI command from an interactive picker
`Patchloom: Batch Apply`	Open a JSON batch plan and execute all operations atomically
`Patchloom: Show Output`	Open the Patchloom output channel for CLI logs and diagnostics
`Patchloom: Show Status`	Display binary readiness, version, compatibility, and workspace state
`Patchloom: Install Patchloom`	Download and install the Patchloom CLI with checksum verification
`Patchloom: Update Patchloom`	Update a managed Patchloom install to the latest release
`Patchloom: Reinstall Patchloom`	Re-download and reinstall the managed Patchloom binary
`Patchloom: Open Settings`	Jump to Patchloom extension settings
`Patchloom: Open Releases`	Open the Patchloom releases page in a browser

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`patchloom.path`	`""`	Absolute path to the Patchloom binary. When empty, the extension searches `PATH` and then the managed install location.
`patchloom.showStatusBar`	`true`	Show a status bar item reporting whether Patchloom is available.

Remote and multi-root workspaces

In multi-root workspaces, commands target the active editor's workspace folder. If no editor is active, you pick the folder.
Remote sessions (WSL, SSH, dev containers, Codespaces) stay focused on workspace-scoped flows. User-scoped MCP config targets are hidden in remote environments.
Unknown remote environments are surfaced as unverified so failures are explicit.

Troubleshooting

Patchloom not found Set patchloom.path in settings, or add the CLI to your PATH.

CLI compatibility warning Run Patchloom: Open Releases to download 0.1.0 or newer.

MCP config not injected Run Patchloom: Configure MCP and select the target editor config.

Managed install failure persists after restart Run Patchloom: Show Status to see persisted diagnostic details.

Debugging CLI errors Run Patchloom: Show Output to see full CLI invocations, arguments, stdout, and stderr in the output channel.

Security model

The managed installer work is intentionally conservative:

Downloads must come from https://github.com/patchloom/patchloom/releases/download/...
Each archive must match a published SHA-256 checksum before the extension trusts it
Checksum failures stop the install before any managed binary is used
A failed install never replaces an already working binary
Binary promotion creates a backup before swapping; failures restore the backup
Failure records persist across extension reloads for diagnostics

Reporting issues

File bugs and feature requests at patchloom/patchloom-vscode/issues. Include the output of Patchloom: Show Status and your VS Code version.

Requirements

VS Code 1.90 or newer (or compatible editors: Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium)
Patchloom CLI 0.1.0 or newer

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide. Quick start:

npm install
npm run check          # full gate: compile + test + package

Open the repo in VS Code and press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.