ITK-SNAP Launcher — VS Code Extension

Adds an "Open in ITK-SNAP" context menu item to .itksnap workspace files and NIfTI images (.nii, .nii.gz) in the VS Code Explorer. Works for both local files and files on Remote SSH servers.

** THIS EXTENSION REQUIRES ITK-SNAP 4.6 OR LATER **

How it works

Right-clicking a supported file and choosing Open in ITK-SNAP constructs an itksnap-sftp://hostname/path URL and hands it to the local machine via vscode.env.openExternal. macOS routes the itksnap-sftp:// scheme to ITK-SNAP, which strips the itksnap- prefix to obtain sftp://hostname/path and loads the file over SSH.

For local files the plain file:// URI is passed directly, opening via the normal .itksnap / .nii file-type association.

Prerequisites

• macOS with ITK-SNAP installed. The itksnap-sftp:// URL scheme is registered automatically the first time ITK-SNAP is launched.
• An SSH host alias in ~/.ssh/config that matches the VS Code Remote SSH connection name.

Installation

Install once on your local Mac — no installation needed on the remote server.

cd /path/to/vscode_ext
npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies   # produces itksnap-launcher-x.x.x.vsix
code --install-extension itksnap-launcher-*.vsix

Or install directly from the VS Code Marketplace by searching for ITK-SNAP Launcher.