WatchTower Ops for VS Code

Deploy, monitor, and manage your WatchTower projects without leaving the editor. WatchTower Ops adds a sidebar, status bar, and command palette integration that talks directly to your WatchTower API server — local, remote, or self-hosted.

WatchTower itself is a desktop-first deployment control plane for projects backed by Podman (or Docker) and Nixpacks. This extension is the IDE-side companion: trigger a deploy, watch logs stream, roll back a bad deployment, or pop open the project's live URL — all from inside VS Code.

Features

Full WatchTower dashboard inside VS Code. WatchTower: Open Dashboard (in editor) opens the entire WatchTower SPA — projects, deployments, diagnose, auto-fix, backup, settings, audit log — as a side-tab inside VS Code. Signed in automatically with your stored API token; no browser switch, no second login. The seamless deploy-without-leaving-the-editor flow.
Sidebar tree of your projects. Every project in your WatchTower org appears in a dedicated sidebar with its current deployment status, last build time, and last commit.
One-click deploy. Right-click a project → Deploy → tail the build log inside an Output channel as it streams.
Live deployment logs. WatchTower: Show Deployment Logs opens the most recent build's output in an OS-native log view that auto-refreshes.
Rollback the last deployment. When a deploy goes sideways, WatchTower: Rollback Last Deployment flips the project back to the previous successful build without leaving the editor.
Open in browser / open in editor. Jump straight to the deployed URL or open the project's source folder in a new VS Code window.
Status bar item — current org and connection state at a glance; click to refresh.
Token-based auth, stored in the system keychain. WatchTower: Set API Token stores credentials in the OS-native secret store (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, libsecret on Linux) — never in settings.json.

Quick start

1. Install the extension

code --install-extension sinhaankur.watchtower-podman

Or search for WatchTower Ops in the Extensions sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+X / ⌘⇧X).

2. Run a WatchTower API server

The extension talks to a running WatchTower backend. Easiest option — install the desktop app from the GitHub Releases page and launch it. The backend starts on http://127.0.0.1:8000 by default.

Other options:

PyPI: pip install watchtower-podman then watchtower-deploy serve
Docker: docker run -p 8000:8000 ghcr.io/sinhaankur/watchtower:latest
Source: ./run.sh browser from the repo

Once it's up, browse to http://127.0.0.1:8000 and complete the setup wizard (GitHub OAuth or device-flow login).

3. Point the extension at it

Command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / ⌘⇧P) → WatchTower: Set API Token
Paste the API token from your WatchTower instance (Settings → API Tokens, or the WATCHTOWER_API_TOKEN env var your backend was started with)
The sidebar populates with your projects within a few seconds.

If your API server isn't on the default http://localhost:8000, also set watchtower.apiUrl in your VS Code settings.

Commands

All commands are available via the command palette:

Command	What it does
`WatchTower: Open Dashboard (in editor)`	Open the full WatchTower SPA inside VS Code as a side-tab — diagnose failures, apply fixes, manage env vars, all without switching apps
`WatchTower: Refresh`	Re-fetch projects, deployments, and status from the API
`WatchTower: Set API Token`	Store the API token in the system keychain
`WatchTower: Open Web UI`	Open the WatchTower web dashboard in your default browser
`WatchTower: Deploy Project`	Trigger a fresh deployment of the selected project
`WatchTower: Show Deployment Logs`	Stream the most recent build's logs in an Output channel
`WatchTower: Rollback Last Deployment`	Roll the project back to the previous successful deployment
`WatchTower: Open Project URL`	Open the deployed project URL in your browser
`WatchTower: Open Project Folder in VS Code`	Open the project's source folder in a new VS Code window
`WatchTower: Copy Project ID`	Copy the project's UUID to the clipboard (handy for API/curl)

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`watchtower.apiUrl`	`http://localhost:8000`	Base URL of your WatchTower API server. Use the LAN/WAN address if you're connecting to a remote/self-hosted instance.
`watchtower.apiToken`	(stored in keychain)	Don't set this directly — use `WatchTower: Set API Token` instead, which stores it in the OS-native secret store.
`watchtower.pollIntervalSeconds`	`30`	How often the sidebar refreshes project status. Lower = more responsive, more API calls.
`watchtower.openWebUiOnDeploy`	`false`	If true, automatically open the web UI after triggering a deploy so you can watch the build there.

Requirements

VS Code 1.80 or newer. The extension is intentionally compatible with older VS Code versions to support users on long-term-support distros and older corporate installs.
A running WatchTower API server (see Quick start step 2). The extension is purely a client; it does not run a backend itself.
Network access between VS Code and the API server. For remote WatchTower hosts, you can use VS Code's built-in Remote — SSH to forward the port, or expose the API directly.

Privacy and security

API tokens are stored in the OS-native secret store via vscode.SecretStorage — never written to settings.json or shipped in workspace state.
The extension never sends data anywhere except your configured watchtower.apiUrl. There is no telemetry, no analytics, no third-party SaaS in the loop.
All API calls use the token you provide; the extension can only do what your token is authorized to do — no privilege escalation.

License

MIT

WatchTower Ops

sinhaankur