Overview Version History Q & A Rating & Review
Exercism Helper
Browse, download, test, and submit Exercism exercises without leaving VS Code.
Features ·
Quick Start ·
Commands ·
Settings ·
Exercism
Features
Learning Progress Sync — Syncs your exercise status from Exercism API: completed, started, available, locked, and recommended nextSidebar Tree View — Browse all tracks and exercises with status icons in the Activity BarExercise Instructions — Preview READMEs with syntax-highlighted code in a Webview panelOne-click Test Runner — Run exercism test directly from the sidebarSolution Submission — Submit solutions and auto-refresh progressDownload Exercises — Browse the full exercise catalog, download with one clickLayout Toggle — Swap reader/editor position (left/right) to match your preferenceSort Exercises — Sort by learning path, reversed, easy-to-hard, or hard-to-easyAI-friendly — Copy instructions to clipboard or open as file for Copilot/@-referencingTheme-aware UI — Webview adapts to light, dark, and high-contrast themes
Status Icons
Icon
Status
Description
⭐
Recommended
Next exercise in your learning path
✅
Completed
Published or completed on Exercism
🔧
In Progress
Started but not yet completed
○
Available
Unlocked and ready to start
🔒
Locked
Complete prerequisites first
Quick Start
Install the Exercism CLI (v3.3.0+)Configure your API token:
exercism configure --token=<your-token>
exercism.org/settings/api_cli Open the Exercism sidebar — click the Exercism icon in the Activity BarClick Configure if prompted, or exercises will load automaticallyClick any exercise — code opens on one side, instructions on the other
Commands
Command
Description
Exercism: ConfigureSet up CLI token with guided flow
Exercism: Download ExerciseBrowse & download from full exercise catalog
Exercism: Run TestsRun tests for current exercise
Exercism: Submit SolutionSubmit solution to Exercism
Exercism: Toggle Reader PositionSwap reader/editor layout
Exercism: Toggle Sort OrderCycle sort: path / reversed / easy / hard
Exercism: Open in BrowserOpen exercise on exercism.org
Exercism: RefreshClear cache and refresh exercise list
Settings
Setting
Default
Description
exercism.workspacePath""Custom workspace path. Empty = auto-detect from CLI.
exercism.cliPath"exercism"Path to Exercism CLI binary.
exercism.cliTimeout60000CLI timeout in ms (min 5000).
exercism.readerPosition"left"Reader panel position: "left" or "right".
Architecture
src/
├── cli/exercismCli.ts # CLI wrapper + Exercism API client with caching
├── workspace/workspaceScanner.ts # Local filesystem scanner
├── models/ # Track, Exercise, ExerciseStatus
├── views/ # TreeView provider + items
├── webview/ # Markdown preview panel
└── extension.ts # Entry point, command registration
Development
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Compile
npm run compile
# Watch mode
npm run watch
# Run tests
npm test
# Launch in VS Code (F5)
# Uses .vscode/launch.json
Contributing
Contributions welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.
License
MIT
Built with ❤️ for the Exercism community
