SpecPi Chat development

For setup and everyday use, see the overview and user guide.

Development and checks

The extension is plain CommonJS JavaScript; no compilation or dependency installation is needed for packaging.

npm --prefix vscode run check
npm --prefix vscode test
npm --prefix vscode run test:host
npm --prefix vscode run test:vsix
npm --prefix vscode run test:render
npm --prefix vscode run package

The host tests use the installed VS Code executable. Set VSCODE_EXECUTABLE to its absolute path if automatic detection fails. They create a temporary workspace, user-data directory, extension directory, and PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR, then launch a deterministic fake Pi process. No installed Pi profile or provider is used. test:vsix also verifies that VS Code accepts the packaged VSIX, installs it into the isolated extensions directory, and runs the same host suite against those installed files. Successful tests remove the temporary profile; failures retain it and report its path for inspection.

The initial preview was exercised with VS Code 1.136.1 on Windows, including VSIX installation, the real webview ready handshake, command registration, editor attachments, RPC streaming and tools, model controls, session retention, Stop, and New Chat. Provider-backed requests are outside the deterministic fixture's coverage.

Rendering checks use pinned Playwright 1.62.1 from the repository development dependencies. Run npx --no-install playwright install chromium after installing those dependencies. test:render enables the dedicated viewport/theme tests and saves review screenshots under .specpi-test/vscode/screenshots; it does not replace visual baselines.

If a crash leaves session catalog is locked, first ensure no VS Code window is saving that workspace's chat history. Close those windows and remove only the affected catalog.lock directory from SpecPi Chat's VS Code workspace storage before reopening. Keep catalog.json and sessions intact. The extension does not silently break a lock that could belong to another active window.

To explore the sidebar interactively with that same isolated fixture:

npm --prefix vscode run dev

This opens a separate development host with a fake agent and retains the temporary profile. Close the window when finished. The fixture only demonstrates UI behavior; it does not contact a model or execute tools.

For development against your configured Pi, explicitly launch the source extension in your chosen workspace:

code --extensionDevelopmentPath="<absolute-path-to-SpecPi>/vscode" "<your-workspace>"

Use the normal connection controls to start Pi. Run full repository validation with npm run check before considering the change complete. Packaging uses an exact source allowlist and deterministic ZIP metadata; generated VSIX files remain under the repository's ignored .specpi-test/vscode directory.

npm run check:base additionally starts the actual six-package base over Chat's RPC transport in isolated state. It verifies package commands and approval transport without sending model requests.

Publishing

Include the packaged VSIX as a GitHub Release asset alongside the matching SpecPi release. Confirm the filename matches the download links in README and the website, then download it again and compare its checksum with the reviewed local build.

After validation, run npm --prefix vscode run package and upload the resulting VSIX through the Marketplace publisher dashboard for tannermidd. For the first publication, choose New extension → Visual Studio Code; for later versions, update the existing extension. Check the dashboard's validation result and the public listing before announcing availability. Packaging alone does not publish anything.

The manifest's private: true prevents accidental npm publication; the VS Code Marketplace uses the VSIX and its publisher identity. Publisher sign-in is separate from Pi authentication. Do not put publishing credentials in the repository.