Editor Context Bridge

VT Code accepts editor context from any IDE that writes a canonical JSON snapshot file and sets VT_IDE_CONTEXT_FILE in the VT Code process environment.

When VT_IDE_CONTEXT_FILE is not set, VT Code also looks for a workspace-local fallback at .vtcode/ide-context.json and then .vtcode/ide-context.md. This is primarily for external terminal sessions started outside the IDE process.

Contract

• File format: UTF-8 JSON
• Environment variable: VT_IDE_CONTEXT_FILE
• Workspace fallback: .vtcode/ide-context.json
• Snapshot version: 1
• Provider families: vscode_compatible, zed, generic
• Backward compatibility: VT Code still reads VT_VSCODE_CONTEXT_FILE and legacy VS Code markdown snapshots during migration

Canonical payload

{
  "version": 1,
  "provider_family": "generic",
  "workspace_root": "/workspace",
  "active_file": {
    "path": "/workspace/src/main.rs",
    "language_id": "rust",
    "line_range": {
      "start": 120,
      "end": 148
    },
    "dirty": true,
    "truncated": false,
    "selection": {
      "range": {
        "start_line": 128,
        "start_column": 5,
        "end_line": 132,
        "end_column": 17
      },
      "text": "let value = compute();"
    }
  },
  "visible_editors": [
    {
      "path": "/workspace/src/lib.rs",
      "language_id": "rust",
      "line_range": {
        "start": 1,
        "end": 80
      },
      "dirty": false,
      "truncated": false
    }
  ]
}

Field notes

• active_file.path may be absolute, relative to workspace_root, or an editor URI like untitled:Scratch-1.
• line_range is optional and is usually the visible/editor-focused range.
• selection.text is optional and should only be included for explicit selections.
• visible_editors is optional. VT Code parses it for future use but does not inject it into the prompt by default in this first pass.

Integration checklist

1. Write the latest snapshot to a stable file path whenever the active editor changes.
2. Set VT_IDE_CONTEXT_FILE for every spawned VT Code process.
3. Use provider_family = "generic" for JetBrains and any non-native adapter.