launch

name launch description Launch and automate VS Code Insiders with the Copilot Chat extension using @playwright/cli via Chrome DevTools Protocol. Use when you need to interact with the VS Code UI, automate the chat panel, test the extension UI, or take screenshots. Triggers include 'automate VS Code', 'interact with chat', 'test the UI', 'take a screenshot', 'launch with debugging'. metadata {"allowed-tools":"Bash(npx @playwright/cli:*)"} VS Code Extension Automation Automate VS Code Insiders with the Copilot Chat extension using @playwright/cli . VS Code is built on Electron/Chromium and exposes a Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) port that @playwright/cli can attach to, enabling the same snapshot-interact workflow used for web pages. Prerequisites @playwright/cli is available via devDependencies. Run npm install at the repo root, then use npx @playwright/cli to invoke commands. Alternatively, install globally with npm install -g @playwright/cli . code-insiders is required. This extension uses 58 proposed VS Code APIs and targets vscode ^1.110.0-20260223 . VS Code Stable will not activate it — you must use VS Code Insiders. The extension must be compiled first. Use npm run compile for a one-shot build, or npm run watch for iterative development. CSS selectors are internal implementation details. Selectors like .interactive-input-part , .monaco-editor , and .view-line are VS Code internals that may change across versions. If automation breaks after a VS Code update, re-snapshot and check for selector changes. Core Workflow Build the extension Launch VS Code Insiders with the extension and remote debugging enabled Attach npx @playwright/cli to the CDP port Snapshot to discover interactive elements Interact using element refs Re-snapshot after navigation or state changes 📸 Take screenshots for a paper trail. Use npx @playwright/cli screenshot --filename=<path> at key moments — after launch, before/after interactions, and when something goes wrong. Screenshots provide visual proof of what the UI looked like and are invaluable for debugging failures or documenting what was accomplished. Save screenshots inside .vscode-ext-debug/screenshots/ (gitignored) using a timestamped subfolder so each run is isolated and nothing gets overwritten: # Create a timestamped folder for this run's screenshots SCREENSHOT_DIR= ".vscode-ext-debug/screenshots/ $(date +%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S) " mkdir -p " $SCREENSHOT_DIR " # Windows (PowerShell): # $screenshotDir = ".vscode-ext-debug\screenshots\$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH-mm-ss')" # New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $screenshotDir # Save a screenshot npx @playwright/cli screenshot --filename= " $SCREENSHOT_DIR /after-launch.png" # Build and launch with the extension npm run compile # Use a PERSISTENT user-data-dir so auth state is preserved across sessions. # .vscode-ext-debug is relative to the project root — works in worktrees and is gitignored. code-insiders --extensionDevelopmentPath= " $PWD " --remote-debugging-port=9223 --user-data-dir= " $PWD /.vscode-ext-debug" # On Windows (PowerShell): # code-insiders --extensionDevelopmentPath="$PWD" --remote-debugging-port=9223 --user-data-dir="$PWD\.vscode-ext-debug" # Wait for VS Code to start, retry until attached for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do npx @playwright/cli attach --cdp=http://127.0.0.1:9223 2>/dev/null && break || sleep 3; done # Verify you're connected to the right target (not about:blank) # If `tab-list` shows the wrong target, run `npx @playwright/cli close` and reattach npx @playwright/cli tab-list npx @playwright/cli snapshot Attaching # Attach to a specific CDP port npx @playwright/cli attach --cdp=http://127.0.0.1:9223 After attach , all subsequent commands target the connected app without needing to reattach. Tab Management VS Code uses multiple webviews internally. Use tab commands to list and switch between them: # List all available targets (windows, webviews, etc.) npx @playwright/cli tab-list # Switch to a specific tab by index npx @playwright/cli tab-select 2 Launching VS Code Extensions for Debugging To debug a VS Code extension via npx @playwright/cli, launch VS Code Insiders with --extensionDevelopmentPath pointing to your extension source and --remote-debugging-port for CDP. Use --user-data-dir to avoid conflicting with an already-running VS Code instance. # Build the extension first (from the repo root) npm run compile # Launch VS Code Insiders with the extension and CDP # IMPORTANT: Use a persistent directory (not /tmp) so auth state is preserved. # .vscode-ext-debug is relative to the project root — works in worktrees and is gitignored. code-insiders \ --extensionDevelopmentPath= " $PWD " \ --remote-debugging-port=9223 \ --user-data-dir= " $PWD /.vscode-ext-debug" # Wait for VS Code to start, retry until attached for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do npx @playwright/cli attach --cdp=http://127.0.0.1:9223 2>/dev/null && break || sleep 3; done # Verify you're connected to the right target (not about:blank) # If `tab-list` shows the wrong target, run `npx @playwright/cli close` and reattach npx @playwright/cli tab-list npx @playwright/cli snapshot Key flags: --extensionDevelopmentPath=<path> — loads your extension from source (must be compiled first). Use $PWD when running from the repo root. --remote-debugging-port=9223 — enables CDP (use 9223 to avoid conflicts with other apps on 9222) --user-data-dir=<path> — uses a separate profile so it starts a new process instead of sending to an existing VS Code instance. Always use a persistent path (e.g., $PWD/.vscode-ext-debug ) rather than /tmp/... so authentication, settings, and extension state survive across sessions. Without --user-data-dir , VS Code detects the running instance, forwards the args to it, and exits immediately — you'll see "Sent env to running instance. Terminating..." and CDP never starts. ⚠️ Authentication is required. The Copilot Chat extension needs an authenticated GitHub session to function. Using a temp directory (e.g., /tmp/... ) creates a fresh profile with no auth — the agent will hit a "Sign in to use Copilot" wall and model resolution will fail with "Language model unavailable." Always use a persistent --user-data-dir like $PWD/.vscode-ext-debug . On first use, launch once and sign in manually. Subsequent launches will reuse the auth session. Restarting After Code Changes After making changes to the extension source code, you must restart VS Code to pick up the new build. The extension host loads the compiled bundle at startup — changes are not hot-reloaded. Restart Workflow Recompile the extension Kill the running VS Code instance (the one using your debug user-data-dir) Relaunch VS Code with the same flags # 1. Recompile npm run compile # 2. Kill the VS Code instance tied to this project's debug profile, then relaunch # macOS / Linux: kill $(ps ax -ww -o pid, command | grep " $PWD /.vscode-ext-debug" | grep -v grep | awk '{print $1}' | head -1) # Windows (PowerShell): # Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Where-Object { $_.CommandLine -like "*$PWD\.vscode-ext-debug*" } | ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $_.ProcessId } # 3. Relaunch code-insiders \ --extensionDevelopmentPath= " $PWD " \ --remote-debugging-port=9223 \ --user-data-dir= " $PWD /.vscode-ext-debug" # 4. Reattach npx @playwright/cli for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do npx @playwright/cli attach --cdp=http://127.0.0.1:9223 2>/dev/null && break || sleep 3; done npx @playwright/cli snapshot Tip: If you're iterating frequently, run npm run watch in a separate terminal so compilation happens automatically. You still need to kill and relaunch VS Code to load the new bundle. Interacting with Monaco Editor (Chat Input, Code Editors) VS Code uses Monaco Editor for all text inputs including the Copilot Chat input. Monaco editors appear as textboxes in the accessibility snapshot but require specific npx @playwright/cli commands to interact with. What Works fill <ref> — The Best Approach The fill command with a snapshot ref handles focus and input in one step: # Snapshot to find the chat input ref npx @playwright/cli snapshot # Look for: textbox "The editor is not accessible..." [ref=e51] # Fill directly using the ref — handles focus automatically npx @playwright/cli fill e51 "Hello from George!" # Send the message npx @playwright/cli press Enter # Wait for the response to complete before re-snapshotting. # Poll until the "Stop generating" button disappears: for i in $( seq 1 30); do npx @playwright/cli snapshot 2>/dev/null | grep -q "Stop generating" || break sleep 1 done npx @playwright/cli snapshot This is the simplest and most reliable method. It works for both the main editor chat input and the sidebar chat panel. Tip: If fill silently drops text (the editor stays empty), the ref may be stale or the editor not yet ready. Re-snapshot to get a fresh ref and try again. You can verify text was entered using the snippet in "Verifying Text in Monaco" below. type — After Focus If focus is already on a Monaco editor, type works: # Focus first (via fill with empty string, or JS mouse events) npx @playwright/cli fill e51 "" # Then type works for subsequent input npx @playwright/cli type "More text here" press — Individual Keystrokes Always works when focus is on a Monaco editor. Useful for special keys, keyboard shortcuts, and as a universal fallback for typing text character by character: # Type text character by character (works on all builds) npx @playwright/cli press H npx @playwright/cli press e npx @playwright/cli press l npx @playwright/cli press l npx @playwright/cli press o npx @playwright/cli press Space # Use "Space" for spaces # Select all # macOS: npx @playwright/cli press Meta+a # Linux / Windows: npx @playwright/cli press Control+a npx @playwright/cli press Backspace # Delete selection npx @playwright/cli press Enter # Send message / new line # Send to new chat # macOS: npx @playwright/cli press Meta+Shift+Enter # Linux / Windows: npx @playwright/cli press Control+Shift+Enter What Does NOT Work Method Result Reason click <ref> on editor "Element blocked by another element" Monaco overlays a transparent div over the textarea Setting textarea.value + dispatching input event via eval No effect Monaco doesn't read from the textarea's value property Fallback: Focus via JavaScript Mouse Events If fill doesn't work (e.g., ref is stale), you can focus the editor via JavaScript: npx @playwright/cli eval ' (() => { const inputPart = document.querySelector(".interactive-input-part"); const editor = inputPart.querySelector(".monaco-editor"); const rect = editor.getBoundingClientRect(); const x = rect.x + rect.width / 2; const y = rect.y + rect.height / 2; editor.dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent("mousedown", { bubbles: true, clientX: x, clientY: y })); editor.dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent("mouseup", { bubbles: true, clientX: x, clientY: y })); editor.dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent("click", { bubbles: true, clientX: x, clientY: y })); return "activeElement: " + document.activeElement?.className; })()' # After JS focus, type and press work npx @playwright/cli type "Text after JS focus" After JS mouse events, document.activeElement becomes a DIV with class native-edit-context — this is VS Code's native text editing surface. Verifying Text in Monaco Monaco renders text in .view-line elements, not the textarea: npx @playwright/cli eval ' (() => { const inputPart = document.querySelector(".interactive-input-part"); return Array.from(inputPart.querySelectorAll(".view-line")).map(vl => vl.textContent).join("|"); })()' Clearing Monaco Input # macOS: npx @playwright/cli press Meta+a # Linux / Windows: npx @playwright/cli press Control+a npx @playwright/cli press Backspace Troubleshooting "Connection refused" or "Cannot connect" Make sure VS Code Insiders was launched with --remote-debugging-port=9223 If VS Code was already running, quit and relaunch with the flag Check that the port isn't in use by another process: macOS / Linux: lsof -i :9223 Windows: netstat -ano | findstr 9223 Elements not appearing in snapshot VS Code uses multiple webviews. Use npx @playwright/cli tab-list to list targets and switch to the right one with npx @playwright/cli tab-select <index> Cannot type in Monaco inputs Standard click doesn't work on Monaco editors — see the "Interacting with Monaco Editor" section above for the full compatibility matrix fill <ref> is the best approach; individual press commands work everywhere; type works after focus is established Screenshots fail with "Permission denied" (macOS) If npx @playwright/cli screenshot returns "Permission denied", your terminal needs Screen Recording permission. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording . As a fallback, use the eval verification snippet to confirm text was entered — this doesn't require screen permissions. Cleanup Always kill the debug VS Code instance when you're done. Leaving it running wastes resources and holds the CDP port. # Disconnect npx @playwright/cli npx @playwright/cli close # Kill the debug VS Code instance # macOS / Linux: kill $(ps ax -ww -o pid, command | grep " $PWD /.vscode-ext-debug" | grep -v grep | awk '{print $1}' | head -1) # Windows (PowerShell): # Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Where-Object { $_.CommandLine -like "*$PWD\.vscode-ext-debug*" } | ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $_.ProcessId }