Installing VS Code extensions

SkillDev tools

How to install a VS Code extension from an extension ID. Useful when the user wants to add new capabilities to their VS Code environment by installing extensions.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Installing VS Code extensions skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by che-incubator/che-code in code/extensions/copilot/assets/prompts/skills/install-vscode-extension/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

  1. VS Code extensions are identified by their unique extension ID, which typically follows the format publisher.extensionName. For example, the Python extension by Microsoft has the ID ms-python.python.
  2. To install a VS Code extension, you need to use the VS Code command workbench.extensions.installExtension and pass in the extension ID. The args are of the format:
[extensionId, { enable: true, installPreReleaseVersion: boolean }]

NOTE: install the pre-release version of the extension if the user explicitly mentions it or if the current environment is VS Code Insiders. Otherwise, install the stable version.

  1. Run that command via the copilot_runVscodeCommand tool. Make sure to pass the skipCheck argument as true to avoid checking if the command exists, as we know it does.

Signals

GitHub stars
35
Forks
50
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
install-vscode-extension
Source
github.com/che-incubator/che-code