vscode extension release automation

[djzager]

We need to set up an automated process to package our VSCode extension and prepare it for publishing to both the VSCode Marketplace and the Open VSX Registry. This will ensure that every push to main and every new release results in a packaged extension, ready for installation and distribution.

Tasks:

1. Automated Packaging:

   • Use GitHub Actions to automate packaging the extension on every push to the main branch and on every release.
   • We can leverage the vsce tool to handle the packaging of the extension.
     • VSCE Documentation
     • VSCE GitHub
   • GitHub Actions documentation for reference:
     • Creating GitHub Actions workflows
     • GitHub Actions for VSCode extensions

   Steps to automate packaging:

   • Set up a GitHub Actions workflow that runs on push to main and release events.
   • The workflow should:
     • Install dependencies (e.g., npm install).
     • Run vsce package to bundle the extension.
     • If required, create a release artifact for downloading the packaged .vsix file.

   Example GitHub Actions workflow:

   name: Package VSCode Extension
   
   on:
    push:
      branches:
        - main
    release:
      types: [created]
   
   jobs:
    build:
      runs-on: ubuntu-latest
   
      steps:
        - name: Checkout code
          uses: actions/checkout@v2
   
        - name: Set up Node.js
          uses: actions/setup-node@v3
          with:
            node-version: '16'
   
        - name: Install dependencies
          run: npm install
   
        - name: Package extension
          run: npx vsce package
   
        - name: Upload VSIX as artifact (optional)
          uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
          with:
            name: my-extension
            path: '*.vsix'

2. Publishing to the VSCode Marketplace:

   • Create issues to handle the steps required for publishing to the VSCode Marketplace.
   • Publishing requires a publisher account and a Personal Access Token (PAT) from Azure DevOps to authenticate with the marketplace.
   • Documentation for publishing to the VSCode Marketplace:
     • VSCode Publishing Documentation
     • Getting started with publishing
   • Steps include:
     • Setting up a publisher account.
     • Acquiring a Personal Access Token (PAT) from Azure DevOps.
     • Using the vsce publish command in the GitHub Actions workflow to automatically publish the extension.

   Example workflow snippet for publishing:

   - name: Publish to VSCode Marketplace
    run: npx vsce publish -p ${{ secrets.VSCE_TOKEN }}

3. Publishing to the Open VSX Registry:

   • Create issues for tracking the requirements to publish to Open VSX Registry.
   • Open VSX requires a publisher account as well and uses token-based authentication.
   • Documentation for publishing to Open VSX:
     • Publishing to Open VSX
     • Open VSX Documentation
   • Steps include:
     • Creating an Open VSX publisher account.
     • Acquiring a token from the Open VSX registry.
     • Using the ovsx command in the GitHub Actions workflow to publish the extension.

   Example workflow snippet for publishing:

   - name: Publish to Open VSX
    run: npx ovsx publish --pat ${{ secrets.OVSX_TOKEN }}

Definition of Done:

• [ ] The extension is packaged on every push to main and on every release tag.
• [ ] GitHub Actions workflow to package and publish the extension is in place.
• [ ] All issues required for publishing to the VSCode Marketplace are created and tracked.
• [ ] All issues required for publishing to the Open VSX Registry are created and tracked.

[djzager]

https://code.visualstudio.com/api/working-with-extensions/publishing-extension

[djzager]

https://docs.github.com/en/packages/learn-github-packages/introduction-to-github-packages