GitHub Action to publish VS Code Extension

A comprehensive, reusable GitHub Action for building, testing, and publishing VS Code extensions to the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Sample VS Code Extension Project to showcase the use of this GitHub action. Follow the documentation/readme in the repo to learn more.

Features

• 🏗️ Build & Test: Automatically builds and tests your extension
• 📦 Package: Creates VSIX files for distribution
• 🚀 Publish: Publishes to VS Code Marketplace
• 🏷️ Versioning: Automatic or manual version bumping
• 📋 Artifacts: Uploads VSIX files as GitHub artifacts
• 🎯 Releases: Creates GitHub releases automatically
• ⚙️ Flexible: Supports multiple package managers and custom scripts

Setup Requirements

1. VS Code Marketplace Personal Access Token

1. Go to Visual Studio Marketplace Publisher Management
2. Create a Personal Access Token with Marketplace scope
3. Add it as a repository secret named VSCE_PAT

3. Required Dependencies

Your extension should have @vscode/vsce as a dev dependency:

npm install --save-dev @vscode/vsce

2. GitHub Token Permissions

Ensure your workflow has the necessary permissions:

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: read

Quick Start

Package Manager Support

The action supports multiple package managers:

• npm (default)
• yarn
• pnpm

Required Scripts

Your package.json should include these scripts (or configure custom ones):

{
  "scripts": {
    "vscode:prepublish": "npm run compile",
    "compile": "tsc -p ./",
    "lint": "eslint src --ext ts",
    "test": "node out/test/runTest.js",
    "verify": "npx @vscode/vsce login",
    "package": "npx @vscode/vsce package",
    "publish": "npx @vscode/vsce publish"
  }
}

Basic Usage

name: Publish VS Code Extension

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Publish Extension
        uses: ./  # Replace with your action path or published action
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}

Advanced Usage

name: Publish VS Code Extension

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    types: [closed]
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      version-bump:
        description: 'Version bump type'
        required: true
        default: 'patch'
        type: choice
        options:
          - patch
          - minor
          - major

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || (github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.merged == true)
    
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      
      - name: Publish Extension
        uses: ./  # Replace with your action path
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}
          node-version: '18'
          package-manager: 'npm'
          version-bump-type: ${{ github.event.inputs.version-bump || 'auto' }}
          skip-tests: 'false'
          skip-lint: 'false'
          create-github-release: 'true'
          upload-vsix-artifact: 'true'

Inputs

Required Inputs

Input	Description
vsce-pat	Visual Studio Code Marketplace Personal Access Token

Optional Inputs

Input	Description	Default
node-version	Node.js version to use	18
package-manager	Package manager (npm, yarn, pnpm)	npm
pre-publish-script	Script to run before publishing	``
lint-script	Script to run for linting	npm run lint
test-script	Script to run for testing	npm run test
compile-script	Script to run for compilation	npm run compile
package-script	Script to run for packaging	npm run package
publish-script	Script to run for publishing	npm run publish
skip-tests	Skip running tests	false
skip-lint	Skip running linting	false
version-bump-type	Version bump type (major, minor, patch, auto)	auto
create-github-release	Create a GitHub release	true
upload-vsix-artifact	Upload VSIX as artifact	true
vsix-retention-days	Days to retain VSIX artifact	30
publish-to-marketplace	Upload new extension to VS code Marketplace	false
working-directory	Working directory for the project	.

Outputs

Output	Description
version	The version that was published
vsix-path	Path to the generated VSIX file
release-url	URL of the created GitHub release

Version Bump Strategy

The action supports automatic version detection based on commit messages:

• Major: [major], [breaking], or BREAKING CHANGE in commit message
• Minor: [minor], [feature], or feat: in commit message
• Patch: Default for all other commits

You can also specify the version bump type manually using the version-bump-type input.

Example Workflows

Auto-publish on Main Branch

name: Auto Publish

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      
      - name: Publish Extension
        uses: your-org/vscode-extension-publisher@v1
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}

Manual Release with Version Choice

name: Manual Release

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      version-type:
        description: 'Release type'
        required: true
        default: 'patch'
        type: choice
        options:
          - patch
          - minor
          - major

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Publish Extension
        uses: your-org/vscode-extension-publisher@v1
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}
          version-bump-type: ${{ github.event.inputs.version-type }}

Multi-Environment Setup

name: CI/CD Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Test Extension
        uses: your-org/vscode-extension-publisher@v1
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}
          skip-tests: 'false'
          create-github-release: 'false'
          upload-vsix-artifact: 'true'

  publish:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      
      - name: Publish Extension
        uses: your-org/vscode-extension-publisher@v1
        with:
          vsce-pat: ${{ secrets.VSCE_PAT }}
          skip-tests: 'true'  # Already tested in previous job

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Authentication Error: Ensure your VSCE_PAT secret is correctly set
2. Permission Denied: Check GitHub token permissions for writing to repository
3. Package Not Found: Verify your package.json scripts exist
4. Version Conflict: Ensure the version in package.json doesn’t already exist

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging by setting the ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG secret to true in your repository.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test with a sample VS Code extension
5. Submit a pull request

License

Copyright (c) 2025. All rights reserved.
This source code is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Disclaimer:

• It is user’s responsibility to review and use this software own their own risk
• Author of this software is not responsible for any loss or issue that may arise beause of this software