Extension Development

Positron is compatible with VS Code extensions so you can create extensions as you would for VS Code. You can use Positron to develop your extension and run it in a new Extension Development Host window.

Context keys

When defining your extension’s manifest, you can use the isPositron context key for enablement or in a when clause.

"commands": [
    {
        "category": "My Extension",
        "command": "myExtension.myCommand",
        "title": "My Extension Command",
        "enablement": "isPositron"
    }
]

This allows your extension to enable commands, keybindings, menu items, and any other contribution points only for Positron.

Positron API

Positron provides all the normal contribution points and the VS Code API to extensions, but also additionally new APIs to use. We plan to make the extension development experience better (for example, safely wrapping and providing typing for the Positron API), but in the meantime, we recommend you take a look at the Positron API details directly.