VS Code Integration

Kaimon.jl provides deep integration with Visual Studio Code through the VS Code Remote Control extension. This enables bidirectional communication between the Julia REPL and VS Code, powering features like command execution, debugging, and file navigation.

Setup

Install the Remote Control extension in VS Code. Kaimon detects the extension automatically when running inside a VS Code terminal.

Allowed Commands

VS Code commands must be explicitly allowlisted in your .vscode/settings.json before they can be executed via MCP:

{
  "vscode-remote-control.allowedCommands": [
    "workbench.action.files.saveAll",
    "editor.action.formatDocument",
    "workbench.action.debug.start"
  ]
}

Use list_vscode_commands to see which commands are currently allowed.

Command Execution

execute_vscode_command

Run any allowlisted VS Code command from Julia or an MCP client:

execute_vscode_command("workbench.action.files.saveAll")

Set wait_for_response=true to get the return value from the command (with an optional timeout):

execute_vscode_command("editor.action.clipboardCopyAction", wait_for_response=true, timeout=5)

Arguments can be passed as a JSON-encoded array via the args parameter.

list_vscode_commands

Returns the list of commands configured in .vscode/settings.json under vscode-remote-control.allowedCommands. Use this to discover which commands are available before calling execute_vscode_command.

Debugging Workflow

Kaimon provides a complete debugging workflow through VS Code's built-in debugger. The typical flow is:

1. Set Breakpoints

Use open_file_and_set_breakpoint to open a file in VS Code and set a breakpoint at a specific line:

open_file_and_set_breakpoint(file_path="/path/to/file.jl", line=42)

If line is omitted, the file is opened without setting a breakpoint.

2. Start a Debug Session

Launch the VS Code debugger with start_debug_session. This opens the debug view and begins execution:

start_debug_session()

3. Step Through Code

Once paused at a breakpoint, use the stepping tools to navigate execution:

Tool	Description
debug_step_over	Execute the current line and move to the next one
debug_step_into	Step into a function call on the current line
debug_step_out	Run until the current function returns

debug_step_over accepts an optional wait_for_response parameter (default false) to block until the step completes.

4. Monitor Variables

• add_watch_expression – Add an expression to the VS Code watch panel to monitor its value as you step through code:

  add_watch_expression(expression="length(data)")

• copy_debug_value – Copy a variable's value from the debug panel to the system clipboard. Specify view="variables" (default) or view="watch":

  copy_debug_value(view="variables")

  Read the clipboard afterwards with pbpaste (macOS) or xclip (Linux).

5. Continue or Stop

• debug_continue – Resume execution until the next breakpoint or program completion.

• debug_stop – Terminate the debug session.

File Navigation

navigate_to_file

Open a file in VS Code at a specific line and column position:

navigate_to_file(file_path="/path/to/file.jl", line=100, column=15)

Both line and column are optional (1-indexed, default to 1). This is useful for jumping to search results, navigating code tours, or following up on goto_definition results.