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Publishing the ContextShare Extension

This document outlines the steps to publish new versions of the ContextShare extension to the Visual Studio Marketplace.

Prerequisites

  1. Node.js and npm: Ensure you have Node.js (which includes npm) installed.
  2. Azure DevOps Account: You need an Azure DevOps account to create a Personal Access Token (PAT).
  3. Publisher Account: You must be a member of the "ContextShare" publisher account on the VS Code Marketplace.

One-Time Setup: Personal Access Token (PAT)

To publish to the Marketplace, you need a Personal Access Token (PAT) with publishing rights.

  1. Create a PAT:

    • Navigate to your Azure DevOps organization (e.g., https://dev.azure.com/{your_organization_name}).
    • Go to User settings (the gear icon) > Personal Access Tokens.
    • Click + New Token.
    • Give it a descriptive name (e.g., vsce-publish-contextshare).
    • Set the Organization to "All accessible organizations".
    • Set the Scope to Custom defined and click Show all scopes.
    • Find and select Marketplace (Manage).
    • Click Create.

  2. Store the PAT:

    • IMPORTANT: Copy the generated token immediately. You will not be able to see it again.
    • Create a new file named .env in the root of this project.
    • Add the following line to your .env file, replacing {your_pat} with the token you just copied: 
      VSCE_PAT={your_pat}
    • The .env file is already listed in .gitignore, so it will not be committed to source control.

Publishing a Pre-Release Version

Use this for testing new features before a stable release. The version in package.json (e.g., 0.4.0) will be published as a pre-release.

  1. Ensure package.json has the correct version number.

  2. Run the following command:

    npm run publish:prerelease

This will build, test, and publish the extension as a pre-release (e.g., 0.4.0 (Pre-release)).

Publishing a Stable Version

Once a pre-release version has been tested and is ready for general availability, you can publish it as a stable release.

  1. Ensure package.json has the correct version number.

  2. Run the following command:

    npm run publish:stable

This will publish the version as a stable release, making it the default for all users.

Packaging without Publishing

If you only want to create the .vsix file without publishing it to the Marketplace, run:

npm run package

The generated .vsix file will be in the root of the project directory.