Commands Extension — one-click command runner for VS Code

How it works

Write it down once.
Click it forever.

No task runner to learn. A JSON file in the repo root is the whole contract — commit it and the whole team gets the same buttons.

Describe

One entry per command in commands-list.json — or none: npm scripts and .ps1 are picked up.

{ "name": "Deploy",
  "command": "./deploy.sh",
  "group": "Ship" }

Click

It's a button in the sidebar. Re-runs reuse their terminal.

Deploy

Build

Ship

Chain steps, upload to FTP/SFTP, get notified.

Theme → production100%

Deployed · 3 files

Features

Small buttons, serious plumbing

Everything you used to keep in a README of “how to run this” — and the deploy script you never wanted to write.

Server Uploads

FTP, FTPS and SFTP targets in server-uploads.local.json. Files, folders, globs and excludes; a connection pool; mirror mode that removes stale remote files; skipUnchanged for content-hashed builds. Cards show exactly which files changed since the last upload — and “Upload only modified” sends just those.

Theme → prodsftp⚠ 12 modified

wp-content/themes/mytheme/style.css4 conn · 2.1 MB/s

Combined operations

Ordered, cancellable sequences with per-step checkboxes and stopOnError.

command · npm run install-local

vscode-cmd · reloadWindow

sound · complete

Start / stop pairs

Bind a start command to a hidden stop command. While it runs, its card shows a red stop icon that closes the terminal and runs the stop.

Start (full)

Run confirmation

Mark critical commands as protected. They get a lock icon and a modal before anything runs.

Groups, search, favorites

Collapsible groups that remember their state, instant search across names, commands and groups, and a pinned Favorites group.

FavoritesBuild · 4Dev · 3Deploy · 2npm scripts · 7

SQL Console

Give a server an sql block and get Query, Browse and Export tabs. Queries and dumps run on the server over SSH — seconds instead of minutes over the network.

SELECT id, title FROM posts LIMIT 3;

id	title	status
412	Pricing	publish
418	Contacts	publish
431	Spring sale	draft

Claude Hooks Manager

See, toggle and edit Claude Code hooks across project, local and user-global settings.json. Presets, copy and paste between projects.

Stop · sound completeproject

Notification · notify-sendlocal

PreToolUse · lintuser

Auto-detection and ready-made templates

Open any workspace and the panel is already populated. Need a starting set? The Recommended section adds a whole template — or single commands from it.

commands-list.jsonpackage.json scripts*.ps1ReactNode.js BackendNext.jsDockerExpoPythonGitTurborepoDeployTestingLintingGit Hooks

Quick Upload from Spec

One line to put a file on the server

Not every file belongs to a tracked upload. Paste a spec into Commands Extension: Quick Upload from Spec — an agent can write it for you — and everything for one server goes over a single connection.

local => server:/dir uploads a file or a whole folder, keeping its structure.
server:/path => local pulls from the server instead.
del server:/path removes a file or folder — after a modal that lists exactly what was found.
Pairs separated by ; or newlines, a live preview grouped by server, # comments ignored.

Quick Upload from Spec · preview

staging1 connection · 3 actions

img/logo.webm→ /wp-content/themes/mytheme/img

icons/ (24 files)→ /img/icons

/wp-content/themes/mytheme/img/logo-old.webmdelete

production1 connection · 1 action

/wp-content/themes/mytheme/style.css→ ./backup

For agents

Plain JSON that an agent can write

Coding agents add a command, a combined operation or an upload spec as text — you just click the button. The file watcher picks up every change instantly.

{
  "commands": [
    { "name": "▶ Start (full)", "command": "./start.sh", "type": "terminal", "group": "App", "stop": "■ Stop" },
    { "name": "■ Stop",         "command": "./stop.sh",  "type": "terminal", "group": "App", "hidden": true },
    { "name": "Seed DB",        "command": "seed.js",    "type": "node",     "group": "Dev", "cwd": "./server" },
    { "name": "Deploy",         "command": "./scripts/deploy.ps1", "type": "pwsh", "group": "Deploy" }
  ]
}

{
  "combined": [
    {
      "name": "Install & Reload",
      "stopOnError": true,
      "steps": [
        { "type": "command",    "name": "Install local" },
        { "type": "upload",     "key": "Deploy:Theme → prod" },
        { "type": "vscode-cmd", "commandId": "workbench.action.reloadWindow", "enabled": true }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

{
  "servers": [
    { "name": "main", "protocol": "sftp", "host": "example.com", "user": "deploy" }
  ],
  "uploads": [
    {
      "name": "Theme → prod", "server": "main",
      "remoteDir": "/public_html/wp-content/themes/mytheme/",
      "items": ["./wp-content/themes/mytheme/"],
      "exclude": ["**/node_modules/**", "**/*.log"],
      "mode": "mirror", "connections": 4
    }
  ]
}

# paste into "Commands Extension: Quick Upload from Spec"
/home/me/site/img/logo.webm => main:/public_html/img ; del main:/public_html/img/logo-old.webm
main:/public_html/style.css => ./backup

Install

Give your project a control panel

VS Code 1.85+ on Linux, macOS or Windows. Open a workspace, click the Commands icon in the Activity Bar — done.

$ code --install-extension PavelKhabusov.commands-extension

VS Code Marketplace Source on GitHub

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Write it down once.Click it forever.