Adding a New Command

Recipe for adding a new cmake.* command to CMake Tools.

Files you must touch

Step 1 — Declare the command in package.json

1a — contributes.commands

// package.json  →  contributes.commands
{
  "command": "cmake.myCommand",
  "title": "%cmake-tools.command.cmake.myCommand.title%",
  "category": "CMake"
}

Rules

• Command ID format: cmake.<commandName> (camelCase).
• Title: NLS key in the format %cmake-tools.command.cmake.<commandName>.title%.
• Category: "CMake" — this prefixes the title in the Command Palette as CMake: <title>.
• when (optional): controls when the command appears in the Command Palette.
• icon (optional): Codicon reference like "$(settings-gear)" for tree-view inline buttons.

1b — contributes.menus (if needed)

Add visibility rules for where the command appears.

Command Palette visibility:

// package.json  →  contributes.menus.commandPalette
{
  "command": "cmake.myCommand",
  "when": "cmake:enableFullFeatureSet"
}

Sidebar tree-view inline button:

// package.json  →  contributes.menus["view/item/context"]
{
  "command": "cmake.projectStatus.myCommand",
  "when": "view == cmake.projectStatus && cmake:enableFullFeatureSet && viewItem == 'myItem'",
  "group": "inline"
}

Common when clause patterns:

Step 2 — Add the English string to package.nls.json

"cmake-tools.command.cmake.myCommand.title": "My Command Title"

For titles containing the product name, use the object form with a translator comment:

"cmake-tools.command.cmake.myCommand.title": {
  "message": "Do Something with CMake Tools",
  "comment": ["The text 'CMake Tools' should not be localized."]
}

Do not modify any file under i18n/.

Step 3 — Register the command in src/extension.ts

Add the method name to the funs array (search for const funs: near the end of the file). The register() helper auto-generates the command ID cmake.<name>, wraps it with debug logging, and hands the promise to rollbar.takePromise() for error tracking.

// src/extension.ts
const funs: (keyof ExtensionManager)[] = [
    // ... existing entries ...
    'myCommand',   // ← add here
];

That's it — no manual registerCommand call needed. The loop that follows handles registration automatically:

for (const key of funs) {
    context.subscriptions.push(register(key));
}

Only use manual vscode.commands.registerCommand() for commands that need custom argument handling (e.g., tree-view context-menu commands that receive a node argument). Most commands go through the funs array.

Step 4 — Implement the handler on ExtensionManager

Add a method to the ExtensionManager class in src/extension.ts. The method name must match the string added to the funs array.

Pattern A — Delegate to CMakeProject (most common)

myCommand(folder?: vscode.WorkspaceFolder) {
    telemetry.logEvent('myCommand');
    return this.runCMakeCommand(
        cmakeProject => cmakeProject.myCommand(),
        folder,
        undefined, // precheck (optional)
        true       // cleanOutputChannel
    );
}

Then implement the actual logic on CMakeProject in src/cmakeProject.ts.

Pattern B — Run for all projects

myCommandAll() {
    telemetry.logEvent('myCommand', { all: 'true' });
    return this.runCMakeCommandForAll(
        cmakeProject => cmakeProject.myCommand()
    );
}

Pattern C — Direct implementation (no CMakeProject delegation)

async myCommand() {
    telemetry.logEvent('myCommand');
    const result = await vscode.window.showQuickPick(items);
    if (!result) {
        return;
    }
    // ... handle result ...
}

Key helpers

Step 5 — Add a CHANGELOG entry

Add an entry under the current version in CHANGELOG.md, in the Features: section.

Verification checklist

• package.json — command declared with NLS title and "CMake" category
• package.json — menu entries added (if applicable) with correct when clauses
• package.nls.json — English title string added
• src/extension.ts — method name added to funs array
• src/extension.ts — handler method implemented on ExtensionManager
• Handler uses telemetry.logEvent() for telemetry
• Handler delegates to CMakeProject via runCMakeCommand (if project-scoped)
• CHANGELOG.md — entry added
• yarn compile succeeds
• No files under i18n/ were modified

See also: .github/copilot-instructions.md for project-wide conventions.