dev.code-extension

Use this skill when the user asks to install a VS Code-compatible extension into VS Code or Cursor (stable or nightly).

Input contract

• Expect a local filesystem path to a .vsix file.
• If the user provides a Marketplace ID instead of a path, ask for the .vsix path (unless they explicitly want Marketplace install).

Install commands (local .vsix)

VS Code (stable)

code --install-extension "/path/to/extension.vsix" --force
code --list-extensions --show-versions

VS Code Insiders

code-insiders --install-extension "/path/to/extension.vsix" --force
code-insiders --list-extensions --show-versions

Cursor (stable)

cursor --install-extension "/path/to/extension.vsix" --force
cursor --list-extensions --show-versions

Cursor Nightly

Prefer cursor-nightly if it’s on PATH. If not (macOS default), call it from the app bundle:

"/Applications/Cursor Nightly.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/cursor-nightly" --install-extension "/path/to/extension.vsix" --force
"/Applications/Cursor Nightly.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/cursor-nightly" --list-extensions --show-versions

Verification

• After install, verify by grepping the extension list:
  • cursor --list-extensions --show-versions | rg -n "<publisher>\\.<name>|<name>"

Automation/CI option (avoid touching a developer profile)

If the user wants isolated installs (recommended for scripts/CI), add:

• --user-data-dir <dir>
• --extensions-dir <dir>

Example:

cursor --user-data-dir /tmp/cursor-user --extensions-dir /tmp/cursor-ext --install-extension "/path/to/extension.vsix" --force

Sandbox note (Codex CLI)

Installing extensions writes to user/application support directories (outside the repo). In sandboxed runs, request escalated permissions for these commands.