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Installation

The extension ships as a .vsix file. The first time you activate it, it offers to install the cxas-scrapi Python CLI for you. Once both pieces are in place you're ready to open a project.

Prerequisites

What Why How to check
VS Code 1.85+ Engine version the extension targets Code → About
Python 3.10 or newer The extension shells out to the cxas CLI python3 --version
pip on PATH Used by the auto-install prompt python3 -m pip --version
gcloud Application Default Credentials Required for Push App, Pull App, Run Evaluation, Open Live Chat, anything that talks to CES gcloud auth application-default login

If you already have cxas-scrapi installed and on your PATH (cxas --help works in your terminal), you can skip the auto-install prompt.

Install the extension

Demonstration of the installation process

  1. Download the extension: Download the VS Code extension VSIX package directly from vscode-cxas-0.1.0.vsix.
  2. Open the Extensions sidebar (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X), click the … menu in the top right of the panel, and pick Install from VSIX...:

Extensions side panel showing the overflow menu with "Install from VSIX..." highlighted

  1. Select the downloaded vscode-cxas-0.1.0.vsix file. When prompted, click Reload Window to activate.

After the reload, search for cxas in the Extensions panel to confirm the install:

Extensions search filtered to 'cxas' showing CXAS Agent Studio installed

Install the cxas CLI

The extension needs the cxas Python CLI to do anything that touches CES. You don't have to install it manually. On first activation, if cxas isn't on your PATH, a notification pops up:

VS Code notification reading 'cxas CLI not found. Install cxas-scrapi now?' with Install and Show Output buttons

Click Install. The extension opens an integrated terminal labeled CXAS Install and runs:

python3 -m pip install -r <bundled requirements.txt>

When pip finishes, click Reload Window in the follow-up notification. That's it.

Manual install (if you dismissed the prompt)

pip install cxas-scrapi

Then run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette so the extension picks up the new binary.

Behind a corporate proxy?

If pip install fails because of a private package index, configure pip first (or set cxas.pythonPath to a Python that already has cxas-scrapi installed) and re-run the install command. See Settings & troubleshooting for the relevant settings.

Verify the install

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) and type CXAS:. You should see the full list of commands:

Command Palette filtered to 'CXAS:' showing the list of commands like Branch App, Create App, Lint App, Push App, etc.

Twenty-plus commands are registered, all under the CXAS: prefix. The most common ones are covered in Quickstart; the rest are reachable from tree-view context menus and editor right-click menus.

Where to next

The fastest way to confirm everything works is to build a small agent end to end. Continue to Quickstart, or jump straight to Importing from CES if you already have a deployed app to pull from.