launch

Launch Code OSS builds into isolated profiles with debug ports for Playwright automation and dap-cli debugging.

1|Updated Aug 27, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/Niiihuel/openide --skill launch-niiihuel
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: launch
Source: https://github.com/Niiihuel/openide/tree/main/vscode/.agents/skills/launch
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/Niiihuel/openide --skill launch-niiihuel

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires @playwright/cli, and includes scripts (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Developing and testing VS Code itself requires launching a source build that is already signed in, driving its UI programmatically, and attaching debuggers — all without port conflicts or profile corruption when running multiple instances. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Isolated authenticated launches: Clones an authenticated user-data-dir into a throwaway temp profile with slim excludes, preserving Copilot/GitHub sign-in while skipping caches and workspace storage. - Unique debug ports per instance: Allocates free ports for the renderer (CDP), extension host, main process, and agent host, printed as JSON for programmatic pickup. - UI automation and debugging: Drive the workbench with @playwright/cli over CDP (including Monaco chat input pasting via a helper script) and attach dap-cli to set breakpoints in the same session. - Use Case: Run two concurrent Code OSS instances, each driven by its own agent, to automate chat flows and verify UI changes with screenshots. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to launch a Code OSS dev build with the launch skill and drive the chat input with Playwright to test a UI change.

Frequently Asked Questions about launch

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I automate the VS Code UI with Playwright?▼

Launch Code OSS with a remote debugging port, then attach @playwright/cli over CDP using attach --cdp=http://127.0.0.1:<port>. Use a unique -s= session name per shell so concurrent instances do not share the CLI daemon.

How do I debug the VS Code extension host or main process?▼

Start Code OSS with --inspect-extensions and --inspect flags to expose Node inspector ports, then attach dap-cli to the extension host or main process port. The launcher prints all four debug ports as JSON after CDP is ready.

Why does Playwright fill or type not work in the VS Code chat input?▼

Monaco's native-edit-context element ignores Playwright's default fill and type input pipeline. Dispatch a ClipboardEvent paste with a DataTransfer payload instead, or send per-key press commands, which Monaco's real key handler processes.

Can I run multiple Code OSS instances at the same time?▼

Yes, but each instance needs its own user-data-dir, extensions dir, shared-data-dir, and debug ports. Without an isolated shared-data-dir, concurrent instances fight over the same SQLite state file and one crashes.

Why does the launched Code OSS instance ask me to sign in on Windows?▼

On Windows the GitHub session is stored in the application-shared data dir, not the profile, so both must be copied. Sign in once against the source profile directly, and later launches inherit the session from both locations.