VSCode

Install VS Code with the VSpaceCode and Calva Extensions

VSCode version 1.79 used in this guide

Install VSCode

Debian/UbuntuMacOSXWindows

Download the .deb file from VSCode website

Command LineSoftware Center

Change to the directory the .deb file was downloaded to

sudo apt install ./code_1.79.2-1686734195_amd64.deb

Enter login account password when prompted

Open (double click) the file. The Ubuntu software studio will open. Click the Install button.

Enter your password when prompted to install the software.

Close the Ubuntu Software app once the install has finished.

To run VSCode, press the Super key and type code, or open a terminal and type the command code.

Reference: VSCode on Linux

Download the .zip file

Double-click on the downloaded archive to expand the contents.

Drag Visual Studio Code.app to the Applications folder, making it available in the Launchpad.

Add VS Code to your Dock by right-clicking on the icon and choosing Options, Keep in Dock.

Reference: VSCode on MacOSX

Launch VSCode from the Dock, or in a command line terminal, type code.

Download the Windows Installer

Run the installer which should have a name similar to VSCodeUserSetup-{version}.exe.

VS Code is installed under C:\users\{username}\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code.

VSCode Welcome wizard

When VSCode is first run the Welcome wizard will display.

Use the wizard to set the default theme

Select Mark Done link to close the wizard.

Practicalli uses the Solarized Light and Dark themes

Ctrl+k Ctrl+T toggles the theme used for VSCode

Calva Extension

The Calva extension supports Clojure and ClojureScript development

Quick OpenExtensions tab

Ctrl+p to launch VS Code Quick Open, paste the extension install command and press enter.

ext install betterthantomorrow.calva

Select the Extensions icon in the left hand navigation.

Type calva into the search box to list the relevant extension

Click the Install button next to the VSpaceCode extension.

After a few moments the extension will be installed.

Extension install does not require restarting VSCode

VSpaceCode extension

Quick OpenExtensions tab

Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.

ext install VSpaceCode.vspacecode

Select the Extensions icon in the left hand navigation.

Type vspacecode into the search box to list the relevant extension

Click the Install button next to the VSpaceCode extension.

The VSpaceCode Expanded extension is not used in this guide

After a few momments the extension will show as installed, along with several other extensions that VSpaceCode uses.

Configuration Wizard

Once the VSpaceCode extension has finished installing, the Getting Started with VSpaceCode page is displayed with a configuration wizard that updates the User settings.json and keybindings.json files.

Select Configure for you button in the Setting up section of the page.

Select Mark Done to close the wizard

Troubleshoot Wizard

If the .config/Code/User/settings.json and .config/Code/User/keybindings.json files are empty then an older version of VSpaceCode may still be configured in the VSCode settings.

Start the configuration wizard using Ctrl+p for the quick open prompt and enter vspacecode

Select Getting Started with VSpaceCode

If the wizard still does not run, quit VSCode and remove $HOME/.vscode and $HOME/.config/Code directories to ensure a clean starting point (backing up the User settings.json and keybindings.json if any useful configurations were added on top of the VSpaceCode configuration).

All extensions must be installed again.

If the wizard keeps failing, use the Manual configuration approach

Manual Configuration

Follow the manual configuration commands if the automatic setup failed or was not followed.

Ctrl+Shift+p to open the VS Code command menu, type vspacecode to narrow the command list and select VSpaceCode: Configure Default Settings and Keybindings.

Save the changes by opening the settings.json and keybindings.json.

Ctrl+Shift+p and searching Preference: Open Settings (JSON) and Preference: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON) in turn. Ctrl+s to save the highlighted file.

Calva Keybinding remap

Calva extension adds Esc as a keyboard shortcut for clearing evaluation results. This binding breaks vim-style editing in VSpaceCode, so the Calva keyboard shortcut should be remapped.

Ctrl+Shift+p to open the VSCode command menu, type keyboard to narrow the command list and select Preferences: Open keyboard shortcuts (JSON).

Edit the .config/Code/User/keybindings.json file and add the following configuration to remove Esc from the calva.clearInlineResults command and create a new keyboard shortcut for that command using Shift Esc

Add this code before the final closing bracket, }, in the file.

.config/Code/User/keybindings.json

  {
    "key": "escape",
    "command": "-calva.clearInlineResults"
  },
  {
    "key": "shift+escape",
    "command": "calva.clearInlineResults",
    "when": "editorTextFocus && !editorHasMultipleSelections && !editorReadOnly && !hasOtherSuggestions && !suggestWidgetVisible && editorLangId == 'clojure'"
  }

Remap Vim insert mode keybinding to go into normal mode by adding the following to your user settings:

settings.json

"vim.insertModeKeyBindings": [
    {
        "before": ["f", "d"],
        "after": ["<esc>"]
    }
]

Confirm installation

To confirm that VSpaceCode is working by opening an editor window.

Select the Explorer Icon in the left hand menu, then select Open Folder...

Open a Clojure project to confirm the Calva and VSpaceCode extension are working (or any text file to test VSpaceCode).

Space should open the VSpaceCode menu in the top center of VSCode.

Calva should show a welcome message