WPILib Commands in Visual Studio Code

This document contains a complete list of the commands provided by the WPILib VS Code Extension and what they do.

To access these commands, press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette, then begin typing the command name as shown here to filter the list of commands. Click on the command name to execute it.

  • WPILib: Build Robot Code - Builds open project using GradleRIO

  • WPILib: Create a new project - Create a new robot project

  • WPILib C++: Refresh C++ Intellisense - Force an update to the C++ Intellisense configuration.

  • WPILib C++: Select Current C++ Toolchain - Select the toolchain to use for Intellisense (i.e. desktop vs. roboRIO vs…). This is the same as clicking the current mode in the bottom right status bar.

  • WPILib C++: Select Enabled C++ Intellisense Binary Types - Switch Intellisense between static, shared, and executable

  • WPILib: Cancel currently running tasks - Cancel any tasks the WPILib extension is currently running

  • WPILib: Change Auto Save On Deploy Setting - Change whether files are saved automatically when doing a Deploy. This defaults to Enabled.

  • WPILib: Change Auto Start RioLog on Deploy Setting - Change whether RioLog starts automatically on deploy. This defaults to Enabled.

  • WPILib: Change Desktop Support Enabled Setting - Change whether building robot code on Desktop is enabled. Enable this for test and simulation purposes. This defaults to Desktop Support off.

  • WPILib: Change Language Setting - Change whether the currently open project is C++ or Java.

  • WPILib: Change Run Commands Except Deploy/Debug in Offline Mode Setting - Change whether GradleRIO is running in Online Mode for commands other then deploy/debug (will attempt to automatically pull dependencies from online). Defaults to enabled (online mode).

  • WPILib: Change Run Deploy/Debug Command in Offline Mode Setting - Change whether GradleRIO is running in Online Mode for deploy/debug (will attempt to automatically pull dependencies from online). Defaults to disabled (offline mode).

  • WPILib: Change Select Default Simulate Extension Setting - Change whether simulation extensions are enabled by default (all simulation extensions defined in build.gradle will be enabled)

  • WPILib: Change Skip Tests On Deploy Setting - Change whether to skip tests on deploy. Defaults to disabled (tests are run on deploy)

  • WPILib: Change Stop Simulation on Entry Setting - Change whether to stop robot code on entry when running simulation. Defaults to disabled (don’t stop on entry).

  • WPILib: Change Use WinDbg Preview (From Store) as Windows Debugger Setting - Change whether to use the VS Code debugger or WinDbg Preview (from Windows Store).

  • WPILib: Check for WPILib Updates - Check for an update to the WPILib GradleRIO version for the project. This does not update the Visual Studio Code extension, tools, or offline dependencies. Users are strongly recommended to use the offline wpilib installer

  • WPILib: Debug Robot Code - Build and deploy robot code to roboRIO in debug mode and start debugging

  • WPILib: Deploy Robot Code - Build and deploy robot code to roboRIO

  • WPILib: Hardware Sim Robot Code - This builds the current robot code project on your PC and starts it running in simulation using hardware attached to the comupter rather then pure software simulation. Requires vendor support.

  • WPILib: Import a WPILib 2020-2023 Gradle Project - Open a wizard to help you create a new project from a existing VS Code Gradle project from 2020-2022. Further documentation is at importing gradle project

  • WPILib: Install tools from GradleRIO - Install the WPILib Java tools (e.g. SmartDashboard, Shuffleboard, etc.). Note that this is done by default by the offline installer

  • WPILib: Manage Vendor Libraries - Install/update 3rd party libraries

  • WPILib: Open API Documentation - Opens either the WPILib Javadocs or C++ Doxygen documentation

  • WPILib: Open Project Information - Opens a widget with project information (Project version, extension version, etc.)

  • WPILib: Open WPILib Command Palette - This command is used to open a WPILib Command Palette (equivalent of hitting Ctrl+Shift+P and typing WPILib)

  • WPILib: Open WPILib Help - This opens a simple page which links to the WPILib documentation (this site)

  • WPILib: Reset Ask for WPILib Updates Flag - This will clear the flag on the current project, allowing you to re-prompt to update a project to the latest WPILib version if you previously chose to not update.

  • WPILib: Run a command in Gradle - This lets you run an arbitrary command in the GradleRIO command environment

  • WPILib: Set Team Number - Used to modify the team number associated with a project. This is only needed if you need to change the team number from the one initially specified when creating the project.

  • WPILib: Set VS Code Java Home to FRC Home - Set the VS Code Java Home variable to point to the Java Home discovered by the FRC extension. This is needed if not using the offline installer to make sure the intellisense settings are in sync with the WPILib build settings.

  • WPILib: Show Log Folder - Shows the folder where the WPILib extension stores internal logs. This may be useful when debugging/reporting an extension issue to the WPILib developers

  • WPILib: Simulate Robot Code - This builds the current robot code project on your PC and starts it running in simulation. This requires Desktop Support to be set to Enabled.

  • WPILib: Start RioLog - This starts the RioLog display used to view console output from a robot program

  • WPILib: Start Tool - This allows you to launch WPILib tools (e.g. SmartDashboard, Shuffleboard, etc.) from inside VS Code

  • WPILib: Test Robot Code - This builds the current robot code project and runs any created tests. This requires Desktop Support to be set to Enabled.