Installation

The Contox VS Code extension is available on the VS Code Marketplace.

Install from the marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for Contox
4. Click Install

Alternatively, install from the command line:

code --install-extension contox.contox-vscode

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85.0 or later
• Git installed and available in your PATH (for auto-capture)
• A Contox account with an API key

Verify installation

After installation, you should see:

1. A Contox icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
2. The Contox: Setup Wizard command available in the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)

Extension activation

The extension activates in two scenarios:

• onUri -- When a deep link (vscode://contox.contox-vscode/...) is opened, typically from the Contox dashboard
• workspaceContains:.contox.json -- When a workspace folder contains a .contox.json file, indicating an initialized Contox project

If neither condition is met, the extension stays inactive until you manually run a Contox command from the Command Palette.

First-time setup

After installation, you have two options for connecting your workspace:

Option 1: Dashboard deep link -- Go to your project on the Contox dashboard and click the "Connect VS Code" button. This opens a deep link that auto-configures everything.

Option 2: Setup wizard -- Open the Command Palette and run Contox: Setup Wizard. The 5-step wizard walks you through login, team selection, project linking, AI tool configuration, and first scan.

See the Setup guide for detailed instructions.

Updating the extension

VS Code updates extensions automatically by default. To manually update:

1. Go to the Extensions view
2. Find Contox in the installed extensions list
3. Click Update if an update is available

Next steps

• Setup -- Complete the initial configuration
• Commands -- All 11 available commands