VSCode Extension

The KSail VSCode extension brings cluster management into your editor. It integrates with the VS Code Kubernetes extension to surface KSail clusters in the Cloud Explorer and Cluster Explorer, provides interactive wizards for cluster operations, a command palette with keyboard shortcuts, and a built-in MCP server for AI assistants.

Installation

See the Installation Guide — VSCode Extension for Marketplace and VSIX installation steps.

Prerequisites:

KSail CLI installed and available in PATH
Docker running (for local cluster operations)
VS Code Kubernetes Tools extension (installed automatically as a dependency)
K9s (optional — for Connect to Cluster command)

Features

Cloud Explorer Integration

KSail clusters appear as top-level entries under KSail in the Kubernetes extension’s Clouds view. Each cluster shows its name, provider, and status icon. Right-click a cluster for context-sensitive actions:

All clusters: Info, Start, Stop, Connect, Update, Switch, Backup, Restore, Delete
From the KSail cloud node context menu: Create Cluster

Cluster Explorer Contributor

In the Kubernetes extension’s Cluster Explorer, KSail-managed contexts are annotated with (KSail) and a status label (Running / Stopped / Unknown). Right-click a KSail context for the same cluster lifecycle actions.

Cluster Provider (Create Cluster Wizard)

Selecting Create Cluster → KSail in the Kubernetes extension opens an HTML-based wizard. Configuration options (distribution, provider, CNI, GitOps engine) are fetched at runtime from the KSail MCP schema so they stay in sync with the installed CLI version. Built-in fallback values are used when the MCP server is unreachable.

Interactive Wizards

The Init and Create commands launch multi-step wizards with:

Distribution selection: Vanilla, K3s, Talos, VCluster
Provider selection: Docker, Hetzner, Omni
Component configuration (CNI, CSI, GitOps engine, etc.)
Output path selection for generated files

MCP Server

The extension exposes KSail as an MCP server for AI assistants in VSCode (e.g., GitHub Copilot). No separate configuration is needed — the extension handles server lifecycle automatically. See MCP Server for details on available tools.

Commands

Access all commands via the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P):

Command	Description	Shortcut
`KSail: Init Cluster`	Initialize a new `ksail.yaml` configuration	`Cmd+Shift+K I`
`KSail: Create Cluster`	Create and start a cluster	`Cmd+Shift+K C`
`KSail: Update Cluster`	Update a running cluster	—
`KSail: Start Cluster`	Start an existing cluster	—
`KSail: Stop Cluster`	Stop a running cluster	—
`KSail: Switch Cluster`	Switch the active kubeconfig context	—
`KSail: Backup Cluster`	Backup cluster resources	—
`KSail: Restore Cluster`	Restore cluster resources from a backup	—
`KSail: Delete Cluster`	Delete the cluster	`Cmd+Shift+K D`
`KSail: Connect to Cluster (K9s)`	Open K9s terminal UI	—
`KSail: Show KSail Info`	Show cluster info via KSail CLI	—
`KSail: Refresh Clusters`	Refresh the Cloud Explorer and Cluster Explorer views (and clear cached status)	—
`KSail: Show Output`	Open the KSail output channel	—

Settings

Configure in VSCode settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) or settings.json:

Setting	Description	Default
`ksail.binaryPath`	Path to the KSail binary	`ksail`

Development

Building

cd vsce
npm ci
npm run compile

Packaging

npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies

Testing locally

Open the vsce folder in VSCode
Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host
Test commands from the Command Palette

Architecture

vsce/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts                       # Entry point, command registration
│   ├── commands/
│   │   ├── index.ts                       # Command handlers (command registry)
│   │   └── prompts.ts                     # Interactive wizard implementations
│   ├── ksail/
│   │   ├── clusters.ts                    # KSail CLI wrapper functions
│   │   ├── binary.ts                      # KSail binary discovery and execution
│   │   ├── kubectl.ts                     # kubectl wrapper for cluster status queries
│   │   └── index.ts                       # Module exports
│   ├── kubernetes/
│   │   ├── cloudProvider.ts               # Cloud Explorer tree provider
│   │   ├── clusterExplorerContributor.ts  # Annotates KSail contexts in Cluster Explorer
│   │   ├── clusterProvider.ts             # Create Cluster wizard (HTML-based)
│   │   ├── contextNames.ts                # Shared helpers for parsing kubeconfig context names
│   │   └── index.ts                       # Module exports
│   └── mcp/
│       ├── serverProvider.ts              # MCP server definition provider
│       ├── schemaClient.ts                # MCP schema client for KSail
│       └── index.ts                       # Module exports
├── dist/                                  # Compiled output
└── package.json                           # Extension manifest