Installing the VS Code Extension

Requirements

Requirement	Notes
VS Code	`^1.80.0` or later
`@sfdt/cli`	Installed and on your `PATH` (or set `sfdt.cliPath`). The extension shells out to it for everything.
An initialised workspace	A Salesforce DX project where you’ve run `sfdt init`, so the CLI can write its `logs/` snapshots
A default org (optional)	Set via the `SFDT: Set Default Org` command or `sfdt.defaultOrg`

Install and configure the CLI first. Without @sfdt/cli on PATH, every command fails with a “CLI not found” error. See CLI → Installation.

The extension is published as sfdt.sfdt-devtools.

In VS Code, open the Extensions view (⇧⌘X / Ctrl+Shift+X), search for SFDT — Salesforce DevTools, and click Install.
Or from the terminal:


code --install-extension sfdt.sfdt-devtools

Prefer not to use the Marketplace? Install from a VSIX or from source below.


git clone https://github.com/scoobydrew83/sfdt.git
cd sfdt/vscode
npm install
npm run package      # runs the build, then `vsce package`

This produces a .vsix file in the vscode/ directory.

In VS Code, open the Command Palette → Extensions: Install from VSIX… → select the .vsix. Or from the terminal:


code --install-extension sfdt-devtools-*.vsix


cd sfdt/vscode
npm install
npm run watch        # esbuild in watch mode

Then press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.

The extension activates lazily — it has no eager activation events, so it loads on first use (opening the SFDT sidebar or running a command).