Develop and Contribute to NestJS DevTools Extension

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/pouryazardosht/nestjs-devtools/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Prerequisites

• Node.js (includes npm) — used to install dependencies and run build scripts
• VS Code — any recent version; the extension targets engine ^1.118.0
• Git — to clone the repository and manage branches

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Local setup

git clone https://github.com/pouryazardosht/nestjs-devtools.git
cd nestjs-devtools

npm install

code .

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Project structure

nestjs-devtools/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts        # Entry point — activates extension, registers all commands
│   ├── constants.ts        # LOGGER_METHODS and NEST_TYPES definitions
│   ├── commands/
│   │   ├── insertLogger.ts       # Logger insertion logic
│   │   ├── moduleSearcher.ts     # Browse-all-modules command
│   │   └── searchModuleFiles.ts  # Search-from-current-file command
│   └── utils/
│       └── getEnclosingClassName.ts  # Scans upward for enclosing class name
├── package.json            # Extension manifest (commands, keybindings, engines)
├── tsconfig.json           # TypeScript config
└── webpack.config.js       # Bundles src/ → dist/extension.js

• src/extension.ts — the activate() function is called by VS Code when the extension is first used. It iterates over LOGGER_METHODS to register logger commands dynamically, then registers the two module-searcher commands explicitly.
• src/constants.ts — the single source of truth for logger method names (with their emoji) and every recognised NestJS file type (with its suffix, label, shortcut, emoji, and category). Changing these values is all that is required to add new logger methods or file types.
• webpack.config.js — bundles the TypeScript source from src/ into dist/extension.js, which is the file VS Code actually loads. The vscode module is declared as an external so webpack does not attempt to bundle it.

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Build scripts

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Adding a new logger method

1. Add the method to LOGGER_METHODS in src/constants.ts:
   // Before
   export const LOGGER_METHODS: Record<string, string> = {
     debug: "🔍",
     log: "📝",
     warn: "⚠️",
     error: "❌",
     verbose: "🔊",
   };
   
   // After — adding a hypothetical "fatal" method
   export const LOGGER_METHODS: Record<string, string> = {
     debug: "🔍",
     log: "📝",
     warn: "⚠️",
     error: "❌",
     verbose: "🔊",
     fatal: "💀",
   };
   
2. Register the command and keybinding in package.json under contributes.commands and contributes.keybindings:
   // contributes.commands
   {
     "command": "nestjs-log-helper.insertFatalLog",
     "title": "NestJS Devtools: Insert fatal log"
   }
   
   // contributes.keybindings
   {
     "command": "nestjs-log-helper.insertFatalLog",
     "key": "ctrl+l ctrl+f",
     "mac": "cmd+l cmd+f",
     "when": "editorTextFocus"
   }
   
3. No changes to extension.ts are needed. The activate() function iterates over Object.keys(LOGGER_METHODS) and registers nestjs-log-helper.insert${Capitalize(method)}Log for each key automatically.

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Adding a new file type

1. Add a new entry to NEST_TYPES in src/constants.ts:
   {
     suffix: ".saga.ts",
     typeLabel: "Saga",
     shortcut: "SA",
     emoji: "⚡",
     category: "Core NestJS",
   }
   
   The fields are:

   Field	Purpose
   suffix	File name suffix used to recognise the type (e.g. .service.ts)
   typeLabel	Human-readable label shown in the quick-pick list
   shortcut	Letter(s) the user types to open the file instantly
   emoji	Icon displayed next to the file in the picker
   category	Grouping header in the quick-pick ("Core NestJS", "Entities", "DTOs", etc.)

2. If the type name has a common plural form, add the suffix to the pluralTypes array in src/commands/searchModuleFiles.ts so that directory scanning handles pluralised folder names correctly.
3. Rebuild and test:
   npm run compile
   
   Then press F5 to reload the Extension Development Host and verify the new type appears in the file picker.

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Submitting a pull request

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Create a feature branch from main:
   git checkout -b feat/my-improvement
   
3. Make your changes, then verify everything is clean:
   npm run lint
   npm run test
   
4. Push your branch and open a pull request against main. Include a clear description of what the change does and why.