Plugin Overview

SERP VS Code Plugin — Overview

The SERP VS Code extension brings the full SERP development workflow into the editor. It provides an architecture explorer, live deployment control, an interactive runtime inspector, and role-scoped AI sessions — all tightly integrated with your SERP workspace.

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Installation

1. Open VS Code.
2. Go to the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).
3. Search for SERP.
4. Click Install.

Alternatively, open the VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P) and run:

ext install serp

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Requirements

Requirement	Purpose
A SERP workspace open in VS Code	The extension activates when it detects specs/serp.sidl in the workspace root
serp-dev package installed	Provides the serpgen CLI used for validation and code generation
grpcurl (macOS)	Required for the Runtime Inspector when using the gRPC transport
gdbus (Linux)	Required for the Runtime Inspector when using the DBus transport; available by default as part of glib

The extension activates automatically when a SERP workspace is opened (detected by the presence of specs/serp.sidl).

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Features

Feature	Description
Explorer	Project tree: deployments, services, spec files, source files. Validate and regenerate from the panel.
Active Deployment	Build, run, stop. Shows processes, hosted services, links to implementation and generated files.
Architecture Dashboard	Interactive live view: process cards, live CPU/MEM stats, dependency arrows, one-click detail panels.
Runtime Inspector	Call methods, read and watch properties, subscribe to notifications. Works over gRPC or DBus. No client code needed.
SERP AI	Scoped Claude Code sessions per role. Context guard and scope guard hooks enforce focus and prevent out-of-scope writes.

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Status Bar Items

The extension adds three items to the VS Code status bar:

• Active Deployment selector (left side, high priority) — shows the currently selected deployment; click to switch.
• Build Profile selector (left side) — shows the active build profile (Auto, Dev (gRPC), Dev (DBus), Release); click to change.
• Run State indicator — shows whether the deployment is running, stopped, or in an unknown state.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Linux / Windows
Validate specs	Ctrl+Option+V	Ctrl+Alt+V
Generate	Ctrl+Option+G	Ctrl+Alt+G
Architecture Dashboard	Ctrl+Option+D	Ctrl+Alt+D
Build	Ctrl+Option+B	Ctrl+Alt+B
Run	Ctrl+Option+R	Ctrl+Alt+R
Stop	Ctrl+Option+S	Ctrl+Alt+S

All shortcuts are also available via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) by searching for SERP:.

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Extension Commands

All commands are registered under the serp.explorer.* and serp.ai.* namespaces. You can browse the full list in the Command Palette by typing SERP.

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Further Reading

• Explorer — Project tree, file navigation, toolbar actions
• Architecture Dashboard — Live process view, dependency arrows, per-process controls
• Runtime Inspector — Call methods, watch properties, subscribe to notifications
• Build Profiles — Choosing a build profile for runtime debugging
• SERP AI Sessions — Role-scoped Claude Code sessions, context guard, scope guard