Codewars for VS Code

Unofficial Codewars integration: browse your profile, pick a kata, solve it in the editor, and submit — without leaving VS Code.

Not affiliated with Codewars. Uses public endpoints plus a session cookie you paste yourself.

Features

• Profile sidebar — overall rank, honor, leaderboard position, completed count. Webview with tabs: Overview, Languages (per-language ranks), Completed katas.
• Trainer — pick a mode (Fundamentals / Rank Up / Random / Practice / Beta / Kumite) and a language. The extension fetches a kata matching your rank (-5 / -4 for Fundamentals, -3 for Rank Up at 4 kyu, etc.) via the public search page.
• Kata view — description (markdown), tags, supported languages, rank pill, author, stats. Buttons: Train this kata, ▶ Test, ⤴ Attempt, ↻ Skip.
• Solve inside VS Code — description on the left, starter code on the top-right, sample tests on the bottom-right. Files live under the extension's global storage, so Ctrl+S just saves.
• Test runs your solution + your (possibly edited) sample tests via cr.codewars.com and shows a test tree in the Output channel.
• Attempt submits to the hidden full test suite, finalizes on codewars.com — the kata is marked as completed on your profile.
• Skip rerolls with the same mode and language.
• Open kata by URL / ID — paste a kata link or slug, the details render inside VS Code.

Quick start

1. Install the extension and open the Codewars view in the activity bar.
2. Click Login → enter your Codewars username.
3. When prompted for _session_id, paste the cookie from your browser:
   • On codewars.com, open DevTools → Application (Chrome) / Storage (Firefox) → Cookies → https://www.codewars.com → copy the value of _session_id.
   • This cookie is stored in VS Code's SecretStorage (encrypted), never written to plain settings.
4. The profile opens. Go to Kata list → Start training... → pick a mode → Start Training.
5. In the kata webview press Train this kata. Description docks to the left, starter code + sample tests appear on the right.
6. Edit the solution, press ▶ Test to run locally, ⤴ Attempt to submit.

Authentication

The extension uses only what you give it:

• username — kept in globalState (plain).
• _session_id cookie — kept in VS Code SecretStorage.
• A short-lived runner JWT is fetched on each Test/Attempt via POST /api/v1/runner/authorize.

If the cookie expires or is revoked, any authenticated request will land on the sign-in redirect; the extension notices this and signs you out automatically.

Commands

Command	Description
Codewars: Open Welcome Screen	Welcome webview with the Login button
Codewars: Sign In / Sign Out	Start / end the session
Codewars: Open Profile	Profile webview with tabs
Codewars: Refresh Profile	Re-fetch profile + completed katas
Codewars: Open Trainer	Setup webview (mode + language)
Codewars: Open Kata by URL or ID	Paste a kata link or slug
Codewars: Train Current Kata	Open solution + tests editors for the active kata
Codewars: Test Current Kata	Run solution against the visible sample tests
Codewars: Attempt Current Kata	Run against the hidden full suite and finalize

How kata files are stored

Starter code and sample tests are written under VS Code's extension global storage:

• Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/<publisher>.codewars-vscode/katas/<slug>/<language>/
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/<publisher>.codewars-vscode/katas/...
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\<publisher>.codewars-vscode\katas\...

Existing files are never overwritten on re-train — your edits persist. To reset a kata to the starter, delete its solution.<ext> file and press Train this kata again.

Known limitations

• The Trainer's mode labels mirror codewars.com, but selection is done by filtering the public /kata/search/{language} page by rank. It's not the exact algorithm the official trainer uses (that requires server-side state).
• Attempt works for public test-runner katas (the vast majority). Katas that rely on unusual runner setups may report a decrypter error — fall back to Open on codewars.com.
• Attempt flow depends on the /api/v1/runner/authorize → runner.codewars.com/run → /api/v1/.../notify pipeline. If Codewars changes this pipeline, the Test/Attempt buttons may break until the extension is updated.
• No offline mode — the extension always talks to codewars.com.

Development

git clone https://github.com/prankware/codewars-vscode.git
cd codewars-vscode/codewars-vscode
npm install
npm run watch      # TypeScript in watch mode

Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded. After code changes, reload the host with Ctrl+R.

Project layout:

• src/extension.ts — single-file extension: tree providers, webviews, commands, Codewars API glue.
• src/logo.svg — activity bar icon.
• out/ — compiled JS (generated).

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. When reporting a bug, please include:

• Output from the Codewars output channel (last session + last Test/Attempt run).
• VS Code version and OS.

License

MIT.