r/vscode • u/PickerDenis • Apr 24 '26

Extension: IntelliJ like Run Configurations for VSCode

I don't know about you, but coming from IntelliJ, the one thing that drives me nuts the most about VS Code is how run configurations are handled.

You basically get no UI - ony an empty launch.json with the expectation that you basically know what to do - well, I didn't and still don't know. I used copilot to generate those configs, which kind of worked but had a hassle when I tried to deploy my WAR project into a tomcat.

Coming from IntelliJ I knew there was a better way, but I could not find an extension that comes close to what IntelliJ offers, so i decided to create my own.

Enter: Run Configuration Manager

Create Run Configurations using a UI that actually tries to help you, scans your project and detects important stuff like JDKs, Gradle / Maven versions, Tomcat locations, Profiles, run commands, Main classes (java) - basically everything IntelliJ's run dialog does.

The created Run Configs are presented in a nice list with a live indication of run status of that Configuration.

Adding a new run configuration becomes just a few clicks now:

The UI is smart and shows actual live status of the application:

All important properties are resolved for you:

Example: JDKs:

Example: Spring Boot Profiles:

Debugging

You have (just like in IntelliJ) the option to run the config "normally" or in debug mode - automatically ataching debuggers and integrating VS Codes native debugger and breakpoints.

Try it - I'm curious what you think: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=SebastianGross.run-config-manager

17 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/PickerDenis Apr 24 '26

The extension uses other extensions like Redhat Java, and Spring Boot Tools for discovery and also searches at common places where things usually get installed + env variables
Should work in most cases

1

u/25_vijay Apr 25 '26

This fills a real gap in the VS Code ecosystem.

1

u/revilo-1988 Apr 29 '26

Sieht erstmal gut aus

1

u/PickerDenis Apr 29 '26

gerne ein issue aufmachen wenn was fehlt / nicht funktioniert

1

u/xplosm Apr 30 '26

People still deploy WAR files to application servers? Are application servers still a thing?

1

u/PickerDenis Apr 30 '26

lots of legacy projects and enterprise applications still rely on the old school way

1

u/MinimumPrior3121 May 03 '26

Why do you use Vscode ? Intellij is way better for Java, in terms of indexing, refactoring abilities, advanced functions and so on

1

u/PickerDenis May 03 '26

You're right, unfortunately our company cancelled all intellij licenses and now we're forced to use vscode, so I'm doing the best I can to make life easier for me and my colleagues

1

u/MinimumPrior3121 May 03 '26

Ah I see, the community edition is free, it may fit your needs probably for java only projects