能否用VSCode Settings Editor UI编辑自定义JSON设置文件及扩展配置？

Absolutely! While VSCode's built-in Settings Editor UI is designed for global, workspace, and folder settings by default, you can extend it to work with your custom JSON files (like some-settings-sun.json, some-settings-mon.json) using VSCode's extension APIs. Here's how to pull it off:

1. Implement a Custom Configuration Provider #

The core tool here is VSCode's ConfigurationProvider API. It lets your extension act as a custom configuration source that the Settings Editor can read from and write to.

First, create a class extending vscode.ConfigurationProvider to handle loading and saving your custom files:

import * as vscode from 'vscode';
import * as fs from 'fs';
import * as path from 'path';

export class CustomDailySettingsProvider implements vscode.ConfigurationProvider {
  private configFilePath: string;
  private onChangeEmitter = new vscode.EventEmitter<void>();
  onDidChangeConfiguration = this.onChangeEmitter.event;

  constructor(customConfigFile: string) {
    // Set the path to your target JSON file (uses workspace root as base)
    this.configFilePath = path.join(vscode.workspace.rootPath || '', customConfigFile);
  }

  // Load current settings from the custom JSON file
  provideConfiguration(): vscode.Configuration {
    try {
      const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(this.configFilePath, 'utf8');
      return JSON.parse(fileContent);
    } catch (err) {
      // Fallback to empty/default config if file doesn't exist or is invalid
      return {};
    }
  }

  // Save changes from the Settings Editor back to the JSON file
  async saveConfiguration(updatedConfig: vscode.Configuration): Promise<void> {
    try {
      fs.writeFileSync(this.configFilePath, JSON.stringify(updatedConfig, null, 2), 'utf8');
      this.onChangeEmitter.fire(); // Notify VSCode settings have changed
      vscode.window.showInformationMessage(`Saved settings to ${this.configFilePath}`);
    } catch (err) {
      vscode.window.showErrorMessage(`Failed to save settings: ${(err as Error).message}`);
    }
  }
}

2. Register the Provider & Define Your Config Schema #

Next, you need to:

• Register your provider when the extension activates
• Define a JSON schema for your settings so the Settings Editor knows how to render appropriate UI controls (toggles, text inputs, dropdowns, etc.)

Add this to your extension's package.json to define the schema and activation trigger:

{
  "contributes": {
    "configuration": {
      "title": "Daily Workflow Settings",
      "properties": {
        "dailySettings.focusMode": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Enable distraction-free focus mode for the day",
          "default": false
        },
        "dailySettings.defaultLanguage": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Preferred programming language for today's tasks",
          "enum": ["TypeScript", "Python", "JavaScript", "Java"],
          "default": "TypeScript"
        },
        "dailySettings.taskCount": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Target number of tasks to complete today",
          "minimum": 1,
          "maximum": 10,
          "default": 5
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "activationEvents": ["workspaceContains:**/some-settings-*.json"]
}

Then, register the provider in your extension's activation logic (add commands to switch between daily files if needed):

export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
  // Register default provider for Monday's settings
  const monSettingsProvider = new CustomDailySettingsProvider('some-settings-mon.json');
  context.subscriptions.push(vscode.workspace.registerConfigurationProvider(monSettingsProvider));

  // Add command to switch to Sunday's settings via command palette
  context.subscriptions.push(vscode.commands.registerCommand('dailySettings.loadSunday', () => {
    const sunSettingsProvider = new CustomDailySettingsProvider('some-settings-sun.json');
    vscode.workspace.registerConfigurationProvider(sunSettingsProvider);
    vscode.window.showInformationMessage("Switched to Sunday's workflow settings");
  }));
}

3. Test Your Setup #

Once your extension is installed and activated:

1. Open the VSCode Settings Editor (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,)
2. Search for "Daily Workflow Settings" – you'll see your custom settings with interactive UI controls
3. Make changes, and they'll be saved directly to your target JSON file
4. Use the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) to run "Load Sunday Settings" and switch between different daily config files

Key Tips #

• Ensure your custom JSON files match the structure defined in your schema for the UI to render correctly
• Add logic to auto-detect the current day and load the corresponding file if needed
• Handle edge cases like missing files or invalid JSON to avoid crashes

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Victor Orlov