Skip to content

Installation

Install ParrotJS in VS Code — requirements, Marketplace and CLI install, and configuration profiles.

This guide covers everything about getting ParrotJS installed, including requirements and the configuration profiles that shape how it runs.

Requirements

  • VS Code 1.75 or later
  • Node.js 18 or later
  • A JavaScript or TypeScript project

ParrotJS works with .js, .ts, .jsx, and .tsx files out of the box. It runs each file in a forked Node.js child process, so the Node.js runtime must be available on your machine.

Install from the Marketplace

  1. Open VS Code and press Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X to open the Extensions view.
  2. Search for ParrotJS (publisher: ParrotDev).
  3. Click Install.
  4. Reload VS Code if prompted.

Or install directly from the VS Code Marketplace.

Install from the Command Line

code --install-extension parrotdev.parrotjs

Install from a VSIX (beta builds)

If you have a .vsix file (for example, a pre-release build), install it from the Extensions view:

  1. Open the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X).
  2. Click the … menu (top-right) and choose Install from VSIX….
  3. Select the .vsix file.

Or from the command line:

code --install-extension ./parrotjs-0.1.2.vsix

Verify the Installation

  • Open any .js or .ts file. ParrotJS auto-starts (unless you’ve disabled parrotjs.autoStart).
  • Type an expression and add // ? after it — you should see its value inline within a few hundred milliseconds.
  • The ParrotJS status bar item (parrot toggle) and the ParrotJS output panel become available.
  • Run ParrotJS: Show Welcome Page from the command palette to see the guided onboarding.

Configuration Profiles

ParrotJS ships with three profiles that tune execution defaults for common project types. Switch with the ParrotJS: Switch Profile command, or set parrotjs.profile.

Profile Purpose
node (default) General Node.js projects — CJS and ESM, relative imports, require and import both handled.
react JSX/TSX projects — longer execution budget (10s), deeper module resolution (node_modules included), shallower inline objects.
vanilla Minimal browser-ish code — fast 200ms debounce, tighter 3s timeout, no node_modules resolution.

Each profile sets the same set of values — debounce delay, module resolution, execution timeout, inline length, and object depth. The exact defaults are listed on the Configuration page.

What’s Next?