Full tutorial: https://springaicommunity.mintlify.app/acp-java-sdk/tutorial/30-vscode-integration

Connect your Java ACP agent to VS Code using the community vscode-acp extension.

VS Code doesn't have native ACP support yet (Issue #265496 is under discussion), but the community extension by omercnet provides full ACP functionality.

Key insight: The same agent JAR works in Zed, JetBrains, and VS Code!

1. VS Code installed
2. vscode-acp extension installed (see Step 1)
3. Java 17+ installed
4. This module built (see Step 2)

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X to open Extensions
3. Search for "VSCode ACP" by omercnet
4. Click Install

Or install from command line:

code --install-extension omercnet.vscode-acp

# From the tutorial root directory
./mvnw package -pl module-30-vscode-integration -q

# Verify the JAR was created
ls -la module-30-vscode-integration/target/vscode-agent.jar

The vscode-acp extension auto-detects agents from your PATH. Create a wrapper script:

# Create the wrapper script
cat > ~/.local/bin/java-tutorial-agent << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
exec java -jar /absolute/path/to/vscode-agent.jar "$@"
EOF

# Make it executable
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/java-tutorial-agent

# Add to PATH if needed (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Important: Replace /absolute/path/to/vscode-agent.jar with:

realpath module-30-vscode-integration/target/vscode-agent.jar

Create %USERPROFILE%\bin\java-tutorial-agent.cmd:

@echo off
java -jar C:\path\to\vscode-agent.jar %*

Add %USERPROFILE%\bin to your PATH environment variable.

# Test the wrapper script
java-tutorial-agent
# Should print:
# [VSCodeAgent] Starting Java ACP agent...
# [VSCodeAgent] Ready - waiting for VS Code to connect...

# Press Ctrl+C to stop

1. Click the VSCode ACP icon in the Activity Bar (sidebar)
2. Click Connect
3. Select your agent from the dropdown
4. Start chatting!

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        VS Code                              │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │               vscode-acp Extension                   │   │
│  │  You: Hello!                                        │   │
│  │  Agent: Hello from VS Code! I'm a Java ACP agent... │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                           │                                 │
│                    Finds agent in PATH                      │
│                           │                                 │
└───────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┘
                            │
                            ▼
               ┌────────────────────────┐
               │  java-tutorial-agent   │
               │  (wrapper script)      │
               │         │              │
               │         ▼              │
               │  java -jar agent.jar   │
               └────────────────────────┘

The vscode-acp extension provides:

1. Verify the wrapper script is in PATH:

   which java-tutorial-agent

2. Verify script is executable:

   ls -la ~/.local/bin/java-tutorial-agent

3. Restart VS Code after adding to PATH

1. Check extension is enabled in Extensions panel
2. Look for errors in VS Code Developer Console (Help → Toggle Developer Tools)
3. Try reinstalling the extension

1. Test the agent manually first:

   java-tutorial-agent

2. Check Java is accessible:

   java -version

The same vscode-agent.jar can be configured in all three editors!

Microsoft is tracking ACP support in Issue #265496. The current status is "under discussion."

If/when native support arrives, configuration would likely follow a similar pattern to Zed's settings.json approach.

• Module 31: Build a Claude-powered ACP agent
• Review Modules 28-29 to see the same agent in Zed and JetBrains

Write once, configure anywhere: This Java agent works in Zed, JetBrains IDEs, and VS Code with zero code changes. That's the power of ACP!