Imported from GlassBeaver/ClaudeVS (AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add GlassBeaver/ClaudeVS. Copyright stays with the author.

AGENTS.md

Code Conventions

Don't add new comments anywhere. Don't remove existing comments unless instructed to do so. Don't add log statements unless explicitly told to. Don't Rebuild the project, just Build it. Don't ever try to uninstall or install VS extensions.

Project Overview

ClaudeVS is a Visual Studio 2026 extension that integrates Claude Code CLI into the IDE.

Build Command

"C:/Program Files/Microsoft Visual Studio/18/Community/MSBuild/Current/Bin/MSBuild.exe" "c:\Work\ClaudeVS\ClaudeVS.csproj" -t:Build -p:Configuration=Debug -v:minimal

Terminal Project (c:\work\terminal)

ClaudeVS embeds the Windows Terminal WPF control. The project references two DLLs built from the terminal source:

• Microsoft.Terminal.Control.dll (native C++ DLL with flat C ABI exports) — referenced as Content from terminal\bin\x64\{Config}\Microsoft.Terminal.Control\
• Microsoft.Terminal.Wpf.dll (managed C# wrapper) — referenced as an assembly from terminal\bin\AnyCPU\{Config}\WpfTerminalControl\net472\

Both Debug and Release configurations are referenced via conditions in the csproj, so both must be built.

Building the Terminal

The terminal must be built with VS 2022's MSBuild and toolchain (not VS 18), because the native C++ code and prebuilt libraries use the v143 platform toolset.

Both batch files accept an optional configuration parameter (defaults to Debug).

Step 1 — Build the native TerminalControl DLL:

c:\work\terminal\build_control.bat Debug
c:\work\terminal\build_control.bat Release

This batch file:

1. Initializes the VS 2022 x64 build environment via vcvarsall.bat
2. Runs MIDL to generate ITerminalHandoff.h into obj\x64\{Config}\OpenConsoleProxy\
3. Builds TerminalControl.vcxproj (outputs to bin\x64\{Config}\Microsoft.Terminal.Control\)

Step 2 — Build the managed WPF wrapper:

c:\work\terminal\build_wpf.bat Debug
c:\work\terminal\build_wpf.bat Release

This builds WpfTerminalControl.csproj (outputs to bin\x64\{Config}\WpfTerminalControl\net472\).

After Building the Terminal

Building ClaudeVS automatically picks up the DLLs from the terminal output directories via the csproj references. However, if the VS experimental instance already has a cached copy of the extension, you must also copy the updated DLLs into the extension deployment directory:

c:\users\sirse\appdata\local\microsoft\visualstudio\18.0_cec03a6aExp\Extensions\GlassBeaver\ClaudeVS - Claude Code Integration\4.2\

Copy both Microsoft.Terminal.Control.dll and Microsoft.Terminal.Wpf.dll there, then restart the VS experimental instance.

Architecture

The WPF terminal control uses a flat C ABI to call into the native DLL. Adding new native methods requires changes in all layers:

1. HwndTerminal.hpp / HwndTerminal.cpp — declare and implement the extern "C" function
2. Microsoft.Terminal.Control.def — add the export
3. NativeMethods.cs — add the P/Invoke declaration
4. TerminalContainer.cs — add an internal wrapper
5. TerminalControl.xaml.cs — add the public method