VSCode Compound Tasks

Overview
Defining a Compound Task
dependsOn
dependsOrder
1. Sequential Example
2. Parallel Example
Stopping a Compound Task
1. Double-Click Force Stop
Configuration
1. workspaceTasks.task.stopCompoundDependencies
Compound Tasks in the Task Tree
Example: Multi-Stage Build Pipeline
Related

Overview

Compound tasks are a native Visual Studio Code feature that let you wire multiple tasks together using the dependsOn property in your tasks.json file. Workspace Tasks fully supports compound tasks and adds smarter stop controls so that the entire task chain can be stopped with a single action.

A compound task itself has no execution (no command). Instead, it specifies one or more dependency tasks via dependsOn. When you run the compound task, VS Code automatically runs the listed dependencies — either in sequence or in parallel.

Defining a Compound Task

Add a task entry to your .vscode/tasks.json that uses dependsOn instead of a command:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Install",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm install"
    },
    {
      "label": "Build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm run build"
    },
    {
      "label": "Test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm test"
    },
    {
      "label": "CI Pipeline",
      "dependsOn": ["Install", "Build", "Test"],
      "dependsOrder": "sequence"
    }
  ]
}

Running CI Pipeline will execute Install, then Build, then Test — one at a time, in order.

`dependsOn`

The dependsOn property accepts a single task label or an array of task labels:

"dependsOn": "Build"

"dependsOn": ["Install", "Build", "Test"]

You can also reference tasks by object notation:

"dependsOn": [
  { "type": "npm", "script": "build" }
]

`dependsOrder`

The dependsOrder property controls the execution mode of the dependency tasks.

Value	Behaviour
`sequence`	Dependencies run one at a time, in the order they are listed. The next task starts only after the previous one completes.
`parallel`	All dependencies start at the same time.

If dependsOrder is omitted, VS Code defaults to parallel execution.

Sequential Example

{
  "label": "Build and Test",
  "dependsOn": ["Build", "Test"],
  "dependsOrder": "sequence"
}

Parallel Example

{
  "label": "Lint and Type-Check",
  "dependsOn": ["Lint", "Type-Check"],
  "dependsOrder": "parallel"
}

Stopping a Compound Task

When you click the Stop button (⏹) on a compound task in the Workspace Tasks view, the extension:

Terminates the compound task orchestration first — preventing the next dependency from starting.
Gracefully stops any currently running dependency tasks (sending SIGINT/Ctrl+C).
Force-terminates any dependency that does not stop within the graceful timeout.

This means a single stop action shuts down the entire task chain.

This behavior can be disabled via the workspaceTasks.task.stopCompoundDependencies setting. When disabled, only the orchestrating compound task is stopped; running dependencies continue until they finish on their own.

Double-Click Force Stop

If the graceful stop is already in progress and you click Stop a second time, the extension immediately force-terminates all remaining tasks without waiting for the graceful timeout.

Configuration

`workspaceTasks.task.stopCompoundDependencies`

Type: boolean Default: true

When enabled, stopping a compound task also stops all currently running dependsOn child tasks. See Task Display Configuration for full details.

{
  "workspaceTasks.task.stopCompoundDependencies": true
}

Compound Tasks in the Task Tree

Compound tasks appear in the Workspace Tasks tree alongside all other tasks. They are identified automatically — because they have no command, VS Code executes them natively by orchestrating their dependencies directly.

You can:

Favorite a compound task for quick access
Add a compound task to a Compound Task (Queue)
Stop a compound task to terminate the full dependency chain

Example: Multi-Stage Build Pipeline

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Clean",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "rm -rf dist"
    },
    {
      "label": "Compile",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "tsc -p tsconfig.json"
    },
    {
      "label": "Bundle",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "webpack --mode production"
    },
    {
      "label": "Run Unit Tests",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "jest"
    },
    {
      "label": "Full Build",
      "dependsOn": ["Clean", "Compile", "Bundle", "Run Unit Tests"],
      "dependsOrder": "sequence"
    }
  ]
}

Click ▶️ next to Full Build in the Workspace Tasks view to run the entire pipeline. Click ⏹ at any point to stop the pipeline and all running child tasks immediately.