Running Tasks

Table of Contents

1. Running a Task
   1. Action Bar
   2. Double-Click
   3. Right-Click Context Menu
   4. Command Palette
2. Running a Task with Arguments
3. Stopping a Task
   1. Graceful Stop
   2. Force Stop
4. Opening the Source File
5. Adding a Task to Favorites
6. Adding a Task to a Compound Task (Queue)

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Running a Task

There are several ways to run a task from the Workspace Tasks view.

Action Bar

Each task row displays an action bar when hovered. Click the Run button (▶️) to execute the task immediately.

Double-Click

Double-clicking a task in the tree runs it immediately using the configured double-click action (default: run). You can change this behavior via the workspaceTasks.task.doubleClickAction setting.

Right-Click Context Menu

Right-click any task and select Run Task from the context menu.

Command Palette

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run Workspace Tasks: Run Task.

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Running a Task with Arguments

To pass additional arguments to a task at runtime:

1. Hover over the task to reveal the action bar

2. Click the Run with Args button (▶︎) in the action bar

   — or —

   Right-click the task and select Run Task with Args

3. An input box appears — type the arguments you want to append to the task command
4. Press Enter to run (or Escape to cancel)

The arguments are appended to the task command when it executes. Pressing Escape without entering anything cancels the operation.

The workspaceTasks.task.doubleClickAction or workspaceTasks.task.singleClickAction settings can be set to runWithArgs to make clicking a task always prompt for arguments.

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Stopping a Task

While a task is running, the Run button in the action bar is replaced by a Stop button (⏹).

Graceful Stop

Click the Stop button (⏹) once to send a graceful stop signal (SIGINT, equivalent to Ctrl+C) to the running process. The task gets up to 5 seconds to shut down cleanly. After that, it is force-terminated automatically if still running.

Force Stop

If the task does not respond to the graceful stop within the timeout, or if you need to terminate it immediately:

• Click the Stop button (⏹) a second time while the graceful stop is in progress

This force-terminates the process immediately and closes the task execution.

You can also send Ctrl+C directly in the integrated terminal to interrupt the task process.

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Opening the Source File

Every task has an associated source file (e.g., package.json, Makefile, Taskfile.yml). You can navigate directly to where the task is defined:

1. Hover over the task to reveal the action bar

2. Click the Open File button ($(file-code)) in the action bar

   — or —

   Right-click the task and select Open File at Line

   — or —

   Single-click the task (when workspaceTasks.task.singleClickAction is set to open, which is the default)

The file opens in the editor, scrolled to and with the cursor placed at the exact line where the task is defined.

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Adding a Task to Favorites

Favorites pin frequently used tasks to the top of the task tree for quick access.

1. Hover over the task to reveal the action bar

2. Click the star icon (☆) in the action bar

   — or —

   Right-click the task and select Add to Favorites

The task appears in the Favorites group at the top of the task tree. The star icon fills in (⭐) to indicate the task is favorited.

To remove a task from favorites, click the filled star (⭐) in the action bar, or right-click and select Remove from Favorites.

See Favorites for more details on managing and configuring favorites.

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Adding a Task to a Compound Task (Queue)

Compound Tasks (Queues) let you run multiple tasks in sequence.

1. Hover over the task to reveal the action bar

2. Click the compound task icon ($(list-unordered)) in the action bar

   — or —

   Right-click the task and select Add to Compound Task (Queue)

3. If no compound tasks exist, you are prompted to enter a name for a new compound task
4. If compound tasks already exist, select an existing compound task from the list or choose New Compound Task (Queue)… to create one

The task is added to the selected compound task group and appears in the Compound Tasks (Queues) section of the task tree.

See Compound Tasks (Queues) for details on running, reordering, and managing compound tasks.