Troubleshooting

The panel shows an error about .buttons.json

A buttons file failed to parse (invalid JSON or a validation error). Buttons surfaces the message and treats the file as empty until it’s fixed.

• Open the file with Buttons: Open Project Buttons File or Buttons: Open Global Buttons File and fix the syntax.
• See .buttons.json validation for the exact rules.

The panel is empty or shows no scripts

• Make sure a workspace folder is open (File → Open Folder). A single untitled file has no workspace to scan.
• Check buttons.scriptFiles — if you disabled a file type, its scripts aren’t offered.
• Check the Project scripts tab — scripts appear there first; you may need to Generate a file or check boxes.

A script shows “not found”

The script reference points at a script that no longer exists in the scan. This happens when a script is renamed or deleted, or its file type was disabled.

• Run Rescan (or Buttons: Rescan Scripts) to refresh.
• If the script was renamed, check the newly-discovered script in the Project scripts tab.
• If you removed it deliberately, uncheck or remove the stale button.

Commands aren’t updating after I edit a file

Buttons watches the script files and buttons files and re-renders automatically, but the update is debounced (about 300 ms). If it still looks stale, run Rescan to force a refresh.

The Generate button is missing

Generate only appears when no project .buttons.json exists yet. If the file already exists, use Rescan instead. See Generate vs Rescan.

My global buttons aren’t updating immediately

The global ~/.buttons.json is watched with fs.watch because it lives outside the workspace. If the file did not exist when the extension started, Buttons polls for it (every 5 seconds) until it appears, then switches to watching. If you just created the file, give it a moment, or reload the window.

The extension doesn’t appear after install

• Reload VS Code: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window.
• Buttons activates when a workspace contains .buttons.json or on startup (onStartupFinished). If it’s still missing, check that it’s enabled in the Extensions view.

I installed a .vsix but see the old version

Reload the window after code --install-extension and confirm the version in the Extensions view. See local installation.

A terminal named “Buttons” keeps getting reused

Run reuses your active terminal if one is open, otherwise a terminal named Buttons, and only creates one if neither exists. To isolate a command, use New Terminal instead, which always opens a fresh terminal.