build / test — VS Code Tasks via vscode-task-runner

sayt build

and

sayt test

delegate to vscode-task-runner (vtr), which reads

.vscode/tasks.json

and runs the tasks labeled "build" and "test" respectively.

How It Works

1. sayt build

   runs

   vtr build

   which finds the task with

   "label": "build"

   in

   .vscode/tasks.json

2. sayt test

   runs

   vtr test

   which finds the task with

   "label": "test"

3. vtr resolves

   dependsOn

   chains and runs prerequisite tasks first
4. The commands execute as shell commands in the project directory

vtr is installed via uvx (Python) and is cached after

sayt setup

for offline use.

.vscode/tasks.json

Schema

Every tasks.json must have:

• "version": "2.0.0"

• A

  tasks

  array with at minimum a

  "build"

  and

  "test"

  task

Required Task Structure

{
  "label": "build",          // MUST be exactly "build" or "test"
  "type": "shell",           // MUST be "shell" for sayt compatibility
  "command": "...",           // The executable to run
  "args": ["..."],           // Arguments (optional)
  "group": {
    "kind": "build",         // "build" or "test"
    "isDefault": true        // Mark as default for the group
  },
  "problemMatcher": [],      // VS Code error matching (can be empty)
  "dependsOn": ["..."]       // Prerequisite tasks (optional)
}

Windows Support

Add a

windows

override for cross-platform commands:

{
  "label": "build",
  "type": "shell",
  "command": "./gradlew",
  "windows": { "command": ".\\gradlew.bat" },
  "args": ["assemble"]
}

Task Dependencies

Use

dependsOn

to run prerequisite tasks:

{
  "label": "build",
  "type": "shell",
  "command": "go",
  "args": ["build", "-o", "app"],
  "dependsOn": ["sqlc-generate", "buf-generate"]
}

Dependency tasks don't need

isDefault: true

but should still be in the tasks array.

Per-Language Examples

Kotlin/Java (Gradle)

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "./gradlew",
      "windows": { "command": ".\\gradlew.bat" },
      "args": ["assemble"],
      "problemMatcher": [],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true }
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "./gradlew",
      "windows": { "command": ".\\gradlew.bat" },
      "args": ["test"],
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Go

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "go",
      "args": ["build", "-o", "app"],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true },
      "dependsOn": ["sqlc-generate", "buf-generate"],
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "sqlc-generate",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "sqlc",
      "args": ["generate"],
      "group": { "kind": "build" },
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "buf-generate",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "buf",
      "args": ["generate", "../../libraries/xproto", "--template", "../../libraries/xproto/buf.go.gen.yaml", "-o", "../../libraries/xproto"],
      "group": { "kind": "build" },
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "go",
      "args": ["run", "gotest.tools/gotestsum@v1.12.0", "-f", "github-actions", "--", "./...", "-tags=unit_test"],
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Node.js / pnpm (monorepo with Turbo)

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "install",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pnpm install --frozen-lockfile"
    },
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pnpm -C ../.. exec turbo --filter ./guis/web assemble",
      "problemMatcher": ["$tsc"],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true },
      "dependsOn": ["install"]
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pnpm -C ../.. exec turbo --filter ./guis/web test",
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": ["$tsc"],
      "dependsOn": ["install"]
    }
  ]
}

Node.js / pnpm (standalone)

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pnpm",
      "args": ["build"],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": ["$tsc"]
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pnpm",
      "args": ["test"],
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Python

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "build"],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "pytest",
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Zig

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "zig",
      "args": ["build"],
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "zig",
      "args": ["build", "test"],
      "group": { "kind": "test", "isDefault": true },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Writing Good Tasks

1. Label exactly "build" and "test" — vtr looks for these exact labels
2. Use

   "type": "shell"

   — Required for sayt/vtr compatibility
3. Set

   isDefault: true

   — Mark one build and one test task as default
4. Use

   dependsOn

   — For code generation or install steps that must run first
5. Add

   problemMatcher

   — Helps VS Code parse errors (use

   ["$tsc"]

   for TypeScript,

   []

   otherwise)
6. Add

   windows

   overrides — If the command differs on Windows (e.g.,

   gradlew

   vs

   gradlew.bat

   )
7. Keep it simple — The task should run the same command you'd type in the terminal

Interpreting Results

• Build success: The underlying compiler/bundler exited 0
• Build failure: Read the compiler output — fix the source code
• Test success: All unit tests passed
• Test failure: Read test output for assertion failures and stack traces
• "command not found: vtr": Run

  pipx install vscode-task-runner

  or

  sayt setup

Current flags

!

sayt help build 2>&1 || true

!

sayt help test 2>&1 || true