@grconrad/vscode-extension-feedback
v1.0.0
Published
Timing based feedback gathering for VS Code extensions
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@grconrad/vscode-extension-feedback
Gather feedback from users of your VS Code extension, using an external form hosted on the web.
Make a single API call from your extension's activate
entry point.
Control the timing and text of the feedback prompts.
Usage
Create a publicly accessible survey form (Google form, Surveymonkey, etc.)
From your activate
entry point, invoke scheduleFeedbackChecks
. The result is a Disposable you
can add to your extension context subscriptions to ensure the scheduled checks get cancelled when
your extension deactivates.
Example where the feedback survey is specified in an extension's package.json feedbackFormUrl
field:
import { window, Disposable, ExtensionContext, OutputChannel } from "vscode";
import { scheduleFeedbackChecks } from "@grconrad/vscode-extension-feedback";
const { feedbackFormUrl } = require("../package.json");
export async function activate(context: ExtensionContext): Promise<void> {
// ...
const channel = window.createOutputChannel("My Extension");
// ...
scheduleFeedbackChecks(
{
memento: context.globalState,
logFn: (text: string) => {
channel.appendLine(text);
}
},
{
feedbackFormUrl,
// Use default timings
// Use default text
}
).then((disposable: Disposable) => {
context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
}).catch((reason: any) => {
channel.appendLine(`Failed to schedule feedback checks: reason=${reason}`);
});
// ...
Notes
Timings to control the feedback checking are customizable. By default:
- Checking occurs once per day
- The first prompt occurs 7 days after the extension first begins its scheduled feedback checking
- Reminders occur 7 days after the last prompt
The time of the last prompt, and information about whether the user has provided feedback or said "Don't ask again", are persisted to disk using context.globalState so that they can survive reboots of VS Code.
Text in the prompts is customizable. By default:
- The prompt is "Enjoying this extension? We'd love your feedback!"
- Choices (buttons) from left to right are: "Give feedback", "Not now" and "Don't ask again"
The second parameter to scheduleFeedbackChecks
is an object where you can specify timings, if
you're unhappy with the defaults:
scheduleFeedbackChecks(
{
memento: context.globalState,
logFn: (text: string) => {
channel.appendLine(text);
}
},
{
feedbackFormUrl,
// Override default timings (fast enough for manual testing)
timings: {
checkInterval: 15 * 1000, // 15 seconds
firstAskInterval: 60 * 1000, // 1 minute
reminderInterval: 30 * 1000, // 30 seconds
},
// Override default text
localizedText: {
promptText: "Liking this extension?",
giveFeedbackText: "Tell us",
notNowText: "Later",
dontAskAgainText: "Stop asking"
}
}
).then((disposable: Disposable) => {
context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
}).catch((reason: any) => {
channel.appendLine(`Failed to schedule feedback checks: reason=${reason}`);
});
// ...