Docly Developers
DocsUpdated 24 Oct 2026

Visual Studio Code

Edit a Docly site in Visual Studio Code from a docly CLI working copy: ordinary local files, a diff before anything goes live, and nothing published until you push.

  1. Install the tools

  • Visual Studio Code from code.visualstudio.com.

  • The docly CLI — download and install it as described on The docly CLI, then check it with docly --version in a new terminal.

  1. Get a working copy

docly login                     # once, in your project directory
docly clone /example.com site   # the folder you will work on
code site                       # or File → Open Folder in VS Code

Clone the folder you will be allowed to write in: docly push works on the whole working copy, and is refused when the copy's root is outside the folder that is unlocked.

  1. Teach VS Code the Docly file types

.hash files are HTML templates and .docly files are JSON. Open Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) from the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and add:

{
    "files.associations": {
        "*.hash": "html",
        "*.docly": "json"
    },
    "files.exclude": {
        "**/.doclycli": true
    }
}

files.exclude hides the CLI's own state folder, which holds your session.

A .vscode folder in the working copy is pushed, but never served. .vscode is one of the tool folders a published site always answers 404 for (with .claude, .git, .vs, .idea, .cursor and a few more), so workspace settings there do not end up live. To keep the folder out of Docly altogether, add .vscode/ to .doclyignore in the working copy's root.

  1. Edit, review and publish

Use the integrated terminal (Ctrl+`):

docly pull                  # start from what is on the server
# ...edit in VS Code...
docly status
docly diff
docly unlock /example.com   # writing is locked until a folder is opened
docly push
docly lock

  • A pushed change is live on the next request. Code files (.hash, .js, .css) have no version history, so docly diff is your review.

  • A .docly file must stay valid JSON with its envelope. VS Code's JSON support shows a syntax error before you push. If a broken file would replace the document with another type, push refuses and lists it — fix the JSON rather than adding --allow-replace.

  • A document someone changed on the server since your last pull is not pushed; it is listed under «Conflicts». Run docly pull and push again.

Command reference and the rules for locking, conflicts and errors: The docly CLI.

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