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VS Code Setup

Install the Extension

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X to open Extensions
  3. Search for KelpMesh
  4. Click Install

Or install from the command line: 

code --install-extension kelpmesh.kelpmesh-vscode

Configure the Extension

Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for kelpmesh:

Setting Default Description
kelpmesh.projectDir . Path to your KelpMesh project root
kelpmesh.target dev Active profile (matches kelpmesh.yml targets)
kelpmesh.autoFormat false Format SQL on save
kelpmesh.showInlineLineage true Show upstream/downstream counts inline

Or edit .vscode/settings.json directly: 

{
  "kelpmesh.projectDir": "${workspaceFolder}",
  "kelpmesh.target": "dev",
  "kelpmesh.autoFormat": true
}

Features

IntelliSense & Autocomplete

  • ref( → autocomplete all model names in your project
  • source( → autocomplete source table names from schema.yml
  • Column names autocomplete after SELECT when schema is defined
  • Ctrl+Click on a ref('model_name') → opens that model's .sql file
  • Works across packages in kelpmesh_packages/

Run Models from the Editor

  • Open any .sql model file
  • Press Ctrl+Shift+P → KelpMesh: Run This Model
  • Results appear in the integrated terminal

Keyboard shortcuts: | Action | Shortcut | |--------|----------| | Run current model | Ctrl+Shift+R | | Preview model (first 100 rows) | Ctrl+Shift+P then "KelpMesh: Preview" | | Run tests for model | Ctrl+Shift+T | | Format file | Shift+Alt+F | | Open lineage view | Ctrl+Shift+L |

Inline Docs Preview

Hover over a ref('model') to see: - Model description from schema.yml - Column list - Tags

Lineage Sidebar

Click the KelpMesh icon in the Activity Bar to open the Lineage panel: - Visual DAG of your project - Click any node to open the model file - Filter by tag or materialization type

Lint on Save

When kelpmesh.autoFormat: true: - SQL files are auto-formatted with kelpmesh format on save - Lint warnings appear in the Problems panel (Ctrl+Shift+M)

Troubleshooting

Extension not finding models: - Verify kelpmesh.projectDir points to the folder containing kelpmesh.yml - Run kelpmesh debug in the terminal to confirm the project loads

Autocomplete not working: - The extension indexes models on load. Run Ctrl+Shift+P → KelpMesh: Refresh Index

"kelpmesh not found" error: - Make sure the virtual environment with kelpmesh installed is selected as your Python interpreter (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Python: Select Interpreter")