Spec2Cloud Toolkit for VS Code

Discover, browse, and use Azure specification templates for your projects with this comprehensive VS Code extension. Powered by the Azure-Samples/Spec2Cloud repository.

Features

🎨 Gallery View

Browse templates with a beautiful gallery interface featuring:

• Full-featured template cards with thumbnails
• Real-time search across all template properties
• Multiple filter options (category, industry, services, languages, frameworks)
• Sorting by name or date
• Video previews and detailed information modals

📋 Templates Tree View

Quick access to templates in a hierarchical view:

• Sort by name (A-Z/Z-A) or date (newest/oldest)
• View template details on GitHub
• One-click template usage
• Refresh to get latest templates

📚 Resources View

Configurable quick links to documentation and helpful resources.

🤖 MCP Tool Support

Provides tools to find templates and estimate costs on Azure.

Getting Started

1. Install the Extension

   • Install from VS Code Marketplace or VSIX file

2. Open Spec2Cloud

   • Click the Spec2Cloud icon in the Activity Bar
   • Browse the gallery or use the tree view

3. Find Templates

   • Search by keywords, services, languages, or frameworks
   • Use filters to narrow down options
   • Watch demo videos to preview templates

4. Use a Template

   • Click "Use Template" on any template
   • Confirm to download all files to your workspace
   • Existing files are never overwritten

Configuration

Templates Repository

Configure the GitHub repository containing templates:

{
  "spec2cloud.templatesRepo": "https://github.com/Azure-Samples/Spec2Cloud"
}

Custom Resources

Add your own resource links:

{
  "spec2cloud.resources": [
    {
      "name": "Azure Documentation",
      "description": "Official Azure docs",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/azure",
      "icon": "Azure"
    }
  ]
}

Commands

Command	Description
spec2cloud.openGallery	Open the template gallery
spec2cloud.refreshTemplates	Refresh templates from repository
spec2cloud.sortTemplatesByName	Toggle name sorting (A-Z/Z-A)
spec2cloud.sortTemplatesByDate	Toggle date sorting (newest/oldest)
spec2cloud.viewTemplateOnGitHub	Open template on GitHub
spec2cloud.viewTemplateInGallery	View template in gallery
spec2cloud.initializeTemplate	Initialize template to workspace

Template Structure

Templates in the repository should follow this structure:

template-name/
├── README.md
├── thumbnail.png (16:9 aspect ratio)
├── demo.mp4 (optional)
└── ... (template files)

The repository must include a templates.json file:

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "template-folder-name",
      "title": "Template Display Name",
      "description": "Template description",
      "category": "AI Apps",
      "industry": "Healthcare",
      "thumbnail": "thumbnail.png",
      "video": "demo.mp4",
      "services": ["Azure OpenAI", "Azure Cosmos DB"],
      "languages": ["Python", "TypeScript"],
      "frameworks": ["LangChain"],
      "tags": ["chat", "rag"],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Author Name",
          "githubHandle": "githubusername"
        }
      ],
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "lastCommitDate": "2025-11-12"
    }
  ]
}

Icons

The extension includes SVG icons for:

• 60+ Azure Services (blue badges)
• 5 Programming Languages (orange badges)
• 4 Frameworks (purple badges)

Icons are located in:

• resources/services/
• resources/languages/
• resources/frameworks/

Requirements

• VS Code 1.105.0 or later
• Internet connection to fetch templates

Extension Settings

Setting	Default	Description
spec2cloud.templatesRepo	https://github.com/Azure-Samples/Spec2Cloud	GitHub repository URL
spec2cloud.resources	[...]	Custom resource links

Known Issues

• Template downloads require internet connection
• Large templates may take time to download
• Private repositories require authentication (not yet supported)

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for solutions to common issues.

Documentation

• User Guide - Comprehensive usage documentation
• Troubleshooting - Solutions to common problems
• Templates JSON Format - Template repository format
• MCP Tools - MCP tool integration details
• Testing Guide - Extension testing instructions
• Contributing - Contribution guidelines

Release Notes

0.6.2

See CHANGELOG.md for full release notes.

Latest Features:

• 🤖 GitHub Copilot Integration: @spec2cloud chat participant and language model tools
• 💰 Azure Cost Estimator: Real-time pricing from Azure Retail Prices API
• 🔗 URI Protocol Handler: Open templates via vscode:// protocol
• 📋 Git Clone Integration: Templates cloned directly using git clone
• 🎨 Modern UI with theme support (light/dark)
• 🔍 Powerful search across all template properties
• 🏷️ Multiple filter dimensions (category, industry, technology)
• 📊 Flexible sorting (name, date)
• 🎬 Video previews for templates
• 📱 Responsive gallery layout
• 🔒 Safe template downloads (no overwrites)

License

MIT

Acknowledgments

• Template repository: Azure-Samples/Spec2Cloud
• Azure icons and branding: Microsoft Corporation
• Built with ❤️ for the Azure community

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Enjoy building with Spec2Cloud templates! 🚀