Using the Eclipse CDT Memory Inspector in Theia

[kittaakos]

I am currently working on a VSIX that aims to extend the Eclipse CDT Peripheral Inspector as described in https://github.com/eclipse-cdt-cloud/vscode-peripheral-inspector/blob/main/docs/extending-peripheral-inspector.md#developing-your-extension and the Memory Inspector VS Code extensions detailed in https://github.com/eclipse-cdt-cloud/vscode-memory-inspector?tab=readme-ov-file#the-memory-provider. However, my VSIX fails to start.

extension.js:

const vscode = require("vscode");

/** @param {vscode.ExtensionContext} context */
function activate(context) {
  const disposable = vscode.commands.registerCommand(
    "cdt-memory-vsix-consumer.helloWorld",
    function () {
      vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
        "Hello from cdt-memory-vsix-consumer!"
      );
    }
  );
  context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
  ["eclipse-cdt.peripheral-inspector", "eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector"].forEach(extensionId => {
    const extension =
      vscode.extensions.getExtension(extensionId);
    if (extension) {
      extension.activate().then((api) => {
        vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
          extensionId + " extension is now active" + JSON.stringify(api),
        );
      });
    } else {
      vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
        "could not find the " + extensionId + " extension",
      );
    }
  })
}

module.exports = {
  activate,
  deactivate: () => { },
};

package.json:

{
  "name": "cdt-memory-vsix-consumer",
  "displayName": "cdt-memory-vsix-consumer",
  "description": "Consumes the Eclipse CDT Memory and Peripheral Inspectors",
  "license": "MIT",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "engines": {
    "vscode": "^1.97.0"
  },
  "categories": [
    "Other"
  ],
  "activationEvents": [
    "onStartupFinished"
  ],
  "main": "./extension.js",
  "contributes": {
    "commands": [
      {
        "command": "cdt-memory-vsix-consumer.helloWorld",
        "title": "Hello World"
      }
    ]
  },
  "extensionDependencies": [
    "eclipse-cdt.peripheral-inspector",
    "eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "package": "vsce package --allow-missing-repository"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/vscode": "^1.97.0",
    "@types/node": "20.x",
    "@vscode/vsce": "^3.2.2"
  }
}

To reproduce this issue with Theia (commit b2f4838):

Theia does not automatically download the transitive dependencies, so we need to manually add them to the package.json file of Theia in order to pull and download them from OpenVSX using the command npm run download:plugins. Below is the necessary modification:

diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 296302267..522cfb3dc 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -111,7 +111,9 @@
     "EditorConfig.EditorConfig": "https://open-vsx.org/api/EditorConfig/EditorConfig/0.16.6/file/EditorConfig.EditorConfig-0.16.6.vsix",
     "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint": "https://open-vsx.org/api/dbaeumer/vscode-eslint/2.4.2/file/dbaeumer.vscode-eslint-2.4.2.vsix",
     "ms-toolsai.jupyter": "https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-toolsai/jupyter/2024.10.0/file/ms-toolsai.jupyter-2024.10.0.vsix",
-    "ms-python.python": "https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2024.20.0/file/ms-python.python-2024.20.0.vsix"
+    "ms-python.python": "https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2024.20.0/file/ms-python.python-2024.20.0.vsix",
+    "eclipse-cdt.peripheral-inspector": "https://open-vsx.org/api/eclipse-cdt/peripheral-inspector/1.6.0/file/eclipse-cdt.peripheral-inspector-1.6.0.vsix",
+    "eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector": "https://open-vsx.org/api/eclipse-cdt/memory-inspector/1.1.0/file/eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector-1.1.0.vsix"
   },
   "theiaPluginsExcludeIds": [
     "ms-vscode.js-debug-companion",

When I start Theia, I get an error:

2025-02-28T09:19:39.158Z plugin-manager ERROR Activating plugin 'cdt-memory-vsix-consumer' failed: Error: Dependent plugin 'eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector' is not installed.
    at /Users/kittaakos/dev/git/theia/examples/browser/lib/backend/packages_core_shared_reflect-metadata_index_js-packages_plugin-ext_lib_hosted_node_plugin-hos-48197a.js:15158:39
    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)
    at async PluginManagerExtImpl.$activatePlugin (/Users/kittaakos/dev/git/theia/examples/browser/lib/backend/packages_core_shared_reflect-metadata_index_js-packages_plugin-ext_lib_hosted_node_plugin-hos-48197a.js:15219:13)
    at async Promise.all (index 2)
    at async PluginManagerExtImpl.activateBySingleEvent (/Users/kittaakos/dev/git/theia/examples/browser/lib/backend/packages_core_shared_reflect-metadata_index_js-packages_plugin-ext_lib_hosted_node_plugin-hos-48197a.js:15214:9)
    at async PluginManagerExtImpl.$activateByEvent (/Users/kittaakos/dev/git/theia/examples/browser/lib/backend/packages_core_shared_reflect-metadata_index_js-packages_plugin-ext_lib_hosted_node_plugin-hos-48197a.js:15198:13)

I downloaded the required extensions:

Suspicious log entry earlier:

2025-02-28T09:19:37.972Z root ERROR Could not transfer 'dist/browser/extension.js.map' file from 'eclipse_cdt_memory_inspector' Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, stat '/Users/kittaakos/dev/git/theia/plugins/eclipse-cdt.memory-inspector/extension/dist/browser/extension.js.map'

The problem I am encountering is that the Memory Inspector VSIX only exposes a frontend contribution. When my VSIX starts, which is a pure Node.js VSIX, it cannot locate the memory-inspector in the registry, resulting in a failure.

The memory inspector is registered:

The memory inspector starts (alone) as a frontend plugin:

When the other plugins start, the backend cannot see the memory inspector; it was started as a "frontend" kind?

Is this issue a bug, a missing feature, or am I doing something incorrectly? Do I need to create a frontend contribution for my VSIX in order to load the memory-inspector?

Thank you!

[planger]

Hi,

I'm not entirely sure, but imho your use case should work, at least it does in VS Code (local installation). See also eclipse-cdt-cloud/vscode-memory-inspector#154 (comment) for a working example. I haven't tested customizing the memory inspector via its API in Theia yet. So this might be a bug.

[kittaakos]

I'm not entirely sure, but imho your use case should work, at least it does in VS Code (local installation).

Hello! Thanks for looking into this. I trust it works in VS Code.

See also eclipse-cdt-cloud/vscode-memory-inspector#154 (comment) for a working example.

I checked the link, but I didn’t see a working example—just some info on how to customize the API.

I haven't tested customizing the memory inspector via its API in Theia yet.

It's not about failing to customize; the memory inspector just doesn't load in Theia. I wonder if anyone has managed to use it (as a transitive dependency (extensionDependencies) from a VSIX).

So this might be a bug.

Could you turn this discussion into an issue? I think it would be really helpful! Thank you!

[planger]

Sure! #15091