How to Run Build and Dev Commands with tasks.json in VS Code

If you run the same handful of commands all day (build, dev, test, lint) you can save them as VS Code tasks. A task is a named shortcut to a shell command, runnable from a menu, the Command Palette, or a keystroke. This guide defines a few tasks in tasks.json and runs them, so you stop retyping npm commands.

What you need

• A project with npm scripts (a package.json with a scripts section)
• VS Code open on that project
• A few minutes

Step 1: Open the tasks configuration

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P, type Tasks: Configure Task, and press Enter. Choose Create tasks.json file from template, then Others. VS Code creates a .vscode/tasks.json file you can edit.

Step 2: Define your tasks

Replace the contents with tasks that run your npm scripts. Each task has a label you will see in the menu, a type of shell, and the command to run. Mark the build task as the default build task so it runs with one shortcut.

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "dev server",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm run dev",
      "isBackground": true,
      "problemMatcher": []
    },
    {
      "label": "build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm run build",
      "group": { "kind": "build", "isDefault": true }
    },
    {
      "label": "test",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "npm test"
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Run a task from the menu

Open the Command Palette, type Tasks: Run Task, and press Enter. Your three tasks appear in a list. Pick one and it runs in a terminal panel. The output streams just like a normal terminal command.

Step 4: Run the build with a shortcut

Because you marked build as the default build task, you can run it without the menu. Press Ctrl+Shift+B (Cmd+Shift+B on macOS) and the build runs immediately.

Result

Your common commands are now named tasks you can launch from a menu or a single keystroke, and the build runs with one shortcut. No more typing the same npm command twenty times a day.