Skip to content
Vox: The AI-Native Programming Language

ADR 031 — Deprecate vox-vscode; dashboard is the primary surface

ADR 031: Deprecate vox-vscode; vox-dashboard is the primary user surface

Section titled “ADR 031: Deprecate vox-vscode; vox-dashboard is the primary user surface”

Status

Section titled “Status”

Accepted (2026-05-01)

Context

Section titled “Context”

apps/editor/vox-vscode/ was historically documented as the “Single Source of Truth” for the Vox user-facing frontend (docs/src/reference/vox-web-stack.md, line 34, pre-2026-05-01). In practice:

  1. The VS Code extension hardcodes VS Code APIs (vscode.window, TextEditor, DiagnosticsCollection, WebviewPanel). These APIs are unavailable outside the extension host and cannot be reused in a browser-native or CLI context.
  2. crates/vox-dashboard/ (started in ADR 024) has grown into a capable Axum+React SPA that covers the same orchestration surface without editor lock-in.
  3. The Vox-trained MENS model is now a first-class catalog provider (ProviderType::VoxLocal, ADR pre-record, 2026-05-01) — inference routing belongs in the orchestrator, not the extension.
  4. Browser-native MCP (via WebSocket proxy) eliminates the need for the extension as an MCP transport.

Decision

Section titled “Decision”
  1. vox-dashboard is the primary user surface for Vox orchestration, visualization, chat, and model management from 2026-05-01 onwards.
  2. vox-vscode is deprecated. Its feature set will not grow. New capability UX, MCP behavior, and visualization must land in crates/vox-dashboard/.
  3. vox-vscode retains its LSP client (src/core/LspClientManager.ts) as a convenience for VS Code users who want syntax highlighting, diagnostics, and completions. The LSP client will continue to receive bug fixes.
  4. Feature parity gate: the extension may not be archived until vox-dashboard achieves parity with every feature listed in the Phase 2 plan (docs/superpowers/plans/2026-05-01-vox-frontend-convergence.md).

Migration path for users

Section titled “Migration path for users”
  • Install vox dashboard and open http://localhost:3921 in a browser.
  • The VS Code extension is still available for LSP (syntax, diagnostics, completions); install it if you want editor integration.
  • The vox generate CLI command routes through the orchestrator’s VoxLocal path directly — no extension required.

Consequences

Section titled “Consequences”
  • No new features land in apps/editor/vox-vscode/src/ beyond LSP fixes.
  • apps/editor/vox-vscode/package.json should be updated to mark deprecated: true once Phase 2 parity is achieved.
  • All documentation that says “ship new behavior in apps/editor/vox-vscode/ first” must be updated to say “ship in vox-dashboard/”.
Section titled “Related”