> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.iriscode.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Install Iris Code: VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI Setup Guide

> Install Iris Code from your editor's marketplace, from a .vsix file, or as an npm package for terminals and CI.

Most people should install from their editor's marketplace. It handles updates automatically and needs no extra steps.

The other routes exist for specific situations: a `.vsix` file when a machine cannot reach a registry, and npm when you want the CLI for terminals and CI.

Every route runs the same analysis engine, so a file scores identically in each, and one sign-in covers your editors and the CLI together.

## VS Code

Listing: [marketplace.visualstudio.com](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=davidjaja.iris-code).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Extensions">
    Press `Ctrl+Shift+X` on Windows and Linux, or `Cmd+Shift+X` on macOS.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Search Iris Code">
    Look for the extension published by **davidjaja**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install">
    VS Code downloads and activates it immediately. No restart is required.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the install">
    The Iris Code icon appears in the Activity Bar. Open a `.js`, `.ts`, `.vue`, `.svelte`, `.go` or `.py` file and the sidebar populates with no configuration.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, Trae

These editors read [Open VSX](https://open-vsx.org/extension/davidjaja/iris-code) rather than the Visual Studio Marketplace. Iris Code publishes the **identical build** to both, so the in-editor install works the same way and updates still arrive automatically.

Open the Extensions panel, search for **Iris Code**, and click Install.

<Note>
  The manual `.vsix` route is not needed for these editors. Use it only if your environment cannot reach a registry at all.
</Note>

## Installing from a file

For air-gapped or locked-down machines, or when you need a specific version.

**Download:** [`iriscode.co/downloads/iris-code.vsix`](https://www.iriscode.co/downloads/iris-code.vsix)

Install it through the GUI, using the Extensions panel → the **⋯** menu → **Install from VSIX...**, or from the command line:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="VS Code">
    ```bash theme={null}
    code --install-extension iris-code.vsix
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Cursor">
    ```bash theme={null}
    cursor --install-extension iris-code.vsix
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windsurf">
    ```bash theme={null}
    windsurf --install-extension iris-code.vsix
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="VSCodium">
    ```bash theme={null}
    codium --install-extension iris-code.vsix
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Warning>
  Installing from a file means no automatic updates. Each new version has to be downloaded and installed again manually.
</Warning>

## JetBrains IDEs

Works in IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, PyCharm, GoLand, PhpStorm, Rider, RubyMine, CLion and Android Studio. Listing: [plugins.jetbrains.com](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/33168-iris-code).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install LSP4IJ first">
    Open **Settings → Plugins → Marketplace**, search for **LSP4IJ**, and install it. Iris Code communicates with its analysis engine through it.

    The Marketplace resolves this dependency automatically. Installing Iris Code from a file does not, and Iris Code will not load without LSP4IJ.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install Iris Code">
    In the same **Marketplace** tab, search for **Iris Code** and click Install.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart the IDE">
    Use a full restart rather than a plugin reload. JetBrains registers file-type associations at startup, so a reload leaves `.irisconfig.json` handled incorrectly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the install">
    Open a supported file. Findings appear as squiggles, and the **Iris Code** tool window on the right shows the full panel. Sign in from **Tools → Iris Code → Sign In**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### "JSON standard does not allow comments"

If `.irisconfig.json` reports this error, your IDE is holding a user-level override that cancels the file-type registration Iris Code ships.

Iris Code writes configs as JSONC, with a comment on each setting so the file explains itself, and registers the file with the JSON5 file type so those comments are valid. When a plugin contributing a file-type mapping is uninstalled, IntelliJ records a permanent override cancelling it, and updating Iris Code by uninstalling and reinstalling is enough to trigger that.

The override lives in your IDE settings rather than in the plugin, which is why **reinstalling, updating and restarting will not clear it**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the file type settings">
    Go to **Settings → Editor → File Types**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select JSON5">
    Choose **JSON5** in the **Recognized File Types** list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the pattern back">
    Under **File name patterns**, click **+**, enter `.irisconfig.json`, then click OK and Apply. If the IDE warns that the pattern was previously removed, accept it: that is the override being cleared. No restart is needed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Prefer editing the file directly? Close the IDE completely, remove the line `<removed_mapping pattern=".irisconfig.json" approved="true" type="JSON5" />` from `filetypes.xml` in your IDE's configuration directory, then reopen. The IDE must be closed first, since a running instance rewrites that file when it exits.
</Note>

<Warning>
  Do not attempt to fix this under **Settings → Languages & Frameworks → Schemas and DTDs**. That screen maps JSON *schemas* rather than file types, and JSON5 never appears there. Iris Code configs already carry a `$schema` line, so no manual entry is needed.
</Warning>

## The CLI

The CLI runs scans, enforcement gates and dependency audits from any terminal or CI pipeline, with no editor involved.

```bash theme={null}
npm install -g @iris-code/cli
iris --version
```

<Note>
  Requires **Node.js 18 or later**. Check with `node --version`. Very new Node releases occasionally run ahead of tooling support, so an LTS release is the safer choice.
</Note>

## System requirements

|               | Requirement                                |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **VS Code**   | 1.85 or later                              |
| **Forks**     | Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, Trae, Positron |
| **JetBrains** | 2024.2 or later, plus LSP4IJ               |
| **Node.js**   | 18 or later, CLI only                      |
| **OS**        | Windows, macOS, Linux                      |

Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Vue, Svelte, Go, Python, Ruby, C#, Java and Rust. Full list of extensions and caveats in [Supported languages](/features/language-support).

No additional language servers, compilers or runtimes are required. Iris Code analyses files in-process using its own static analysis engine.