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Give Core Commands good descriptions #209511

@TylerLeonhardt

Description

@TylerLeonhardt

In Core, we now have the ability to give commands optional descriptions using the description property in the metadata property of the action. These descriptions will be used as metadata in the Command Palette to help the user find the command they are looking for. It's not displayed to the user (at this time...) but instead is used to match the user's search. Items that match, are displayed in a "similar commands" section of the command palette.

Take this for example:

image

My query is "change to French"... why does this match in similar commands? Because the description is so:

description: localize2('configureLocaleDescription', "Changes the locale of VS Code based on installed language packs. Common languages include French, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Korean, and more.")

It matches the "change" and also the "French". This is powered by either TF-IDF which is available for all, or if the user uses Copilot, an even smarter version that handles things like typos and other languages better.

Ask

Please add thoughtful descriptions to your commands. Keep in mind, this is your opportunity to cast a wide net for what words should match. After you do this, I can evaluate (to some degree) how much these descriptions helped... I'm not going to tell you how I'm doing so so you're not biased in what you put in the descriptions.

Also, you are allowed to say "I don't think this really needs one" and skip the command.

I know this is a lot of work, but if we slowly chip at it, we'll see some good returns on investment.

NOTE: I used some automation to get these assignments. They may be wrong and if so, I'm sorry! Please give the item to the right person if something is wrong 🙏

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