https://github.com/madskristensen/privategallerycreator
Create private extension galleries for Visual Studio
https://github.com/madskristensen/privategallerycreator
atom-feed gallery marketplace visual-studio vsix
Last synced: 4 months ago
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Create private extension galleries for Visual Studio
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/madskristensen/privategallerycreator
- Owner: madskristensen
- License: other
- Created: 2017-12-07T22:38:46.000Z (over 8 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2024-10-31T16:47:33.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-03-28T15:11:18.699Z (about 1 year ago)
- Topics: atom-feed, gallery, marketplace, visual-studio, vsix
- Language: C#
- Homepage:
- Size: 90.8 KB
- Stars: 122
- Watchers: 7
- Forks: 42
- Open Issues: 13
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# Private Gallery Creator
[](https://github.com/madskristensen/PrivateGalleryCreator/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
A command-line tool that generates a private extension gallery for Visual Studio from a folder of `.vsix` files.
[Download the latest release](https://github.com/madskristensen/PrivateGalleryCreator/releases)
## Why use this?
The Visual Studio Marketplace is great for public extensions, but sometimes you need to distribute extensions that should not be publicly listed. Common scenarios include:
- **Internal tooling.** Your team builds VS extensions for internal use (code generators, project templates, custom analyzers) and needs a central place to install and update them.
- **Pre-release testing.** You want to distribute beta builds of an extension to a test group before publishing to the Marketplace.
- **Offline or restricted environments.** Your development machines cannot reach the public Marketplace, but can access a shared network folder or internal web server.
Visual Studio has built-in support for [private extension galleries](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/extensibility/private-galleries), but you need to provide a valid ATOM feed that describes the available extensions. This tool generates that feed automatically by reading the metadata from your `.vsix` files.
## Getting started
### 1. Set up a folder with your extensions
Create a folder and place the `.vsix` files you want to distribute inside it. Then add `PrivateGalleryCreator.exe` to the same folder.
### 2. Generate the feed
Double-click `PrivateGalleryCreator.exe` (or run it from the command line). It will:
1. Parse each `.vsix` file for metadata (name, version, author, description, etc.)
2. Extract extension icons into a hidden `icons` folder
3. Generate a `feed.xml` file in the same directory
> **Note:** The `icons` folder is hidden. If you don't see it, that's expected. The feed will still work correctly.
### 3. Register the gallery in Visual Studio
Open Visual Studio and go to **Tools > Options > Environment > Extensions**. Add a new gallery with the absolute path to the `feed.xml` file. This can be a local path or a network share.
```
\\mycompany\extensions\feed.xml
```
The private gallery will now appear under the **Online** tab in the Extensions dialog (**Extensions > Manage Extensions**).
### 4. Keep it updated
Run `PrivateGalleryCreator.exe` again whenever you add, remove, or update a `.vsix` file. Or use the `--watch` option to regenerate the feed automatically on changes (see below).
## Command-line options
All options can be combined. For example:
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --input=C:\extensions --output=C:\feed\feed.xml --name="Team Extensions" --recursive --latest-only --terminate
```
### `--input`
Sets the directory to scan for `.vsix` files. Defaults to the directory containing the exe.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --input=C:\your\extensions\folder
```
### `--output`
Sets the output path for the generated feed file. Defaults to `feed.xml` in the input directory.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --output=C:\your\path\feed.xml
```
### `--name`
Sets a custom gallery name. Defaults to `"VSIX Gallery"`.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --name="My Team Gallery"
```
### `--recursive`
Scans subdirectories for `.vsix` files in addition to the input directory.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --recursive
```
### `--latest-only`
When multiple versions of the same extension are found, only the latest version is included in the feed. Useful when your folder retains previous versions.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --latest-only
```
### `--exclude`
Skips any `.vsix` files whose full path contains the specified text.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --exclude=experimental
```
### `--source`
Overrides the download URL used in the feed. By default, the feed references extensions relative to the feed file location. Use this option when the `.vsix` files will be served from a different location than where you run the tool.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --source=https://myserver.com/extensions/
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --source=\\mycompany\shared\extensions\
```
### `--watch` (`-w`)
Watches the input directory for changes to `.vsix` files and regenerates the feed automatically. The process runs continuously until you close the console or press `Ctrl+C`.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --watch
```
### `--terminate` (`-t`)
Exits immediately after generating the feed. Without this option, the tool waits for a keypress before closing. Useful for scripts and CI pipelines.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --terminate
```
### `--version`
Sets the target Visual Studio version for the feed. Defaults to `17.0`. This affects how extension pack IDs are serialized in the feed. Valid values are `11.0` through `17.x`.
```cmd
PrivateGalleryCreator.exe --version=16.0
```
## Tips
- Visual Studio auto-updates extensions from private galleries, just like it does for Marketplace extensions.
- The feed supports extensions targeting Visual Studio 2012 and newer.
- You can register a private gallery through a VS extension using a `.pkgdef` file. See [this example](https://github.com/madskristensen/VsixGalleryExtension/blob/master/src/feed.pkgdef).
- For CI/CD pipelines, combine `--input`, `--output`, `--source`, and `--terminate` to generate the feed as a build step.
## License
[Apache 2.0](LICENSE)