VS Code, Cursor & Windsurf

Install the Basilisk extension from your editor's marketplace:

  1. Open your editor
  2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
  3. Search for Basilisk
  4. Click Install

The extension is published to the VS Code Marketplace and to Open VSX, so it installs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and other VS Code-compatible editors.

Open a Python file and Basilisk activates automatically — diagnostics, completions, hover, go-to-definition, rename, refactoring, formatting, debugging (F5), and profiling.

The binary is bundled — no separate install

The extension ships the matching Basilisk binary for your platform inside the VSIX. A default install needs no extra setup: no cargo install, no PATH configuration, no manual download.

OS Architecture
macOS Apple Silicon (aarch64)
Linux x86_64
Linux aarch64
Windows x86_64
Windows arm64

How the extension finds the binary

The extension resolves the binary in this order:

  1. Explicit component path — basilisk.binaries.basilisk or basilisk.executablePath
  2. Explicit binary directory — basilisk.binaries.path
  3. Bundled VSIX binary — bin/<platform>/basilisk (the default)
  4. External install — Cargo, Homebrew, Scoop, or PATH, if the version matches

Homebrew and Scoop act as external override or repair sources. A default install runs the binary bundled inside the VSIX. Use basilisk.executablePath, basilisk.binaries.basilisk, or basilisk.binaries.path only when you intentionally want to override the bundled binary — for example, to run a locally built development binary.

Next steps