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Connect Spacelift to VS Code

Give VS Code governed access to Spacelift’s 7 tools through Runlayer, with identity, policy, scanning, and audit on every call.

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Set up

Add Spacelift to VS Code in four steps

Admins approve the server once. Everyone in VS Code then gets it through the same governed connection.

  1. 1

    Add Spacelift to Runlayer

    Spacelift isn’t in the Runlayer catalog yet, so an admin adds it by its MCP server URL.

    Adding a connector manually
  2. 2

    Connect VS Code to Runlayer

    Runlayer’s CLI installs the Runlayer Plugin natively in VS Code; users can also add it over MCP. With direct tool listing turned on for your deployment, Spacelift’s 7 tools show up in VS Code’s own tool list (VS Code 1.103 or newer).

    VS Code setup guide
  3. 3

    Sign in to Spacelift

    Sign in the way Spacelift requires. Runlayer holds the credentials so they stay out of the client’s configuration.

  4. 4

    Use Spacelift from VS Code

    Spacelift’s approved tools appear in VS Code. Every call is checked against policy and recorded.

Tools

7 Spacelift tools in VS Code

Runlayer policy decides which of these VS Code users can call.

  • Discover

    Browse the Spacelift API schema.

  • Intent

    Manage infrastructure resources through their lifecycle.

  • Mutate

    Execute a Spacelift mutation.

  • Policy input schema

    Return a policy type's input structure, expected rule outputs and description.

  • Policy simulate

    Evaluate a draft policy body and return the decision.

  • Provider

    Discover infrastructure providers and inspect their resource/data source schemas.

  • Query

    Execute a read-only Spacelift query.

Control

What Runlayer can see and stop in VS Code

Some controls apply to every client at the gateway. Others depend on what VS Code exposes to Runlayer.

  • Gateway policy (available)

    Every Spacelift call from VS Code passes through Runlayer, where your policies can allow, alert, mask, or block it.

  • Audit trail (available)

    Each call is recorded with the user, VS Code as the client, the tool, and the policy and scanner decisions.

  • Client hooks (available)

    Capture supported prompts, reasoning, local and MCP tool calls, responses, and scanner decisions in real time.

  • Stop a call before it runs (available)

    Runlayer can deny a tool call before VS Code runs it.

  • Block output after it runs (available)

    Runlayer can block a tool’s output before VS Code’s model sees it.

  • Redact output in place (available)

    Runlayer can mask sensitive parts of a tool’s output in VS Code and pass the rest through.

Frequently asked questions

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