Skip to content

v3‐2026

Jump to bottom
Peter Thomas edited this page Feb 16, 2026 · 6 revisions

Key Improvements

This extension supports Karate v2 — the next generation of the Karate test automation framework. Karate v2 brings major improvements that make getting started simpler and test execution more powerful:

  • Simple installation — the Karate CLI is a single binary, no Maven or Gradle project needed. Install it from within VS Code with one click via the Setup Dashboard.
  • JavaScript debugging — set breakpoints and step through embedded JavaScript within .feature files for the first time
  • ANSI colors in console — rich colored output in the terminal, works even outside the IDE
  • HTML reports with tag filtering — interactive reports that let you filter results by tags
  • Soft assertions — JSON validation works in soft assertion mode by default, so tests continue and report all failures instead of stopping at the first one
  • Large JSON support — operations such as contains use disk when needed to avoid out-of-memory issues on large payloads
  • Setup UI - see status of Karate / CLI installation or troubleshoot
  • One-click license renew — refresh your session instantly without going through the full sign-in flow again
  • VS Code native test runner - view tests in dedicated test tree view, smaller gutter icons, right-click to debug
  • Better Formatter - Karate syntax coloring and inline JS and Examples tables parsing re-written from scratch
  • Match Syntax Diagnostics - Syntax errors in Karate feature files highlighted and appears in "Problems" tab

Getting Started

Quick Start (karate-cli)

  1. Install this extension - download the beta version here.
  2. Open Command Palette > Karate: Setup to install the CLI
  3. Open a .feature file — play buttons appear in the gutter
  4. Press Cmd+F5 (macOS) or Ctrl+F5 (Windows/Linux) to run

Maven / Gradle (vscode-java)

  1. Install Language Support for Java
  2. Set run mode to vscode-java in settings, or leave on auto (auto-detects pom.xml / build.gradle)
  3. Open a .feature file and run from the gutter or Test Explorer

Run Modes

Mode For How
auto (default) Any project Detects project type automatically
karate-cli v2 + karate-pom.json Spawns CLI directly
vscode-java Maven / Gradle Uses Red Hat Java extension

Test Execution

Run tests from:

  • Gutter play buttons — click the green triangle next to any Scenario
  • Keyboard shortcut — Cmd+F5 / Ctrl+F5 runs the test at cursor
  • Test Explorer — tree view in the sidebar with run/debug buttons
  • Explorer context menu — right-click a .feature file to run
  • Example row hover — hover over an Examples data row to see [Run >>]

Debug

Set breakpoints in .feature files and debug with the Test Explorer debug profile. Works in both karate-cli and vscode-java modes. With Karate v2, you can also debug embedded JavaScript — step through JS expressions, inspect variables, and set breakpoints in inline scripts.

Example launch.json:

{
  "type": "karate",
  "name": "Karate: Debug",
  "request": "launch",
  "feature": "${file}"
}

Language Features

Syntax Highlighting

Rich syntax coloring for Karate/Gherkin with embedded JavaScript support.

Code Completion

Auto-complete Karate keywords after step prefixes (Given, When, Then, And, *).

Diagnostics

Real-time syntax error highlighting for Gherkin structure, match expressions, and embedded JavaScript.

Formatting

Format document aligns Examples table columns and normalizes indentation.

Outline

Feature / Scenario / Scenario Outline tree in the Outline sidebar.

License Activation

Sign in via Command Palette > Karate: Sign In / Manage License

Tier Features
PLUS Run tests
PRO Debug, code completion, code folding, diagnostics

One-click renew — if your subscription is still valid, click Renew from the license info dialog to refresh your session instantly. No need to go through the full sign-in flow again.

Extension Settings

Setting Default Description
karatelabs.karate.run.mode auto How to run tests: auto, karate-cli, or vscode-java
karatelabs.karate.run.console integratedTerminal Where to show test output
karatelabs.karate.karateCommand karate Path to the Karate CLI executable
karatelabs.karate.cliOptions [] Additional CLI options

Commands

Command Description
Karate: Setup Open the Setup Dashboard
Karate: Sign In / Manage License Sign in or manage your license
Karate: Kill All Running Tests Stop all running Karate processes
Karate: Clean Reports Clean karate report files
Karate: New Feature File Create a new .feature file from a template

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Cmd+F5 / Ctrl+F5 Run test at cursor

Troubleshooting

  • CLI not found: Run Karate: Setup to install the CLI, or set karatelabs.karate.karateCommand to the full path
  • vscode-java not working: Ensure the Language Support for Java extension is installed
  • Debug not starting: Check the Karate Debug output channel for errors
  • Check logs: Open the Output panel and select "Karate" for extension logs

What's New

See CHANGELOG.md for the full list of changes.

Links

Clone this wiki locally