Add self-hosting documentation to README #990
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This PR adds comprehensive documentation for users who want to build and run the GitHub Copilot Chat extension from source code instead of installing it from the VS Code marketplace.
What's Added
A new "Self-Hosting / Building from Source" section that covers:
npm run build
to compile the extension.vsix
files withnpm run package
and installing them locally in VS Codenpm run watch
and VS Code debugging configurationWhy This Is Needed
Previously, the README only focused on end-user features and marketplace installation. Users who wanted to:
Had to dig through the CONTRIBUTING.md file or figure out the build process themselves. This addition makes the self-hosting process accessible directly from the main README while keeping it concise and pointing to CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed development information.
Validation
All documented commands, scripts, and configurations have been verified to exist in the repository:
build
,package
,watch
,get_token
)The documentation provides clear, step-by-step instructions that users can follow to successfully build and install the extension locally.
Created from VS Code via the GitHub Pull Request extension.
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