Required app issues

[ifsheldon]

Hi! I'm new to using truffle to develop smart contracts and I want to use vscode, but the experience is a bit confusing, especially on the required apps. Here are a couple of issues I found.

Why do you need node.js to be below 17 while the LTS of node.js now is 18.12.1? Can I stick with my current lts node.js?

Another issue is about ganache. I installed it according to the official guide, which recommends me to install an App with UI instead of a CLI. As I understand, the UI app is basically the same as the CLI, but this extension cannot check the availability of the UI app, so I had to install the CLI.

If I miss anything, just let me know. Thanks!

[acuarica]

Hi @ifsheldon, thanks for sharing your concerns.

Why do you need node.js to be below 17 while the LTS of node.js now is 18.12.1? Can I stick with my current lts node.js?

Both Truffle and Ganache support Node 18. So, yes, you should be able to work with Node 18, even if the extension now requires a Node version below 18. We'll send a PR to support Node 18 within the extension.

[...] but this extension cannot check the availability of the UI app, so I had to install the CLI.

Installing either the UI app or the CLI is matter of preference. The VS Code extension only requires the CLI to be installed, so you should be fine in this regard.

[acuarica]

Node 18 support should be included in #272.

[ifsheldon]

Installing either the UI app or the CLI is matter of preference. The VS Code extension only requires the CLI to be installed, so you should be fine in this regard.

It will be great to avoid confusion (like "I installed Ganache according to the guide but why the extension told me it's not installed") if the environment is correctly set up if the extension can also check that the UI app is available. This should align better with the installation guide of Ganache.

[acuarica]

After discussing with @kevinbluer, we have decided to update the Requirements Page to make clear that the extension depends on Ganache CLI, and not on Ganache UI. This should be fixed in #274.

In any case, if you still want to connect to your own Ganache UI instance, you can do so by starting a Ganache UI instance and then go to the VS Code extension, Networks view, under the ... button, and Connect to network, for example

[ifsheldon]

Yeah, I figured it out before. Thanks! I think you can also mention in the documentation of the extension that Ganache UI can work with the extension as well.

[acuarica]

Hi @ifsheldon, we just released a new version of the extension that includes both

• Allow Node v18 in Required Apps #272 and
• Clarify Ganache CLI usage in Requirements Page #274.

Regarding the documentation, we are going to discuss it internally.

[ifsheldon]

OK, thanks!