Use VS Code file pickers instead of prompting for strings

extension/package.nls.json

@@ -95,5 +95,7 @@
   "aspire-vscode.strings.cliNotAvailable": "Aspire CLI is not available on PATH. Please install it and restart VS Code.",
   "aspire-vscode.strings.cliFoundAtDefaultPath": "Aspire CLI found at {0}. The extension will use this path.",
   "aspire-vscode.strings.openCliInstallInstructions": "See CLI installation instructions",
-  "aspire-vscode.strings.dismissLabel": "Dismiss"
+  "aspire-vscode.strings.dismissLabel": "Dismiss",
+  "aspire-vscode.strings.selectDirectoryTitle": "Select directory",
+  "aspire-vscode.strings.selectFileTitle": "Select file"
 }

extension/src/capabilities.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ export type Capability =
     | 'prompting' // Support using VS Code to capture user input instead of CLI
     | 'baseline.v1' 
     | 'secret-prompts.v1'
+    | 'file-pickers.v1'
     | 'build-dotnet-using-cli' // Support building .NET projects using the CLI
     | 'devkit' // Support for .NET DevKit extension (old, used for determining whether to build .NET projects in extension)
     | 'ms-dotnettools.csdevkit' // Older AppHost versions used this extension identifier instead of devkit
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ export function isPythonInstalled() {
 }
 
 export function getSupportedCapabilities(): Capabilities {
-    const capabilities: Capabilities = ['prompting', 'baseline.v1', 'secret-prompts.v1', 'build-dotnet-using-cli'];
+    const capabilities: Capabilities = ['prompting', 'baseline.v1', 'secret-prompts.v1', 'file-pickers.v1', 'build-dotnet-using-cli'];
 
     if (isCsDevKitInstalled()) {
         capabilities.push("devkit");

extension/src/loc/strings.ts

@@ -72,3 +72,5 @@ export const dismissLabel = vscode.l10n.t('Dismiss');
 export const openCliInstallInstructions = vscode.l10n.t('See CLI installation instructions');
 export const cliNotAvailable = vscode.l10n.t('Aspire CLI is not available on PATH. Please install it and restart VS Code.');
 export const cliFoundAtDefaultPath = (path: string) => vscode.l10n.t('Aspire CLI found at {0}. The extension will use this path.', path);
+export const selectDirectoryTitle = vscode.l10n.t('Select directory');
+export const selectFileTitle = vscode.l10n.t('Select file');

extension/src/server/interactionService.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { MessageConnection } from 'vscode-jsonrpc';
 import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import * as fs from 'fs/promises';
 import { getRelativePathToWorkspace, isFolderOpenInWorkspace } from '../utils/workspace';
-import { yesLabel, noLabel, directLink, codespacesLink, openAspireDashboard, failedToShowPromptEmpty, incompatibleAppHostError, aspireHostingSdkVersion, aspireCliVersion, requiredCapability, fieldRequired, aspireDebugSessionNotInitialized, errorMessage, failedToStartDebugSession, dashboard, codespaces } from '../loc/strings';
+import { yesLabel, noLabel, directLink, codespacesLink, openAspireDashboard, failedToShowPromptEmpty, incompatibleAppHostError, aspireHostingSdkVersion, aspireCliVersion, requiredCapability, fieldRequired, aspireDebugSessionNotInitialized, errorMessage, failedToStartDebugSession, dashboard, codespaces, selectDirectoryTitle, selectFileTitle } from '../loc/strings';
 import { ICliRpcClient } from './rpcClient';
 import { ProgressNotifier } from './progressNotifier';
 import { applyTextStyle, formatText } from '../utils/strings';
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export interface IInteractionService {
     showStatus: (statusText: string | null) => void;
     promptForString: (promptText: string, defaultValue: string | null, required: boolean, rpcClient: ICliRpcClient) => Promise<string | null>;
     promptForSecretString: (promptText: string, required: boolean, rpcClient: ICliRpcClient) => Promise<string | null>;
+    promptForFilePath: (promptText: string, defaultValue: string | null, directory: boolean) => Promise<string | null>;
     confirm: (promptText: string, defaultValue: boolean) => Promise<boolean | null>;
     promptForSelection: (promptText: string, choices: string[]) => Promise<string | null>;
     promptForSelections: (promptText: string, choices: string[]) => Promise<string[] | null>;
@@ -169,6 +170,28 @@ export class InteractionService implements IInteractionService {
         return input ?? null;
     }
 
+    async promptForFilePath(promptText: string, defaultValue: string | null, directory: boolean): Promise<string | null> {
+        extensionLogOutputChannel.info(`Prompting for file path: ${promptText}, directory: ${directory}, default: ${defaultValue ?? 'null'}`);
+
+        const defaultUri = defaultValue ? vscode.Uri.file(defaultValue) : undefined;
+        const openLabel = directory ? selectDirectoryTitle : selectFileTitle;
+
+        const result = await vscode.window.showOpenDialog({
+            canSelectFiles: !directory,
+            canSelectFolders: directory,
+            canSelectMany: false,
+            defaultUri,
+            openLabel,
+            title: formatText(promptText),
+        });
+
+        if (!result || result.length === 0) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return result[0].fsPath;
+    }
+
     async confirm(promptText: string, defaultValue: boolean): Promise<boolean | null> {
         extensionLogOutputChannel.info(`Confirming: ${promptText} with default value: ${defaultValue}`);
         const yes = yesLabel;
@@ -481,6 +504,7 @@ export function addInteractionServiceEndpoints(connection: MessageConnection, in
     connection.onRequest("showStatus", middleware('showStatus', interactionService.showStatus.bind(interactionService)));
     connection.onRequest("promptForString", middleware('promptForString', async (promptText: string, defaultValue: string | null, required: boolean) => interactionService.promptForString(promptText, defaultValue, required, rpcClient)));
     connection.onRequest("promptForSecretString", middleware('promptForSecretString', async (promptText: string, required: boolean) => interactionService.promptForSecretString(promptText, required, rpcClient)));
+    connection.onRequest("promptForFilePath", middleware('promptForFilePath', async (promptText: string, defaultValue: string | null, directory: boolean) => interactionService.promptForFilePath(promptText, defaultValue, directory)));
     connection.onRequest("confirm", middleware('confirm', interactionService.confirm.bind(interactionService)));
     connection.onRequest("promptForSelection", middleware('promptForSelection', interactionService.promptForSelection.bind(interactionService)));
     connection.onRequest("promptForSelections", middleware('promptForSelections', interactionService.promptForSelections.bind(interactionService)));

src/Aspire.Cli/Backchannel/ExtensionBackchannel.cs

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ internal interface IExtensionBackchannel
     Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string promptText, bool defaultValue, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
     Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator, bool required, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
     Task<string> PromptForSecretStringAsync(string promptText, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator, bool required, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
+    Task<string?> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue, bool directory, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
     Task OpenEditorAsync(string path, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
     Task LogMessageAsync(LogLevel logLevel, string message, CancellationToken cancellationToken);
     Task<string[]> GetCapabilitiesAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
@@ -543,6 +544,24 @@ public async Task<string> PromptForSecretStringAsync(string promptText, Func<str
         return result;
     }
 
+    public async Task<string?> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue, bool directory, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        await ConnectAsync(cancellationToken);
+
+        using var activity = _activitySource.StartActivity();
+
+        var rpc = await _rpcTaskCompletionSource.Task;
+
+        _logger.LogDebug("Prompting for file path with text: {PromptText}, default value: {DefaultValue}, directory: {Directory}", promptText, defaultValue, directory);
+
+        var result = await rpc.InvokeWithCancellationAsync<string?>(
+            "promptForFilePath",
+            [_token, promptText, defaultValue, directory],
+            cancellationToken);
+
+        return result;
+    }
+
     public async Task OpenEditorAsync(string path, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         await ConnectAsync(cancellationToken);

src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/AgentInitCommand.cs

@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ protected override async Task<int> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, Cancell
         var defaultWorkspaceRoot = gitRoot ?? ExecutionContext.WorkingDirectory;
 
         // Prompt the user for the workspace root
-        var workspaceRootPath = await _interactionService.PromptForStringAsync(
+        var workspaceRootPath = await _interactionService.PromptForFilePathAsync(
             McpCommandStrings.InitCommand_WorkspaceRootPrompt,
             defaultValue: defaultWorkspaceRoot.FullName,
             validator: path =>
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ protected override async Task<int> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, Cancell
 
                 return ValidationResult.Success();
             },
+            directory: true,
             cancellationToken: cancellationToken);
 
         var workspaceRoot = new DirectoryInfo(workspaceRootPath);

src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/NewCommand.cs

@@ -456,9 +456,10 @@ public virtual async Task<string> PromptForOutputPath(string path, CancellationT
     {
         // Escape markup characters in the path to prevent Spectre.Console from trying to parse them as markup
         // when displaying it as the default value in the prompt
-        return await interactionService.PromptForStringAsync(
+        return await interactionService.PromptForFilePathAsync(
             NewCommandStrings.EnterTheOutputPath,
             defaultValue: path.EscapeMarkup(),
+            directory: true,
             cancellationToken: cancellationToken
             );
     }

src/Aspire.Cli/Interaction/ConsoleInteractionService.cs

@@ -156,6 +156,11 @@ public async Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaul
         return await _outConsole.PromptAsync(prompt, cancellationToken);
     }
 
+    public Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        return PromptForStringAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, isSecret: false, required, cancellationToken);
+    }
+
     public async Task<T> PromptForSelectionAsync<T>(string promptText, IEnumerable<T> choices, Func<T, string> choiceFormatter, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) where T : notnull
     {
         ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(promptText, nameof(promptText));

src/Aspire.Cli/Interaction/ExtensionInteractionService.cs

@@ -133,6 +133,58 @@ await _extensionTaskChannel.Writer.WriteAsync(async () =>
         }
     }
 
+    public async Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        if (_extensionPromptEnabled)
+        {
+            var hasFilePickersCapability = await Backchannel.HasCapabilityAsync(KnownCapabilities.FilePickers, _cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            if (hasFilePickersCapability)
+            {
+                var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<string?>();
+
+                await _extensionTaskChannel.Writer.WriteAsync(async () =>
+                {
+                    try
+                    {
+                        var result = await Backchannel.PromptForFilePathAsync(promptText.RemoveSpectreFormatting(), defaultValue, directory, _cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                        tcs.SetResult(result);
+                    }
+                    catch (Exception ex)
+                    {
+                        tcs.SetException(ex);
+                    }
+                }, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+                var picked = await tcs.Task.ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+                if (picked is null)
+                {
+                    throw new ExtensionOperationCanceledException(promptText);
+                }
+
+                if (validator is not null)
+                {
+                    var validationResult = validator(picked);
+
+                    if (!validationResult.Successful)
+                    {
+                        var errorMessage = validationResult.Message ?? "Invalid selection.";
+                        DisplayError(errorMessage);
+                        throw new InvalidOperationException(errorMessage);
+                    }
+                }
+
+                return picked;
+            }
+
+            // Fall back to string prompt for older extensions without file picker support
+            return await PromptForStringAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, isSecret: false, required, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        }
+
+        return await _consoleInteractionService.PromptForFilePathAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, directory, required, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+    }
+
     public async Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string promptText, bool defaultValue = true, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
         if (_extensionPromptEnabled)

src/Aspire.Cli/Interaction/IInteractionService.cs

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ internal interface IInteractionService
     Task<T> ShowStatusAsync<T>(string statusText, Func<Task<T>> action, KnownEmoji? emoji = null, bool allowMarkup = false);
     void ShowStatus(string statusText, Action action, KnownEmoji? emoji = null, bool allowMarkup = false);
     Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool isSecret = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+    Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
     public Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string promptText, bool defaultValue = true, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
     Task<T> PromptForSelectionAsync<T>(string promptText, IEnumerable<T> choices, Func<T, string> choiceFormatter, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) where T : notnull;
     Task<IReadOnlyList<T>> PromptForSelectionsAsync<T>(string promptText, IEnumerable<T> choices, Func<T, string> choiceFormatter, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) where T : notnull;

src/Aspire.Cli/Projects/ProjectUpdater.cs

@@ -106,11 +106,11 @@ public async Task<ProjectUpdateResult> UpdateProjectAsync(FileInfo projectFile,
 
             interactionService.DisplayEmptyLine();
 
-            var selectedPathForNewNuGetConfigFile = await interactionService.PromptForStringAsync(
+            var selectedPathForNewNuGetConfigFile = await interactionService.PromptForFilePathAsync(
                 promptText: UpdateCommandStrings.WhichDirectoryNuGetConfigPrompt,
                 defaultValue: recommendedNuGetConfigFileDirectory.EscapeMarkup(),
                 validator: null,
-                isSecret: false,
+                directory: true,
                 required: true,
                 cancellationToken: cancellationToken);
 

src/Aspire.Cli/Utils/ExtensionHelper.cs

@@ -34,4 +34,5 @@ internal static class KnownCapabilities
     public const string BuildDotnetUsingCli = "build-dotnet-using-cli";
     public const string Baseline = "baseline.v1";
     public const string SecretPrompts = "secret-prompts.v1";
+    public const string FilePickers = "file-pickers.v1";
 }

tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/NewCommandTests.cs

@@ -1341,7 +1341,9 @@ public void DisplaySuccess(string message, bool allowMarkup = false) { }
     public void DisplayLines(IEnumerable<(string Stream, string Line)> lines) { }
     public void DisplayCancellationMessage() { }
     public Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string promptText, bool defaultValue = true, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) => Task.FromResult(true);
-    public void DisplaySubtleMessage(string message, bool allowMarkup = false) { }
+    public Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        => PromptForStringAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, isSecret: false, required, cancellationToken);
+    public void DisplaySubtleMessage(string message, bool escapeMarkup = true) { }
     public void DisplayEmptyLine() { }
     public void DisplayPlainText(string text) { }
     public void DisplayRawText(string text, ConsoleOutput? consoleOverride = null) { }

tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/PublishCommandPromptingIntegrationTests.cs

@@ -887,6 +887,9 @@ public Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue
         return Task.FromResult(defaultValue ?? string.Empty);
     }
 
+    public Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        => PromptForStringAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, isSecret: false, required, cancellationToken);
+
     public Task<T> PromptForSelectionAsync<T>(string promptText, IEnumerable<T> choices, Func<T, string> choiceFormatter, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) where T : notnull
     {
         if (_shouldCancel || cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)

tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/UpdateCommandTests.cs

@@ -958,6 +958,8 @@ public CancellationTrackingInteractionService(IInteractionService innerService)
     public void ShowStatus(string statusText, Action action, KnownEmoji? emoji = null, bool allowMarkup = false) => _innerService.ShowStatus(statusText, action, emoji, allowMarkup);
     public Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool isSecret = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) 
         => _innerService.PromptForStringAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, isSecret, required, cancellationToken);
+    public Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        => _innerService.PromptForFilePathAsync(promptText, defaultValue, validator, directory, required, cancellationToken);
     public Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string promptText, bool defaultValue = true, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) 
         => _innerService.ConfirmAsync(promptText, defaultValue, cancellationToken);
     public Task<T> PromptForSelectionAsync<T>(string promptText, IEnumerable<T> choices, Func<T, string> choiceFormatter, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) where T : notnull 

tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Templating/DotNetTemplateFactoryTests.cs

@@ -463,6 +463,9 @@ public Task<IReadOnlyList<T>> PromptForSelectionsAsync<T>(string promptText, IEn
         public Task<string> PromptForStringAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool isSecret = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
             => throw new NotImplementedException();
 
+        public Task<string> PromptForFilePathAsync(string promptText, string? defaultValue = null, Func<string, ValidationResult>? validator = null, bool directory = false, bool required = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+            => throw new NotImplementedException();
+
         public Task<bool> ConfirmAsync(string prompt, bool defaultAnswer, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
             => throw new NotImplementedException();