Sentrik VS Code Extension Tutorial¶

This tutorial walks you through installing, configuring, and using the Sentrik VS Code extension to get real-time governance feedback directly in your editor.

Prerequisites¶

VS Code v1.85.0 or later
Sentrik CLI installed via:
pip install sentrik (Python 3.11+)

Verify the CLI is available:

sentrik --version

Installation¶

From the VS Code Marketplace¶

Open VS Code
Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Sentrik"
Click Install

From a .vsix File¶

If you have a .vsix package (e.g., from a GitHub Release):

Open VS Code
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
Select the .vsix file

First Launch — Zero-Config Setup¶

When you open a project folder in VS Code with the Sentrik extension installed, it automatically:

Detects your project — identifies language, framework, and CI platform
Initializes config — creates .sentrik/config.yaml if one doesn't exist (runs sentrik init --no-interactive behind the scenes)
Runs an initial scan — analyzes your code and displays findings immediately

You don't need to create any config files or run any commands manually. Just open your project and Sentrik starts working.

Note: Auto-init and auto-scan can be disabled in settings if you prefer manual control (see Configuration below).

Understanding the Interface¶

Inline Diagnostics¶

Sentrik findings appear as native VS Code diagnostics — the same squiggly underlines you see for TypeScript errors or ESLint warnings:

Severity	Appearance	VS Code Level
Critical	Red underline	Error
High	Red underline	Error
Medium	Yellow underline	Warning
Low	Blue underline	Information
Info	Dots	Hint

Each diagnostic includes:

The rule ID (e.g., SEC-001)
A description of the issue
Remediation guidance explaining how to fix it

You can see all findings in the Problems panel (Ctrl+Shift+M / Cmd+Shift+M), grouped by file.

Status Bar¶

The Sentrik status bar item sits in the bottom-left of your editor and shows the current state:

Status	Display	Meaning
Idle	`Sentrik` (shield icon)	Extension active, no recent scan
Scanning	`Sentrik: scanning...` (spinner)	Scan in progress
Clean	`Sentrik: clean` (checkmark, green)	No findings detected
Issues found	`Sentrik: N issues` (shield, yellow)	N findings in your project
Error	`Sentrik: error` (warning, red)	Scan failed — check Output panel

Click the status bar item to manually trigger a scan at any time.

Output Channel¶

For detailed logs, open the Output panel (Ctrl+Shift+U) and select Sentrik from the dropdown. This shows:

Scan start/finish timestamps
CLI command being executed
Error messages and stack traces (if something goes wrong)
Config initialization output

Commands¶

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type "SENTRIK" to see all available commands:

SENTRIK: Run Scan¶

Runs a full sentrik scan on your workspace and displays findings as inline diagnostics.

Keyboard shortcut: Click the status bar item
Equivalent CLI: sentrik scan

SENTRIK: Run Gate¶

Runs a governance gate check against your project. This is the same gate that runs in CI/CD pipelines.

If the gate passes, you'll see a success notification
If the gate fails, you'll see a failure notification with the counts of findings by severity

Use this to check whether your code would pass the CI gate before pushing.

SENTRIK: Open Dashboard¶

Starts the Sentrik dashboard server and opens it in your browser at http://localhost:8000/dashboard. Gives you access to all 21 tabs — compliance reports, evidence maps, threat models, audit logs, governance controls, and AI-powered fix suggestions.

SENTRIK: Quality Score¶

Runs sentrik quality-score and displays your project's 0–100 quality score across six dimensions (security, compliance, maintainability, documentation, test coverage, and architecture) in the status bar and output panel.

SENTRIK: Configure AI Provider¶

Opens a step-by-step wizard to set your AI provider for fix suggestions and analysis. Options:

Provider	Details
GitHub Copilot	Recommended — uses your existing Copilot subscription, no API key needed
Anthropic (Claude)	Requires an Anthropic API key. Default model: `claude-sonnet-4-6`
OpenAI	Requires an OpenAI API key. Default model: `gpt-4o`
OpenAI-compatible	Any custom endpoint (e.g., Azure OpenAI). Prompts for base URL and API key
Ollama	Local models. Prompts for endpoint (default: `http://localhost:11434`)

API keys are stored securely in VS Code's secret storage — never written to disk or config files.

SENTRIK: Copilot AI Status¶

Shows whether the Copilot LM proxy is active and which model is being used. Useful for confirming Copilot integration is working.

SENTRIK: Clear Diagnostics¶

Removes all Sentrik diagnostics from the editor. Useful if you want a clean slate before running a fresh scan, or if you're temporarily working on something where the findings are distracting.

SENTRIK: Enable Pack / Disable Pack / Manage Packs¶

Browse, enable, and disable standards packs directly from the Command Palette without editing config files.

SENTRIK: Create Custom Pack¶

Launches a wizard to scaffold a new custom rules pack in your .sentrik/rules/ directory.

SENTRIK: Scan This File / Scan This Folder¶

Right-click any file or folder in the Explorer and select these commands to scope a scan to just that file or directory — useful for focused reviews without rescanning the entire project.

GitHub Copilot Integration¶

The Sentrik extension automatically connects to GitHub Copilot with zero configuration. When Copilot is installed and active, Sentrik routes all AI features — fix suggestions, threat model analysis, design review — through Copilot's language model via VS Code's built-in vscode.lm API.

This means:

No API keys needed — Sentrik uses your existing Copilot subscription
No configuration — auto-detected on startup, no settings to change
Works immediately — open a finding, click "Fix with AI", and Copilot responds

The integration runs on a local proxy (port 47200) that translates Sentrik's AI requests into VS Code LM API calls. If Copilot is not installed, Sentrik falls back to the LLM provider configured in your .sentrik/config.yaml.

Dashboard¶

Launch the full Sentrik management dashboard directly from VS Code:

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
Run SENTRIK: Open Dashboard

This starts the dashboard server and opens it in your browser at http://localhost:8000/dashboard. The dashboard gives you access to all 21 tabs including compliance reports, evidence maps, threat models, audit logs, and governance controls — without leaving your development environment.

Alternatively, run from the integrated terminal:

sentrik dashboard

Automatic Scan on Save¶

By default, Sentrik scans your project every time you save a file. The scan is debounced (500ms delay) so rapid saves don't trigger multiple scans.

The scan runs in the background — you can keep editing while it processes. When complete, diagnostics update automatically.

To disable auto-scan:

Open Settings (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,)
Search for sentrik.autoScan
Uncheck the box

With auto-scan disabled, use the SENTRIK: Run Scan command or click the status bar to scan manually.

Configuration¶

Extension Settings¶

Open VS Code Settings and search for "sentrik" to see all options:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`sentrik.autoInit`	boolean	`true`	Auto-create `.sentrik/config.yaml` when opening a project without one
`sentrik.autoScan`	boolean	`true`	Automatically scan on every file save
`sentrik.binaryPath`	string	`""` (auto)	Path to the `sentrik` CLI binary. Leave empty to auto-detect from PATH
`sentrik.severityFilter`	array	`["critical", "high", "medium"]`	Which severity levels to show as diagnostics

Severity Filter¶

By default, low and info severity findings are hidden to reduce noise. To see all findings:

{
  "sentrik.severityFilter": ["critical", "high", "medium", "low", "info"]
}

Or to only see critical and high severity issues:

{
  "sentrik.severityFilter": ["critical", "high"]
}

Custom Binary Path¶

If the sentrik CLI isn't on your PATH, point the extension to it explicitly:

{
  "sentrik.binaryPath": "/usr/local/bin/sentrik"
}

On Windows:

{
  "sentrik.binaryPath": "C:\\Users\\you\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\sentrik\\sentrik.exe"
}

Project Configuration¶

The extension uses the same .sentrik/config.yaml (or legacy .guard.yaml) that the CLI uses. Common settings you might configure:

# .sentrik/config.yaml

# Standards packs to enforce
standards_packs:
  - owasp-top-10
  - soc2

# Gate thresholds — which severities block the gate
gate_fail_on:
  - critical
  - high

# Output directory for reports
output_dir: out

# Enable parallel scanning for faster results
parallel_scan: true
max_workers: 4

See the Configuration Guide for the full reference.

Typical Workflows¶

Workflow 1: Catch Issues While Coding¶

Open your project in VS Code
Sentrik auto-initializes and runs an initial scan
As you edit and save files, findings appear as inline diagnostics
Hover over a squiggly underline to see the rule and remediation guidance
Fix the issue and save — the diagnostic disappears on the next scan

Workflow 2: Pre-Push Gate Check¶

Before pushing a branch:

Open the Command Palette
Run SENTRIK: Run Gate
If it passes — push with confidence
If it fails — review the findings in the Problems panel and fix them

This mirrors exactly what your CI pipeline does, so there are no surprises.

Workflow 3: Focused Review¶

When reviewing a specific area of the codebase:

Run SENTRIK: Clear Diagnostics to start clean
Open the files you want to review
Run SENTRIK: Run Scan
Review findings in the Problems panel, grouped by file

Workflow 4: Compliance Audit Prep¶

For regulated environments (medical devices, fintech):

Configure appropriate standards packs in .sentrik/config.yaml:
```
standards_packs:
  - fda-iec-62304
  - hipaa
```
Save the config — Sentrik rescans with the new rules
Review all findings in the Problems panel
Address each finding or document justification for suppression

Troubleshooting¶

"Sentrik: error" in status bar¶

Open the Output panel and select Sentrik to see the error details. Common causes:

CLI not found: Install the sentrik package or set sentrik.binaryPath
Config error: Run sentrik validate-config in your terminal to check for YAML issues
Timeout: Scans timeout after 120 seconds. For very large projects, consider using parallel_scan: true or scanning specific directories

No diagnostics appearing¶

Check that sentrik.autoScan is enabled
Check that your sentrik.severityFilter includes the severity levels you expect
Verify the CLI works: run sentrik scan in your terminal from the project root
Check that out/findings.json is generated after a scan

Diagnostics on wrong lines¶

This can happen when the file has been modified since the last scan. Save the file to trigger a rescan, and the diagnostics will update to the correct positions.

Extension not activating¶

The extension activates when VS Code detects any files in your workspace. If it's not activating:

Make sure the extension is installed and enabled
Check the Extensions view for any error badges on the Sentrik extension
Try reloading VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+P > Developer: Reload Window)

Legacy Settings¶

If you were using the older "AI SDLC Guard" extension, your settings still work. The extension checks legacy settings as a fallback:

Legacy Setting	New Setting
`ai-sdlc-guard.scanOnSave`	`sentrik.autoScan`
`ai-sdlc-guard.guardPath`	`sentrik.binaryPath`

Legacy command IDs (ai-sdlc-guard.scan, ai-sdlc-guard.gate, ai-sdlc-guard.clearDiagnostics) also continue to work.

Next Steps¶

CLI Reference — Full list of Sentrik CLI commands
CI/CD Integration — Set up Sentrik in your CI pipeline
Dashboard Guide — Use the web dashboard for deeper analysis
Standards Packs Overview — Browse available compliance packs
Custom Packs — Create your own rules