error: not spawned with IPC, when I use the Node API child_process.exec() to run the command code-server --install-extension <extension id> in my extension code

[Longfd]

When I run the install command in the terminal, it runs well.
My questions is:

• Is it not allowed to call code-server inside vscode extension?

[Longfd]

Use the vscode terminal API can solve my problem, example.
But I still don't know why the error 'not spawned with IPC' happens

[jsjoeio]

Very interesting! @code-asher any ideas?

[code-asher]

Would definitely recommend using the API if possible.

For the not spawned with IPC error that is probably happening because of the CODE_SERVER_PARENT_PID environment variable. We should unset that in the environment host.

Basically CODE_SERVER_PARENT_PID makes code-server think it is the inner process so it tries to communicate with the parent via IPC but there is no parent and therefore no IPC.