Installing dq-awesomeqa with GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Preview feature - Agent plugins in VS Code require chat.plugins.enabled to be true. This setting must be enabled at the user level, not workspace level.

dq-awesomeqa works across Claude Code, GitHub Copilot (VS Code), and Gemini CLI. This guide covers installation and usage with GitHub Copilot in VS Code.

---

Prerequisites

• VS Code with the GitHub Copilot extension installed and signed in
• Agent plugins preview enabled (see Step 1 below)
• Node.js (for hooks)
• For UI/A11y testing: a11y-cli installed on your machine
• For Performance testing: dq-nbomber installed on your machine
• For API testing: the democratize-quality MCP server (run /qa-setup after install)

---

Option A - Install via GitHub (Recommended)

This uses the Copilot CLI or VS Code to pull the plugin directly from GitHub.

Step 1 - Enable agent plugins

Open VS Code settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,), switch to User scope, and search for chat.plugins.enabled. Set it to true.

Or add to your user settings.json:

{
  "chat.plugins.enabled": true
}

Important: This must be a user-level setting. Workspace or dev container settings won't work.

Step 2 - Add the plugin as a marketplace source

In your VS Code user settings.json, add the GitHub repo as a marketplace source:

{
  "chat.plugins.enabled": true,
  "chat.plugins.marketplaces": [
    "uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa"
  ]
}

Step 3 - Install the plugin

Open the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X) and search for @agentPlugins. You should see dq-awesomeqa listed. Click Install.

Alternatively, install via the Copilot CLI:

copilot plugin install uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa

The plugin installs to:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/agentPlugins/github.com/uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa
• Windows: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Code\agentPlugins\github.com\uppadhyayraj\dq-awesomeqa

Step 4 - Verify installation

Open the Extensions view and search @agentPlugins. The Agent Plugins - Installed section should show dq-awesomeqa. You can enable, disable, or uninstall it from there.

In the Copilot chat panel, type /qa-init - if the skill loads, installation is working.

---

Option B - Install from Local Clone

If you've already cloned the repo (or are developing the plugin yourself):

Step 1 - Enable agent plugins

Same as Option A, Step 1.

Step 2 - Register the local path

In your VS Code user settings.json:

{
  "chat.plugins.enabled": true,
  "chat.pluginLocations": {
    "/path/to/dq-awesomeqa": true
  }
}

Replace /path/to/dq-awesomeqa with the actual path where you cloned the repo. Set to false to disable without unregistering.

Step 3 - Verify

Restart VS Code. Open the Copilot chat panel and type /qa-init.

---

Using the Skills

Once installed, all /qa-* skills are available in the Copilot chat panel.

@workspace /qa-init

The entry point is /qa-init - it walks you through the full STLC:

/qa-init          → guided STLC journey (start here)

Individual skills (experienced users):
/qa-setup         → install required tools
/qa-onboard       → configure project → dq-qa.config.json
/qa-requirement   → gather requirements
/qa-plan          → derive test strategy
/qa-api           → build API test plan
/qa-ui            → build UI interaction script
/qa-a11y          → add accessibility scan steps
/qa-perf          → generate load test config
/qa-exec          → execute all tests
/qa-triage        → categorise failures
/qa-coverage      → release readiness check
/qa-report        → consolidated QA summary

---

Differences from Claude Code

The plugin is designed to work on both, but there are a few behavioural differences:

Feature	Claude Code	GitHub Copilot (VS Code)
Skills	/skill-name in any session	/skill-name in Copilot chat panel
Hook env var	${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}	Resolved via plugin runtime
MCP servers	Full support via .mcp.json	Supported in VS Code 1.99+
Hooks	hooks/hooks.json	hooks.json at root
Session start hook	SessionStart event	SessionStart event
Safety hook	Enforced via qa-safety.js	Enforced via qa-safety.js
Browser (a11y-cli)	Opens headed browser	Opens headed browser

The safety guardrails, STLC phase gates, and artifact conventions are identical on both platforms.

---

Troubleshooting

Plugin doesn't appear after adding marketplace

VS Code aggressively caches marketplace feeds. Try switching the format in settings - if you used shorthand (uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa), switch to the full HTTPS URL:

"chat.plugins.marketplaces": [
  "https://github.com/uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa.git"
]

Reload VS Code after changing.

Skills load but hooks don't fire

Confirm Node.js is on your PATH. The hooks (qa-safety.js, audit-log.js, sanitize-input.js) require Node to run. Check the Copilot output panel for hook errors.

/qa-init not recognised

Confirm chat.plugins.enabled is set at user level, not workspace level. Workspace settings are silently ignored for plugin configuration.

MCP server not found during API tests

Run /qa-setup first - it registers the democratize-quality MCP server. The MCP server is not auto-installed with the plugin.

Test with Copilot CLI first

If you're getting silent failures in VS Code with no useful error messages, the Copilot CLI gives better diagnostics:

copilot plugin list
copilot plugin install uppadhyayraj/dq-awesomeqa

---

Sources

• Agent plugins in VS Code (Preview)
• Creating Agent Plugins for VS Code and Copilot CLI - Ken Muse