Set Up Your IDE

Install and configure VS Code for Malloy development

VS Code is the standard IDE for Malloy development, providing syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and integrated query execution. This guide walks through installing the Credible extension and configuring your workspace.

Prerequisites

• VS Code installed (latest version recommended)
• Modeler permissions in a Credible organization
• Database connections configured - Your organization admin should have set up connections to your data sources

See Connect to Your Data for database connection setup.

Install the Extension

1. Open VS Code and go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux)
2. Search for “Credible” and install the extension
3. Restart Extensions to activate the extension

Connect to Credible

1. In the VS Code Explorer sidebar, expand “Credible Service”
2. Click “Sign In” and add your organization name
3. Complete the login flow in your browser
4. Select your project from the dropdown

Set Up Your Workspace

For optimal modeling experience, arrange your VS Code workspace with the Credible Chat panel on the right:

This layout allows you to view your code, file explorer, and AI chat simultaneously.

Extension Features

The extension provides several panels and features to help you build models:

• Connection Explorer: Browse your connected databases, schemas, and tables
• Local Packages: View and publish packages from your workspace
• Malloy Schema Explorer: See all sources, dimensions, measures, and views in your .malloy files
• Schema/Explore/Preview buttons: Above each source, use these to view structure, open the Data Explorer, or preview data

Credible Service Panel

The Credible Service Panel shows your organization’s structure:

Here you can view:

• Projects: Logical groupings of related packages and connections
• Connections: Managed database connections (no local credentials needed)
• Packages: Published semantic models with version history

The extension automatically discovers connections in your project, eliminating the need to store database credentials locally.

Local Packages Panel

The Local Packages Panel helps you manage packages in your workspace:

Use this panel to:

• View local package versions
• Publish packages to the Credible service
• Manage package metadata

Running Queries

You can execute queries in multiple ways:

1. Run button - Click Run next to any view definition
2. Explore button - Open the visual query builder
3. Command palette - Use Malloy: Run Query command
4. Inline execution - Right-click on a query and select Run

Next Steps

AI-Assisted Modeling

Create semantic models with AI assistance

Malloy Notebooks

Create data stories and documentation