Extension Snippet Specification

Thursday, the 26th of February, 2026

Mickaël CANOUIL, Ph.D.

Independent Contractor

Quarto extensions can provide a _snippets.json file for snippet completion and insertion in Quarto Wizard. The file format follows the standard VS Code snippet JSON specification. For the complete format reference, see VS Code: Snippet syntax.

File Location

Place _snippets.json in the same directory as _extension.yml.

Tree

_extensions/
└── my-extension/
    ├── _extension.yml
    └── _snippets.json

Quarto Wizard discovers snippet files automatically when scanning installed extensions.

Minimal Example

json

{
  "Callout Note": {
    "prefix": "callout-note",
    "body": ["::: {.callout-note}", "$0", ":::"],
    "description": "Insert a callout note block."
  }
}

Quarto Wizard Behaviour

• Snippets are shown under each installed extension in the Explorer view.
• Snippets are available in IntelliSense for Quarto documents.
• Snippet prefixes are namespaced as <owner>-<extension>:<prefix> (or <extension>:<prefix> when no owner exists) to avoid collisions.
• Selecting Insert Snippet from the Explorer inserts the snippet body into the active editor.

Copyright

© 2026 Mickaël CANOUIL