vscode telemetry.instructions.md

Patterns for GDPR-compliant telemetry in VS Code with proper type safety and privacy protection.

Implementation Pattern

1. Define Types

type MyFeatureEvent = {
    action: string;
    duration: number;
    success: boolean;
    errorCode?: string;
};

type MyFeatureClassification = {
    action: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'FeatureInsight'; comment: 'The action performed.' };
    duration: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'PerformanceAndHealth'; isMeasurement: true; comment: 'Time in milliseconds.' };
    success: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'FeatureInsight'; isMeasurement: true; comment: 'Whether action succeeded.' };
    errorCode: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'PerformanceAndHealth'; comment: 'Error code if action failed.' };
    owner: 'yourGitHubUsername';
    comment: 'Tracks MyFeature usage and performance.';
};

2.1. Send Event

this.telemetryService.publicLog2<MyFeatureEvent, MyFeatureClassification>('myFeatureAction', {
    action: 'buttonClick',
    duration: 150,
    success: true
});

2.2. Error Events

For error-specific telemetry with stack traces or error messages:

type MyErrorEvent = {
    operation: string;
    errorMessage: string;
    duration?: number;
};

type MyErrorClassification = {
    operation: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'PerformanceAndHealth'; comment: 'The operation that failed.' };
    errorMessage: { classification: 'CallstackOrException'; purpose: 'PerformanceAndHealth'; comment: 'The error message.' };
    duration: { classification: 'SystemMetaData'; purpose: 'PerformanceAndHealth'; isMeasurement: true; comment: 'Time until failure.' };
    owner: 'yourGitHubUsername';
    comment: 'Tracks MyFeature errors for reliability.';
};

this.telemetryService.publicLogError2<MyErrorEvent, MyErrorClassification>('myFeatureError', {
    operation: 'fileRead',
    errorMessage: error.message,
    duration: 1200
});