VS Code Configuration and Reference

Updated on Nov 10, 2026

The Telerik Reporting extension provides settings for the configuration used by the Web Report Designer and its local Reporting service. Use this article to configure named database connections and licensing, troubleshoot the local service, and reference the extension's commands and settings.

Reports that require application-level configuration, such as custom resource locations, assemblies with custom user functions, or additional control over the Reporting service, are better handled in a Web Report Designer application. See how to resolve application-specific report dependencies.

Configuring a Data Connection

A named connection lets a report use the same connection name across environments while the connection details remain specific to the machine where you design the report. For example, if a report refers to ReportingDemo, configure a connection with the same name in the telerik-reporting.connectionStrings VS Code setting.

To configure the named connection:

1. Run Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) from the Command Palette.
2. Add the telerik-reporting.connectionStrings setting shown below, or update its existing entry.
3. Save the settings and any pending report edits. If the designer is already open, run Telerik Reporting: Restart Designer. Otherwise, open the report to start the local Reporting service.

The following setting maps ReportingDemo to a SQL Server connection:

json

{
  "telerik-reporting.connectionStrings": {
    "ReportingDemo": {
      "connectionString": "Server=localhost;Database=ReportingDemo;Integrated Security=True;",
      "providerName": "Microsoft.Data.SqlClient"
    }
  }
}

The ReportingDemo key must match the connection name used by the report.

Configuring a License

You can design and preview reports before configuring a license, but exported documents display a licensing watermark. To remove it, make a valid Telerik Reporting license available to the extension's local Reporting service.

To configure the license:

1. If you do not have a Telerik Reporting license, start a free trial.
2. Follow the manual license-key download instructions to download your telerik-license.txt file.
3. Run Telerik Reporting: Set License and select the downloaded file. The extension stores its absolute path in the telerik-reporting.licensePath VS Code setting.
4. Save any pending report edits. If the designer is already open, run Telerik Reporting: Restart Designer.
5. Export the report again and verify that the licensing watermark no longer appears.

AI-assisted authoring also requires an eligible Telerik Reporting Subscription or Trial license and access to a language model through VS Code. For the remaining setup and the editing workflow, see Using AI-Assisted Authoring.

Command Reference

The Telerik Reporting extension provides commands for common report-authoring tasks and for managing the local Reporting service. Open the Command Palette and search for Telerik Reporting: to find them.

Command	Purpose
Telerik Reporting: Open Report	Select a .trdp, .trdx, or .trdj report and open it in the Telerik Report Designer.
Telerik Reporting: Create Report	Create an empty .trdx report in a location you choose and open it in the designer.
Telerik Reporting: Preview Report	Open the report in a separate live-preview viewer beside the designer.
Telerik Reporting: Export To Application	Generate an ASP.NET Core application with the Web Report Designer and selected reports and assets.
Telerik Reporting: Show Runtime Logs	Open the Telerik Reporting Designer output channel to inspect local-service, configuration, and generated-project messages.
Telerik Reporting: Restart Designer	Restart the local Reporting service and reconnect open designers and viewers. Save pending report edits before restarting.
Telerik Reporting: Set License	Select a Telerik license file and store its path in the telerik-reporting.licensePath VS Code setting.

Settings Reference

Search for telerik-reporting in VS Code Settings to find the options provided by the extension. The table shows each setting's default value and VS Code scope so that you can see whether it applies to a report folder, the current window, your VS Code profile, or the local machine.

Setting	Default	Scope	Purpose
telerik-reporting.reportsDirectory	""	Resource	Set the folder that the local Reporting service uses as the reports root. When empty, the extension uses the open folder or, for a report opened outside a folder, the report's own location.
telerik-reporting.connectionStrings	{}	Machine	Provide named database connections to the local Reporting service. Store machine-specific connection details here rather than in the report or repository.
telerik-reporting.licensePath	""	Machine	Set the path to telerik-license.txt. Use an absolute path to a license file stored outside the repository.
telerik-reporting.dotnetPath	""	Machine	Set the absolute path to dotnet, or leave empty to use PATH. This setting is used for generated-application builds and is not required for report design or preview in VS Code.
telerik-reporting.ai.model	""	Application	Store the language model selected for the AI Report Generator. When empty or when the selected model is unavailable, the next AI request prompts you to choose a model.
telerik-reporting.theme	auto	Window	Choose auto, light, dark, classic-light, or classic-dark. With auto, the designer and viewer follow the VS Code color theme.
telerik-reporting.liveViewerRefresh	true	Resource	Refresh an open report viewer after you save the corresponding report in the designer. Set to false when you want to refresh the viewer manually.

See Also

For related setup and report workflows, see:

• Creating and Previewing a Report in VS Code
• Downloading and Setting Up a License Key