Configure Visual Studio Code to have a default Build Task based on file extension - visual-studio-code

Question

I would like to know if there is a way to define a default Build Task for VSCode depending on file extension.
When working in some folder of Python code, I define the following Build Task:
{
"version": "0.1.0",
"command": "python",
"isShellCommand": true,
"showOutput": "always",
"args": ["${file}"]
}
Then if next time I go to another Python folder, I have to redefine it again.
Is it possible to configure VSCode in such a way that if it detects the current file as a Python script, then it will automatically define the above Build Task?
Thank you in advance for your help!

Answer 1

Update for latest vscode
The following will create a default "build" script, so you can use the keyboard shortcut to build your project. (Below for a javascript project, but shows general outline for other languages/projects.)
(1) Assuming you have a script named "build.js" at the root of your project.
(2) Create a file named "tasks.json" in root of project (workspace) with the following contents:
// tasks.json
{
"version": "2.0.0",
"tasks": [
{
"type": "npm",
"script": "mybuildscript", // use same name as in package.json
"group": {
"kind": "build",
"isDefault": true
}
}
]
}
(3) In your package.json, add "scripts" as:
// package.json
{
"name": "my",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "",
"scripts": {
"mybuildscript": "node ./build.js"
},
"dependencies": {
"myfs": "^1.0.22"
}
}
I created a rudimentary vscode extension that does all this for you:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=gieson.make-build-task
The extension isn't perfect (doesn't cover all the possible ways a project/workspace can be configured), but it's a good starting point.
Here's the repo:
https://github.com/bobtherobot/make-build-task

Answer 2

This is possible, but it requires writing an extension (unless somebody has already written one with a tasks provider for Python). Since 1.14.0, there's a new API which allows extensions to dynamically provide tasks. Check out the Task Provider Example.
Alternatiely, the Code Runner extension probably does the trick in this case as well. It doesn't use the Tasks system though.