Add dock band support to your Command Palette extension for persistent toolbar widgets. Use when asked to add dock support, toolbar buttons, persistent UI widgets, taskbar integration, live-updating status displays, quick-access buttons, or always-visible controls. Supports single buttons, multi-button strips, and live-updating content.
The Command Palette Dock is a persistent toolbar at the edge of the user's screen. Your extension can provide dock bands — strips of items that appear in the Dock — giving users quick access to commands without opening the full Command Palette.
Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions ≥ 0.9.260303001)Override GetDockBands() in your CommandProvider:
public partial class MyCommandsProvider : CommandProvider
{
private readonly ICommandItem[] _commands;
private readonly ICommandItem _dockBand;
public MyCommandsProvider()
{
DisplayName = "My Extension";
Id = "com.mycompany.myextension"; // Unique ID required for dock
var mainPage = new MyPage();
_dockBand = new CommandItem(mainPage) { Title = DisplayName };
_commands = [new CommandItem(mainPage) { Title = DisplayName }];
}
public override ICommandItem[] TopLevelCommands() => _commands;
public override ICommandItem[]? GetDockBands() => [_dockBand];
}
Use WrappedDockItem to create a band with multiple buttons:
public override ICommandItem[]? GetDockBands()
{
var button1 = new ListItem(new OpenUrlCommand("https://github.com"))
{
Title = "GitHub",
Icon = new IconInfo("\uE774"),
};
var button2 = new ListItem(new OpenUrlCommand("https://learn.microsoft.com"))
{
Title = "Learn",
Icon = new IconInfo("\uE82D"),
};
var band = new WrappedDockItem(
[button1, button2],
"com.mycompany.myextension.quicklinks", // Unique band ID
"Quick Links");
return [band];
}
Create a dock band that updates its content periodically (like a clock):
internal sealed partial class LiveStatusBand : ListItem
{
private readonly System.Timers.Timer _timer;
public LiveStatusBand()
: base(new NoOpCommand() { Result = CommandResult.KeepOpen() })
{
Title = DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm");
Icon = new IconInfo("\uE823"); // Clock icon
_timer = new System.Timers.Timer(60_000); // Update every minute
_timer.Elapsed += (s, e) =>
{
Title = DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm");
Subtitle = DateTime.Now.ToString("dddd, MMMM d");
};
_timer.Start();
}
}
// In CommandProvider:
public override ICommandItem[]? GetDockBands()
{
var band = new WrappedDockItem(
[new LiveStatusBand()],
"com.mycompany.myextension.status",
"Live Status");
return [band];
}
| Command Type on ICommandItem | Dock Behavior |
|---|---|
IInvokableCommand | Single button that executes the command |
IListPage | Each list item renders as a separate button in one band |
IContentPage | Single expandable button with a flyout |
By default, only top-level commands and dock bands can be pinned. To allow pinning nested commands:
public override ICommandItem? GetCommandItem(string id)
{
// Look up commands by their Id
foreach (var item in GetAllCommands())
{
if (item?.Command is ICommand cmd && cmd.Id == id)
return item;
}
return null;
}
ICommandItem objects must have a Command with a non-empty Id — items without an ID are ignoredId on your CommandProvider (e.g., Id = "com.mycompany.myextension")WrappedDockItem for multi-button bands backed by a ListPage