Programming - Ken Muse

Beyond MCP: AI Extension APIs in VS Code

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Explore VS Code's AI extension APIs and when these APIs make sense over using a standalone MCP server.

Adding an MCP Server to a VS Code Extension

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how to embed an MCP server in a VS Code extension to take your development work to the next level.

Publishing npm Packages to GitHub Packages With Yarn

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Trying to publish npm packages to GitHub Packages with Yarn? Learn how to authenticate and publish your GitHub Packages with Yarn v4.

The New DevOps - Why AI Is Not Taking Your Job (Yet)

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Exploring why AI tools complement rather than replace developers, and how smart companies use AI to enhance team productivity instead of downsizing talent.

Good Code Doesn't Care Where It Lives

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Trying create code that is truly flexible? Learn how to write software and services that run everywhere: in VMs, containers, and serverless platforms.

The Most Dangerous Phrase in Software Development

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Discover why "it should work" is software development's most dangerous phrase and how this mindset leads to unreliable, untested code.

Defining an Infrastructure-as-Code Maturity Model

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Infrastructure-as-code should continuously improve. This post introduces a maturity model to enhance how you develop testable and reusable IaC solutions.

Distributing .NET Dependencies and Settings With Packages

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how to standardize development practices by distributing dependencies, settings, and analyzers using NuGet packages.

How to Test a .NET Package

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Packages are code, too! Like any code solution, you need to test your work. Learn how to test a custom .NET package that adds ZIP support to the build process.

Distributing Custom .NET Tasks

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

There's a simple trick to easily share .NET build tasks between developers. Learn to create a NuGet package that automatically ZIPs your builds for deployment.

Creating a Zip Package in .NET

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Compiling code and packaging it as a ZIP file to deploy a .NET application can be simplified to a single command with this native MSBuild feature.

Using React in Visual Studio Code Webviews

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Build custom extensions and Webviews is for Visual Studio Code is just the start. Learn how to upgrade your views to use React.

Improved Blogging With Visual Studio Code Webviews

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

A custom extension in VS Code gives me a more efficient blogging process. Explore how I incorporate custom UIs using Webviews.

Improved Blogging With Visual Studio Code Extensions

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Combining Visual Studio Code with Hugo has given me a great workflow for my blog. I made it even better by creating a custom VS Code extension.

Improved Blogging With Visual Studio Code Tasks

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I use Visual Studio Code and Hugo to manage my blog and make it easier to create content. Today I explore how I use VSCode Tasks to automate the work I do.

Implementing Private VS Code Extensions for Dev Containers

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Learn how to implement private Visual Studio code extensions that are designed to support a specific development container or Codespaces environment.

Mastering the Jest TestEnvironment Event Types

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

If you're implementing a TestEnvironment, you'll need interact with the testing lifecycle. This post will explore events that are raised and how to use them.

A Crash Course on Jest TestEnvironments with TypeScript

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Want to get the most out of Jest and you love TypeScript? Need some code that runs outside of the tests? Learn how (and why) to build custom TestEnvironments.

Implementing Processes for GHAS using GitHub Probot

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

GitHub Advanced Security helps teams to shift left and secure their development. When its processes don't quite fit the team's approach, it's time for Probot!

The Ultimate Debugging Hack for Developers

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Developers usually want to be able to directly connect to a system and start their debugger. What if there's a better way to get the information you need?

Decoding Binary Data in Swift

Thu, 23 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

To properly decode binary data in Swift, it helps to be able to incrementally read the data and convert it to a Swift type. Learn to build a Binary Data Reader!

Creating Swift Binary Decoders

Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

If you want to be able to parse Bluetooth data, you need to be able to decode it. Learn to implement a custom Swift binary decoder.

Creating an Int24 for iOS

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

To develop a Bluetooth application for iOS in Swift, we need a 24-bit unsigned integer. In this post, we'll explore how to create an integer data type in Swift.

Fashion, DevOps, and Certificates

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Google has announced an initiative that will change the way certificates are issued, impacting 50% of companies. Are your dev practices up for the challenge?

Understanding Bluetooth Basics

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The first step in building a Bluetooth Low Energy app is understanding the basics of how data is provided to clients using Services and Characteristics.

Swift, Workouts, and Bluetooth Low Energy

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I needed accurate workout details, so I decided to turn my treadmill into a smart device and integrate it with my Apple watch. Learn how I started my journey.

What Developers Should Know About Floating Point Numbers

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Fun fact: adding 0.1 to 0.2 doesn't exactly equal 0.3 in most programming languages. Learn why floating point numbers don't behave the way you think they do.

Troubleshooting Git Authentication

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Whether you're dealing with bad credentials or connectivity issues, there are a few tricks with Git that can make it easier to understand what's happening.

Automatic SSH Commit Signing With 1Password

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how to automate SSH commit signing with 1Password and dotfiles to enable others to verify the authenticity of your Git commits.

Automatic SSH Commit Signing With Dotfiles

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

I previously talked about how dotfiles can improve the development experience. By automating the processing of setting up your environment, you are free to focus on more important things. One of the more mundane tasks for developers is setting up commit signing and verification. By doing this, others can verify that you are the author of a specific commit. It just requires some setup, especially if you want automatic support in your dev containers. For these examples, I’m going to use SSH-based commit signing. It’s a common approach, and it doesn’t require sharing a private key between environments.

The Hidden Dangers in Dependencies

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

When it comes to code, what you don't know can hurt you. Dependencies come with more security considerations than most people realize. Learn to tighten it up!

Forcing .NET Into Debug Mode

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

How does .NET determine debug or release at runtime? It's more than just specifying a build configuration. And it's more configurable than most people realize.

Understanding .NET Debug vs Release

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Not completely sure about the differences between Debug and Release builds in .NET? Explore the implementation and the implications.

An Introduction to SourceLink

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Instead of using symbol servers to index our PDBs, we can use an open, standardized approach to map our symbols to source code and improve the debug experience.

Understanding Symbol Servers

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

It's not really an exploration of PDBs and debugging without talking about symbol servers. Today we'll learn about what they do and when you need one.

What Every Developer Should Know About PDBs

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Almost a decade ago, John Robbins opened up the details of PDBs to the developer world. It's time to re-examine the format and how it works in modern .NET.

Understanding Certificate Authorities

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Certificates rely need a system of trust, and this starts with certificate authorities (CAs). In this post, we'll explore both CAs and self-signed certificates.

Understanding X.509 Certificates

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Despite decades of use, certificates tend to be a mystery to most developers. In today's post, we explore the basics of certificates and take a peak inside.

Why You Should (Not) Prefer Monorepos For Git

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Monorepos are often seen as the simple solution to complex collaboration and code management problems. Like with most quick fixes, the devil's in the details.

GitHub, Maven, and Packages

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

It's important to understand how to securely access package repositories when doing a Java build. Understand how GitHub Actions supports this process.

Using New GitHub APIs With Probot

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Trying to integrate your custom processes with GitHub doesn’t have to be challenging. One of the easiest ways to implement custom functionality is to create a GitHub App using Probot. The challenge comes if you need to implement a listener for a new webhook event or invoke a new API that Probot hasn’t exposed. The good news – it’s not too difficult. As an example, we’ll explore implementing both the event handling and REST method calls for some of the new Dependabot endpoints.

Using Node Version Manager (NVM)

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0400

The other day I was needing a quick and easy way to configure Node.js in an Ubuntu environment. Unfortunately, in this particular case I could simply rely on a package manager to update my dependencies. I needed some extra assistance. Enter Node Version Manager (NVM).

If you’re not familiar with it, NVM provides a quick and easy way to install and configure multiple versions of Node.js in a user environment. This works well, even in a container. It’s surprisingly simple and straight-forward as well! To set it up (install or upgrade), you can use the documented process:

Ruby for the .NET Developer

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

The last few weeks, I’ve been having to work in Ruby 2.x. It’s not a language that I’ve spent a great deal of time with, so it’s been fun to dive into the nuances of the platform. There’s a lot of things to like about it, including some simple syntaxes for common tasks in other languages. It can make it a powerful tool for some complex jobs. As someone that programs in multiple different languages, I often see many aspects that are similar, as well as certain aspects that make the language more powerful by requiring less code.

Coloring Consoles in ANSI

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Explore how to use ANSI escape sequences to force PowerShell (and other tools) to colorize console outputs.

Notarizing .NET Console Apps for macOS

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Learn how to create and notarize macOS universal binaries for .NET console applications.

Configuring macOS Notarization

Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Learn how to setup your environment to notarize macOS applications and support signing .NET console applications.

Adopting a Dark Theme in Hugo

Thu, 12 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

How I used a simple trick in Hugo to implement a dark theme in SCSS and it easier for me to update the look-and feel.

Unexpected Optimizations (Why More Is Less)

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Explore examples of a surprising, counter-intuitive practice that can lead to better performance when you're working on cloud systems.

Azure Real World: Optimizing PHP Applications for the Cloud

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

My first published article, a guest post for MSDN covering some tricks for using PHP with classic Azure Web and Worker roles.