feat(vscode): add workspaceRoot config option to enable use in a VSCode workspace that does not have package.json at the workspace root

[anmilleriii]

Problem

When opening a VSCode workspace of the following structure with the extension, where the workspace root does not contain a package manifest file

repository/                 # <-- repository is workspace root, but no package.json at that level
    typescript/
        package.json
        knip.json
        packages/
        app/
            package.json
        ...
    ...

Knip will fail with

2026-04-03 16:13:23.402 [info] Initializing extension
2026-04-03 16:13:23.402 [info] Starting Knip Language Server for repository
2026-04-03 16:13:23.653 [info] Managing 1 workspace(s): /Users/alm/Desktop/__/repository
2026-04-03 16:13:23.655 [info] Using bundled knip v6.1.0
2026-04-03 16:13:23.655 [info] Creating options
2026-04-03 16:13:23.656 [info] [Error - 4:13:23 PM] Error: Error: Unable to find package.json

Solution

This adds a workspaceRoot option to the VSCode settings config to specify a knip root other than the currently open VSCode workspace.

This config:

{
  "knip.workspaceRoot": "./typescript"
}

Yields

2026-04-03 17:51:02.077 [info] Initializing extension
2026-04-03 17:51:02.077 [info] Starting Knip Language Server for repository
2026-04-03 17:51:02.222 [info] Managing 1 workspace(s): /Users/alm/Desktop/__/repository (Knip root: /Users/alm/Desktop/__/repository/typescript)
2026-04-03 17:51:02.633 [info] Using local knip v6.0.4
2026-04-03 17:51:02.633 [info] Creating options
2026-04-03 17:51:02.828 [info] Building module graph...
2026-04-03 17:51:05.876 [info] Finished building module graph (3048ms)

[webpro]

Thanks for PR! Agreed this is good to have. Took the time to dive into the VS Code extension, and this is a slightly more minimal version. Can you please confirm this works for you as well?

[pkg-pr-new]

Open in StackBlitz

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/knip@1667

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@knip/language-server@1667

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@knip/mcp@1667

commit: 1a77812