I ran into an issue with the WPILib VS Code Start Tool workflow while testing NetworkTables telemetry in the SystemCore / WPILib 2027 alpha setup on macOS.
The robot code was using direct NetworkTables publishing, not SmartDashboard. Values were published under named tables such as:
KiwiDriveExample
TelemetryExample
The Java API used successfully was:
org.wpilib.networktables
with typed publishers such as:
DoublePublisher
BooleanPublisher
StringPublisher
What did not work:
- In VS Code, WPILib Start Tool did not reliably launch dashboard tools.
- It reported that tools could not be found.
- It appeared to try resolving/installing tools through Gradle.
- Restarting VS Code and retrying Start Tool did not fix the issue.
- This blocked launching tools like OutlineViewer or Elastic from the normal WPILib command palette flow.
Workaround that did work:
- I opened the tools manually from the WPILib alpha install folder.
- OutlineViewer was available in the WPILib tools folder.
- Elastic was available in the WPILib elastic folder after unpacking the macOS tar.gz.
- I connected the tools using the configured team number / Driver Station connection.
- Once connected, both tools could see the NetworkTables values.
Verification:
- OutlineViewer showed the published values under Transitory Values.
- Elastic showed Network Tables connected.
- In Elastic, I was able to use Add Widget -> Network Tables and add the KiwiDriveExample table to the dashboard.
- The values updated live while TeleOp was enabled and the joystick was moved.
So the NetworkTables publishing structure appears to work correctly. The issue seems to be specifically with WPILib VS Code Start Tool discovering or launching the installed dashboard tools in this setup.
I ran into an issue with the WPILib VS Code Start Tool workflow while testing NetworkTables telemetry in the SystemCore / WPILib 2027 alpha setup on macOS.
The robot code was using direct NetworkTables publishing, not SmartDashboard. Values were published under named tables such as:
KiwiDriveExample
TelemetryExample
The Java API used successfully was:
org.wpilib.networktables
with typed publishers such as:
DoublePublisher
BooleanPublisher
StringPublisher
What did not work:
Workaround that did work:
Verification:
So the NetworkTables publishing structure appears to work correctly. The issue seems to be specifically with WPILib VS Code Start Tool discovering or launching the installed dashboard tools in this setup.