Feature Request: Integration of the Nextflow Console into VS Code for a Streamlined Development Experience

[A-Noizes]

Obviously, this feature request goes beyond syntax highlighting and autocompletion, but integrating the Nextflow console into VS Code via this extension would be both exciting and highly practical.

During development, I often reach a point where I need to test specific parts of my code or quickly write custom Groovy functions. Unfortunately, the current state of the Nextflow console is cumbersome, making navigation and usage difficult. Having an all-in-one system within VS Code would be much more efficient than constantly switching between the editor and the standalone console. A direct integration of the Nextflow console into VS Code would significantly improve the workflow.

Possible Implementation
There are already extensions for other programming languages, such as R and Python, that allow direct control of the console within VS Code and even enable the execution of individual code chunks with a "Run" button. While I'm not familiar with the backend requirements for such an implementation, it seems feasible to integrate the Nextflow console into VS Code in a similar way.

[bentsherman]

I've struggled with the console for a while. I think there are two main use cases here:

1. Add a "Run" button to entry workflows to quickly run a workflow. The extension should just generate a nextflow run command and execute it in a terminal
2. Add a Nextflow REPL (e.g. nextflow repl) that allows you to play with code snippets in the terminal

The console never seemed feasible to me as a way to play with processes and workflows. Why not just use the VS Code terminal? You can have an editor and terminal side-by-side in VS Code to quickly edit scripts and run them via nextflow run.

[A-Noizes]

The general direction is correct. However, the "Run" button would typically be used to execute selected code chunks—both entire workflow sections and individual snippets. My idea was that pressing the "Run" button would automatically execute the selected code in the Nextflow REPL console (similar to how the R extension works in VS Code). The console would then automatically appear in the terminal bar in VS Code.

Regarding

Why not just use the VS Code terminal? You can have the editor and terminal side by side in VS Code to quickly edit scripts and run them via nextflow run.

This is actually my general workflow. However, the issue with the nextflow run approach is that it is often too heavy-handed when I only want to test individual chunks or write my own Groovy functions. Especially when implementing features towards the end of a pipeline, it is often impractical, and enabling the stub-run function is not always ideal.

It would therefore be extremely useful if there were a way to execute smaller code chunks quickly and directly