# Calva Flares

*Updated September 16, 2025 after PEZ showed me how to use the sidebar panel.*

I was playing with some [Clojure](https://clojure.org/) code in [Calva](https://calva.io/) for [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) and stumbled onto a feature. In my [Primary Side Bar](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/configure/custom-layout#_primary-side-bar), I have the Calva view. I noticed the `Inspector` previously, but it wasn’t until now that I noticed `Flare`.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1757645884729/cfbc3589-469b-408b-a598-8c96ed4c5a9f.png align="center")

I decided to see what it is. Here are the official docs on [Flares](https://calva.io/flares/). One of the examples shows how to display a webpage. Here’s the code snippet shown:

```clojure
(tagged-literal 'flare/html {:url "https://calva.io/",
                             :title "Calva homepage"
                             :key "example"})
```

Here’s my editor before evaluating that form:

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1757646534431/219e3e50-81bd-41a7-a8cb-2c163fc80cb9.png align="center")

After evaluating, a new tab is opened with the Flare:

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1757646519648/36733a0b-c280-45a1-9718-f6df7732ceac.png align="center")

Now how about that `Flare` under `Inspector` in the [Primary Sidebar](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/configure/custom-layout#_primary-side-bar)? Add the key-value pair

```clojure
:sidebar-panel? true
```

```clojure
(tagged-literal 'flare/html {:url "https://calva.io/",
                             :title "Calva homepage"
                             :key "example"
                             :sidebar-panel? true})
```

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1758077681801/27a29d3e-e9f6-4c23-bdf8-12ff993de913.png align="center")

There it is, on the left!

This is awesome! I can open a webview in both the sidebar and in tabs so I don’t have to leave my editor.

Here’s an example that I find helpful:

```clojure
(tagged-literal 'flare/html {:url "https://clojure.org/api/cheatsheet",
                             :title "Cheatsheet"
                             :key "cheatsheet"})
```

Happy coding!