VS Code: Simple Browser

UpdatedSeptember 17, 2025

•1 min read

I like programming (at work) and learning for fun. You'll often find me cooking and working on my house in my spare time.

Updated September 16, 2025 to indicate that Flares have a singleton mode as explained by PEZ.

I just learned about Calva Flares. Then I wondered, is there something built into VS Code for viewing webpages? There is! It’s called Simple Browser and was added way back in 2021!

For my use case of viewing the Clojure Cheatsheet without leaving VS Code, all I have to do is:

Open the Command Palette and select Simple Browser: Show

Type or paste in the URL

And the page appears!

Simple Browser beats out Flares by having an address bar, back, forward, reload, and open in browser controls. But, Simple Browser is a singleton.

With Flares, I can open as many as I want, and I can have a singleton in the sidebar if I add the key-value pair :sidebar-panel? true.

It’s nice to have options!

#simple-browser #calva-flares #vs-code #webview #clojure #calva

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Peter Strömberg aka PEZ8mo ago

Simple Browser is cool! Flares also have the advantage that you can open them in a side panel view. At least a singleton.

Brett Rowberry8mo ago

Wow, thanks for dropping by! I couldn't quite figure that out. I added the key and value :sidebar-panel true to my example in https://brettrowberry.com/calva-flares and didn't notice a change in behavior.

Peter Strömberg aka PEZ8mo ago

Maybe you forgot the ? in : :sidebar-panel?

Brett Rowberry8mo ago

Yes, you solved the mystery! https://github.com/BetterThanTomorrow/calva/pull/2922

Peter Strömberg aka PEZ8mo ago

Ah, thanks for fixing it!

Brett Rowberry8mo ago

Article updated.

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