What’s New in VS Code Java April 2022? Java 18, Inlay Hints, and Lambda Refactoring

Welcome to the Visual Studio Code Java April 2022 update, which brings a series of enhancements to the core development experience, including Java 18 support, Inlay Hints for parameter names, a new Java language server status interaction, better lambda expression handling, and more.

Microsoft JDConf – A virtual Java‑focused conference will be held on May 4‑5, 2022. Developers can register to share and discover outstanding work in the Java community.

Java 18 Support – The latest release adds full support for Java 18, allowing you to compile and run projects with the newest language features.

Inlay Hints for Parameter Names – VS Code now shows parameter name hints directly in method signatures. Three modes are available:

None (disable hints)

Literal (show hints only for literal arguments) – default

All (show hints for all parameters)

You can change this setting under Java › Inlay: Parameter Names.

New Java Language Server Status Interaction – The previous cluttered status bar items have been consolidated into a single status entry using the new language‑status‑items API introduced in VS Code 1.65. The entry provides information and actions such as:

Build status – click to open the terminal with detailed build output.

Build file presence – click to navigate to the Maven or Gradle configuration file.

Project JDK information – click to open the Java runtime configuration.

If an error occurs, an indicator appears on the status icon; clicking “Show Problems” displays detailed error information.

Lambda Extraction Code Action – A new quick‑fix code action lets developers extract a lambda body into a separate method, streamlining refactoring.

Improved Lambda Debugging – Issues with evaluating variables inside lambda expressions during debugging have been fixed, enabling correct variable inspection in chained calls.

Feedback and Suggestions – Your input helps shape future releases. Provide feedback via the Chinese questionnaire, comment on this post, create an issue on the GitHub repository, or email [email protected].

Resources – Learn more about Java on VS Code at the official documentation:

VS Code Java documentation

Java tutorial for VS Code