diff --git a/packages/components/package.json b/packages/components/package.json
index 3983954a..7c64463c 100644
--- a/packages/components/package.json
+++ b/packages/components/package.json
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
     "vega": "^5.22.1",
     "vega-embed": "^6.21.0",
     "vega-lite": "^5.2.0",
+    "vscode-uri": "^3.0.3",
     "yup": "^0.32.11"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/media/previewWebview.js b/packages/vscode-ext/media/previewWebview.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6d91b1b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/media/previewWebview.js
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+// based on https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-extension-samples/blob/main/custom-editor-sample/media/catScratch.js
+(function () {
+  console.log("hello world");
+  const vscode = acquireVsCodeApi();
+
+  const container = document.getElementById("root");
+
+  const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(container);
+  function updateContent(text) {
+    root.render(
+      React.createElement(squiggle_components.SquigglePlayground, {
+        code: text,
+        onCodeChange: (code) => {
+          vscode.postMessage({ type: "edit", text: code });
+        },
+        showEditor: false,
+      })
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Handle messages sent from the extension to the webview
+  window.addEventListener("message", (event) => {
+    const message = event.data; // The json data that the extension sent
+    switch (message.type) {
+      case "update":
+        const text = message.text;
+
+        // Update our webview's content
+        updateContent(text);
+
+        // Then persist state information.
+        // This state is returned in the call to `vscode.getState` below when a webview is reloaded.
+        vscode.setState({ text });
+
+        return;
+    }
+  });
+
+  const state = vscode.getState();
+  if (state) {
+    updateContent(state.text);
+  }
+})();
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/media/wysiwyg.js b/packages/vscode-ext/media/wysiwygWebview.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/vscode-ext/media/wysiwyg.js
rename to packages/vscode-ext/media/wysiwygWebview.js
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/package.json b/packages/vscode-ext/package.json
index bcd18474..47ac5c1f 100644
--- a/packages/vscode-ext/package.json
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/package.json
@@ -18,10 +18,22 @@
     "Visualization"
   ],
   "activationEvents": [
-    "onCustomEditor:squiggle.wysiwyg"
+    "onCustomEditor:squiggle.wysiwyg",
+    "onCommand:squiggle.preview"
   ],
   "main": "./out/extension.js",
   "contributes": {
+    "languages": [
+      {
+        "id": "squiggle",
+        "extensions": [
+          ".squiggle"
+        ],
+        "aliases": [
+          "Squiggle"
+        ]
+      }
+    ],
     "customEditors": [
       {
         "viewType": "squiggle.wysiwyg",
@@ -31,10 +43,41 @@
             "filenamePattern": "*.squiggle"
           }
         ],
-        "priority": "default"
+        "priority": "option"
       }
     ],
-    "commands": []
+    "commands": [
+      {
+        "command": "squiggle.preview",
+        "title": "Open Preview",
+        "category": "Squiggle",
+        "when": "editorLangId == squiggle",
+        "icon": "$(open-preview)"
+      }
+    ],
+    "menus": {
+      "editor/title": [
+        {
+          "command": "squiggle.preview",
+          "when": "editorLangId == squiggle",
+          "group": "navigation"
+        }
+      ],
+      "commandPalette": [
+        {
+          "command": "squiggle.preview",
+          "when": "editorLangId == squiggle"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    "keybindings": [
+      {
+        "command": "squiggle.preview",
+        "key": "ctrl+k v",
+        "mac": "cmd+k v",
+        "when": "editorLangId == squiggle"
+      }
+    ]
   },
   "scripts": {
     "vscode:prepublish": "yarn run compile",
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/src/squiggleEditor.ts b/packages/vscode-ext/src/editor.ts
similarity index 55%
rename from packages/vscode-ext/src/squiggleEditor.ts
rename to packages/vscode-ext/src/editor.ts
index 3e3d9f2c..4410ba26 100644
--- a/packages/vscode-ext/src/squiggleEditor.ts
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/src/editor.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,5 @@
 import * as vscode from "vscode";
-
-function getNonce() {
-  let text = "";
-  const possible =
-    "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789";
-  for (let i = 0; i < 32; i++) {
-    text += possible.charAt(Math.floor(Math.random() * possible.length));
-  }
-  return text;
-}
+import { getWebviewContent } from "./utils";
 
 export class SquiggleEditorProvider implements vscode.CustomTextEditorProvider {
   public static register(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): vscode.Disposable {
@@ -26,8 +17,6 @@ export class SquiggleEditorProvider implements vscode.CustomTextEditorProvider {
 
   /**
    * Called when our custom editor is opened.
-   *
-   *
    */
   public async resolveCustomTextEditor(
     document: vscode.TextDocument,
@@ -37,7 +26,12 @@ export class SquiggleEditorProvider implements vscode.CustomTextEditorProvider {
     webviewPanel.webview.options = {
       enableScripts: true,
     };
-    webviewPanel.webview.html = this.getHtmlForWebview(webviewPanel.webview);
+    webviewPanel.webview.html = getWebviewContent({
+      webview: webviewPanel.webview,
+      script: "media/wysiwygWebview.js",
+      title: "Squiggle Editor",
+      context: this.context,
+    });
 
     function updateWebview() {
       webviewPanel.webview.postMessage({
@@ -79,57 +73,6 @@ export class SquiggleEditorProvider implements vscode.CustomTextEditorProvider {
     updateWebview();
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Get the static html used for the editor webviews.
-   */
-  private getHtmlForWebview(webview: vscode.Webview): string {
-    // Local path to main script run in the webview
-
-    const styleUri = webview.asWebviewUri(
-      vscode.Uri.joinPath(
-        this.context.extensionUri,
-        "media/vendor/components.css"
-      )
-    );
-
-    const scriptUris = [
-      // vendor files are copied over by `yarn run compile`
-      "media/vendor/react.js",
-      "media/vendor/react-dom.js",
-      "media/vendor/components.js",
-      "media/wysiwyg.js",
-    ].map((script) =>
-      webview.asWebviewUri(
-        vscode.Uri.joinPath(this.context.extensionUri, script)
-      )
-    );
-
-    // Use a nonce to whitelist which scripts can be run
-    const nonce = getNonce();
-
-    return /* html */ `
-			<!doctype html>
-			<html lang="en">
-			<head>
-				<meta charset="UTF-8">
-				<!--
-				Use a content security policy to only allow loading images from https or from our extension directory,
-				and only allow scripts that have a specific nonce.
-				-->
-				<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="script-src 'nonce-${nonce}' 'unsafe-eval';">
-				<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
-				<link href="${styleUri}" rel="stylesheet" />
-				<title>Squiggle Editor</title>
-			</head>
-			<body style="background-color: white; color: black; padding: 12px">
-				<div id="root"></div>
-        ${scriptUris
-          .map((uri) => `<script nonce="${nonce}" src="${uri}"></script>`)
-          .join("")}
-			</body>
-			</html>`;
-  }
-
   private updateTextDocument(document: vscode.TextDocument, text: string) {
     const edit = new vscode.WorkspaceEdit();
 
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/src/extension.ts b/packages/vscode-ext/src/extension.ts
index 9759472b..3b07fcfb 100644
--- a/packages/vscode-ext/src/extension.ts
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/src/extension.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,15 @@
 // Import the module and reference it with the alias vscode in your code below
 import * as vscode from "vscode";
 
-import { SquiggleEditorProvider } from "./squiggleEditor";
+import { SquiggleEditorProvider } from "./editor";
+import { registerPreviewCommand } from "./preview";
 
 // this method is called when your extension is activated
 // your extension is activated the very first time the command is executed
 export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
   context.subscriptions.push(SquiggleEditorProvider.register(context));
+
+  registerPreviewCommand(context);
 }
 
 // this method is called when your extension is deactivated
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/src/preview.ts b/packages/vscode-ext/src/preview.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c6d3e212
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/src/preview.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import * as vscode from "vscode";
+import * as uri from "vscode-uri";
+import { getWebviewContent } from "./utils";
+
+export const registerPreviewCommand = (context: vscode.ExtensionContext) => {
+  context.subscriptions.push(
+    vscode.commands.registerTextEditorCommand("squiggle.preview", (editor) => {
+      // Create and show a new webview
+      const title = `Preview ${uri.Utils.basename(editor.document.uri)}`;
+
+      const panel = vscode.window.createWebviewPanel(
+        "squigglePreview",
+        title,
+        vscode.ViewColumn.Beside,
+        {} // Webview options. More on these later.
+      );
+
+      panel.webview.options = {
+        enableScripts: true,
+      };
+
+      panel.webview.html = getWebviewContent({
+        context,
+        webview: panel.webview,
+        title,
+        script: "media/previewWebview.js",
+      });
+
+      const updateWebview = () => {
+        panel.webview.postMessage({
+          type: "update",
+          text: editor.document.getText(),
+        });
+      };
+
+      updateWebview();
+
+      const changeDocumentSubscription =
+        vscode.workspace.onDidChangeTextDocument((e) => {
+          if (e.document.uri.toString() === editor.document.uri.toString()) {
+            updateWebview();
+          }
+        });
+
+      // Make sure we get rid of the listener when our editor is closed.
+      panel.onDidDispose(() => {
+        changeDocumentSubscription.dispose();
+      });
+    })
+  );
+};
diff --git a/packages/vscode-ext/src/utils.ts b/packages/vscode-ext/src/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c3f28f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/vscode-ext/src/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import * as vscode from "vscode";
+
+const getNonce = () => {
+  let text = "";
+  const possible =
+    "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789";
+  for (let i = 0; i < 32; i++) {
+    text += possible.charAt(Math.floor(Math.random() * possible.length));
+  }
+  return text;
+};
+
+export const getWebviewContent = ({
+  webview,
+  title,
+  script,
+  context,
+}: {
+  webview: vscode.Webview;
+  title: string;
+  script: string;
+  context: vscode.ExtensionContext;
+}) => {
+  const nonce = getNonce();
+
+  const styleUri = webview.asWebviewUri(
+    vscode.Uri.joinPath(context.extensionUri, "media/vendor/components.css")
+  );
+
+  const scriptUris = [
+    // vendor files are copied over by `yarn run compile`
+    "media/vendor/react.js",
+    "media/vendor/react-dom.js",
+    "media/vendor/components.js",
+    script,
+  ].map((script) =>
+    webview.asWebviewUri(vscode.Uri.joinPath(context.extensionUri, script))
+  );
+
+  return `
+    <!doctype html>
+    <html lang="en">
+    <head>
+        <meta charset="UTF-8">
+        <!-- Use a content security policy to only allow scripts that have a specific nonce.  -->
+        <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="script-src 'nonce-${nonce}' 'unsafe-eval';">
+        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
+        <link href="${styleUri}" rel="stylesheet" />
+        <title>${title}</title>
+    </head>
+    <body style="background-color: white; color: black; padding: 8px 12px">
+        <div id="root"></div>
+        ${scriptUris
+          .map((uri) => `<script nonce="${nonce}" src="${uri}"></script>`)
+          .join("")}
+    </body>
+    </html>
+  `;
+};
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 158b9dfc..ff155b64 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -14791,10 +14791,10 @@ react-vega@^7.5.1:
     prop-types "^15.8.1"
     vega-embed "^6.5.1"
 
-react@^18.0.0, react@^18.1.0:
-  version "18.2.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/react/-/react-18.2.0.tgz#555bd98592883255fa00de14f1151a917b5d77d5"
-  integrity sha512-/3IjMdb2L9QbBdWiW5e3P2/npwMBaU9mHCSCUzNln0ZCYbcfTsGbTJrU/kGemdH2IWmB2ioZ+zkxtmq6g09fGQ==
+react@^18.1.0:
+  version "18.1.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/react/-/react-18.1.0.tgz#6f8620382decb17fdc5cc223a115e2adbf104890"
+  integrity sha512-4oL8ivCz5ZEPyclFQXaNksK3adutVS8l2xzZU0cqEFrE9Sb7fC0EFK5uEk74wIreL1DERyjvsU915j1pcT2uEQ==
   dependencies:
     loose-envify "^1.1.0"
 
@@ -17894,6 +17894,11 @@ vm-browserify@^1.0.1:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vm-browserify/-/vm-browserify-1.1.2.tgz#78641c488b8e6ca91a75f511e7a3b32a86e5dda0"
   integrity sha512-2ham8XPWTONajOR0ohOKOHXkm3+gaBmGut3SRuu75xLd/RRaY6vqgh8NBYYk7+RW3u5AtzPQZG8F10LHkl0lAQ==
 
+vscode-uri@^3.0.3:
+  version "3.0.3"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-uri/-/vscode-uri-3.0.3.tgz#a95c1ce2e6f41b7549f86279d19f47951e4f4d84"
+  integrity sha512-EcswR2S8bpR7fD0YPeS7r2xXExrScVMxg4MedACaWHEtx9ftCF/qHG1xGkolzTPcEmjTavCQgbVzHUIdTMzFGA==
+
 w3c-hr-time@^1.0.2:
   version "1.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/w3c-hr-time/-/w3c-hr-time-1.0.2.tgz#0a89cdf5cc15822df9c360543676963e0cc308cd"