Auto Save 🔄
Never lose a change again! Auto Save provides intelligent, ultra-fast auto-saving for VS Code with instant glance-save functionality.
🚀 Key Features
🔥 Ultra-Fast Auto-Save
- Instant Glance Save: Saves automatically after just 100ms of inactivity
- Interval Backup: Fallback timer ensures nothing slips through (every 30 seconds by default)
- Smart Debouncing: Waits for you to stop typing before saving to avoid constant disk writes
⚡ Smart & Efficient
- File Pattern Exclusion: Automatically excludes git, node_modules, temp files
- Performance Optimized: Minimal resource usage with intelligent timing
- Status Bar Integration: Always know when Auto Save is active
- Zero Configuration: Works perfectly out of the box
🎛️ Fully Customizable
- Toggle auto-save on/off instantly
- Adjust save delays and intervals
- Configure file exclusion patterns
- Enable/disable individual features
📊 How It Works
User types → 100ms delay → Save file → Update status
↓
Interval timer (backup) → Check dirty files → Save all → Repeat
Dual Protection:
- Primary: Save on edit after 100ms of inactivity (instant glance save)
- Backup: Interval save every 30 seconds for any missed files
⚙️ Configuration
Open VS Code Settings and search for "AutoSave" to customize:
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
autoSave.enabled |
true |
Enable/disable auto-save functionality |
autoSave.saveOnEdit |
true |
Save immediately when file is edited |
autoSave.intervalSave |
true |
Enable interval-based auto-save backup |
autoSave.intervalSeconds |
30 |
Auto-save interval in seconds (5-300) |
autoSave.saveDelay |
100 |
Delay after typing stops (50-5000ms) - Ultra fast! |
autoSave.showStatusBar |
true |
Show auto-save status in status bar |
File Exclusion Patterns
By default, these patterns are excluded:
**/.git/** - Git repository files**/node_modules/** - Node.js dependencies**/*.tmp - Temporary files**/*.temp - Temporary files
🎮 Commands
- Auto Save: Toggle Auto Save - Enable/disable auto-save
- Auto Save: Save All Files Now - Manually trigger save for all dirty files
Access via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
📊 Status Bar
The status bar shows:
- 🔄 Auto Save: ON - Auto-save is active
- ⏸️ Auto Save: OFF - Auto-save is disabled
Click the status bar item to toggle auto-save on/off.
🔧 Installation
From Marketplace
- Open VS Code
- Go to Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search "Auto Save"
- Click Install
Manual Installation
- Download the
.vsix file
- Run
code --install-extension auto-save.vsix
🎯 Use Cases
Perfect for:
- ✅ Long coding sessions
- ✅ Collaborative development
- ✅ Important document editing
- ✅ Preventing work loss during crashes
- ✅ Cloud syncing workflows
Automatically handles:
- ✅ Power outages
- ✅ System crashes
- ✅ Accidental file closure
- ✅ Forgot to save scenarios
🆚 Why Auto Save?
| Feature |
VS Code Built-in |
Auto Save |
| Instant glance save |
❌ |
✅ |
| Ultra-fast saving (100ms) |
❌ |
✅ |
| Interval backup |
❌ |
✅ |
| Smart debouncing |
❌ |
✅ |
| File exclusions |
❌ |
✅ |
| Status indication |
❌ |
✅ |
🛠️ Development
Building from Source
git clone <repository-url>
cd auto-save
npm install
npm run compile
Testing
npm run test
📝 Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Hybrid auto-save implementation
- Configurable intervals and delays
- File exclusion patterns
- Status bar integration
- Command palette integration
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
📄 License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
Copyright (c) 2025 Akila Wasalathilaka
🙏 Support
If you find this extension helpful, please:
- ⭐ Star the repository
- 📝 Leave a review on the marketplace
- 🐛 Report issues on GitHub
- 💡 Suggest new features
Made with ❤️ by Akila Wasalathilaka for the VS Code community
