Codebase IQ — Trust Markers for VS Code

Make code risk visible. Help your team move faster with shared, human-readable trust signals right in the editor.

What this extension does

Codebase IQ adds lightweight "trust markers" to your code so you and your team can:

• Quickly see where code is solid, needs attention, or is risky
• Start better conversations during code review
• Preserve team knowledge in your repository, not just in people’s heads

Markers are stored locally in your repo at /.pulse/context.json, so they can be committed and shared like any other file. No servers, no accounts.

Trust levels

• 🟢 Solid: Well-understood, stable code
• 🟠 Watch out: Works but needs attention or refactor soon
• 🔴 Here be dragons: Risky, complex, or brittle areas

Key features

• Line range markers (selection or current line)
• File-level markers
• Context menu actions under "Mark Trust"
• Keyboard shortcuts for fast marking
• Visual feedback in the gutter, overview ruler, subtle background highlights
• In-editor CodeLens showing the trust level and last updated date
• Git-committable JSON storage at /.pulse/context.json (per repo)

Requirements

• VS Code 1.75.0 or newer
• A Git repository (optional but recommended for author attribution)

Installation

• From VSIX (local):

  1. Download/open the VSIX file codebase-iq-0.0.1.vsix
  2. In VS Code, go to Extensions view → … menu → Install from VSIX…
  3. Select the VSIX file and install

• From Marketplace: Coming soon. In the meantime, use the VSIX above.

Quick start

1. Open a folder that contains your code (ideally a Git repo)
2. Select a few lines in a file (or place your cursor on a single line)
3. Press one of the shortcuts:
   • macOS: Cmd+Shift+G (🟢), Cmd+Shift+A (🟠), Cmd+Shift+R (🔴)
   • Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+G (🟢), Ctrl+Shift+A (🟠), Ctrl+Shift+R (🔴)
4. Choose whether to mark the selection/line or the entire file
5. You’ll immediately see a colored gutter icon, subtle highlight, and a CodeLens label

That’s it—your team can now see and act on this signal.

Everyday usage

• Add markers

  • Right-click → Mark Trust → choose 🟢 / 🟠 / 🔴, then choose Lines or Entire File
  • Or use the keyboard shortcuts listed above

• View markers in the current file

  • Command Palette → "View Trust Markers"
  • A markdown view lists file-level and line-range markers with authors and timestamps

• Remove markers

  • Command Palette → "Remove Trust Marker" → pick the file-level or specific range to remove

Commands

Available via the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P):

• Mark Trust: Green 🟢
• Mark Trust: Amber 🟠
• Mark Trust: Red 🔴
• View Trust Markers
• Remove Trust Marker

Keyboard shortcuts

• Windows/Linux

  • Ctrl+Shift+G → Mark Green (🟢)
  • Ctrl+Shift+A → Mark Amber (🟠)
  • Ctrl+Shift+R → Mark Red (🔴)

• macOS

  • Cmd+Shift+G → Mark Green (🟢)
  • Cmd+Shift+A → Mark Amber (🟠)
  • Cmd+Shift+R → Mark Red (🔴)

How it works (storage and collaboration)

• All markers are stored in /.pulse/context.json at your repo root
• The file includes line ranges, file-level markers, authors, and timestamps
• Commit this file to share markers with your team through Git

Example structure:

{
  "files": {
    "src/payment/checkout.js": {
      "lineRanges": [
        { "start": 10, "end": 45, "marker": "🔴", "author": "manav", "timestamp": "2025-01-24T18:30:00Z" }
      ],
      "fileMarker": "🟠",
      "fileAuthor": "manav",
      "fileTimestamp": "2025-01-24T18:30:00Z"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "lastUpdated": "2025-01-24T18:30:00Z"
  }
}

Privacy & security

• No code or metadata leaves your machine
• No backend services are used
• Author names are read from your local Git config (user.name) if available

Tips for teams

• Treat 🔴 as a conversation starter during reviews
• Use 🟠 to queue up refactors or tech debt cleanups
• Use 🟢 to endorse known-good modules and reduce fear of change
• Keep /.pulse/context.json committed to share context with the team

Troubleshooting

• Don’t see markers? Make sure you have a file open with a selection or cursor on a line when marking
• Not in a Git repo? The extension still works; author will be recorded as "unknown"
• Multiple markers overlap? New markers replace overlapping ranges to avoid confusion

Support

• Website: codebaseiq.com
• Issues/feedback: open an issue in your repository or contact us via the website

License

MIT