A lightweight VS Code extension that enhances Markdown editing by adding two powerful block‑based features:
- A Copy Block button that appears automatically at the end of any block separated by
***** lines.
- A live character counter in the status bar when your cursor is inside such a block.
This extension is ideal for writers, note‑takers, prompt engineers, and anyone who works with structured Markdown content.
✨ Features
⭐ Block detection using *****
The extension detects blocks defined by lines containing five or more * characters, for example:
*****
This is a block of text.
It can contain multiple lines.
*****
Any number of stars ≥ 5 is accepted:
***** ✔
********** ✔
*** ✘ (ignored)
* item ✘ (Markdown list, ignored)
At the bottom separator of each block, a Copy Block button appears:
*****
Block content
*****
Copy Block
Clicking it copies the entire block (excluding the separator lines) to your clipboard.
✏️ Live character count in the status bar
When your cursor is inside a block, the status bar shows the total number of characters in that block, including spaces.
This updates automatically as you type.
🧠 How it works
- The extension scans Markdown documents for separator lines made of
***** or more stars.
- It identifies the upper and lower boundaries of each block.
- It injects a CodeLens command at the lower boundary.
- It listens to cursor movement and text changes to update the status bar counter.
No document content is modified.
📁 Supported file types
.md- Any file recognized by VS Code as
markdown
⚙️ Requirements
No additional configuration is required.
The extension works immediately after installation.
🔧 Extension Settings
This extension does not add any custom settings yet.
Future versions may include:
- Custom separator patterns
- Custom CodeLens labels
- Optional block highlighting
- Optional word count instead of character count
🧪 Known Limitations
- Only star (
*) separators are supported.
- Blocks must have both an upper and lower separator to be recognized.
- CodeLens appears only in Markdown files.
