Copy Info with Context - VS Code Extension

Born from the frustration of constantly copying and pasting code snippets, data, and configuration fragments without any context about where they came from or what they represented.

A VS Code extension that copies code snippets with intelligent contextual information - filename, line numbers, and smart path detection for structured data. Perfect for documentation, code reviews, debugging, and sharing code with proper attribution.

The Problem This Solves

Have you ever:

• Copied a JSON snippet and forgot which property path it came from?
• Shared XML data without knowing which nested element you were looking at?
• Pasted code in Slack without line numbers, making it impossible to reference?
• Lost track of which file a configuration came from?
• Struggled to explain CSV data without column context?

This extension was created to solve exactly these problems - providing rich context for any code or data you copy.

Features

🔧 Smart Context Detection

• JSON/JSONC: Full property paths with accurate array indices (e.g., users[2].contacts[1])
• XML/HTML: Element hierarchy with precise sibling indexing (e.g., Relations > Relation[2] > Type)
• CSV/TSV/PSV: Intelligent column detection with proper delimiter handling
• Programming Languages: Function and class context for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C#, PowerShell, and more
  • Detects function names, class names, and namespaces
  • Shows full context path (e.g., MyNamespace > MyClass > MyMethod)
• CSS/SCSS/SASS/LESS: Selector context and media query detection

📝 Multiple Output Formats

• Plain Text: Clean monospace with context header
• HTML with Syntax Highlighting: Rich colored output for emails, Slack, documentation
• Markdown: Code blocks with language specification for GitHub, wikis
• ANSI Colored: Terminal-friendly colored output
• Custom Formats: Choose your preferred format on-the-fly

🎨 Comprehensive Syntax Highlighting

• 10+ Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C#, JSON, XML, HTML, CSS, YAML
• Smart Color Coding: Professional color schemes for different themes
• Delimited Files: Auto-detects CSV, TSV, PSV, SSV with proper formatting

🔒 Smart Data Masking (NEW)

Protect sensitive data when sharing code! Automatically detect and mask PII (Personally Identifiable Information):

⚠️ Note: Data masking is disabled by default. You need to enable it manually in settings to use this feature.

To Enable:

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.enableDataMasking": true,
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingPreset": "financial"  // or "basic", "healthcare", "enterprise"
}

What It Protects:

• Personal Information: Email, phone, address, date of birth
• Financial Data: Credit cards, bank accounts, SSN, IBAN, SWIFT/BIC
• Australian Banking: BSB, TFN, ABN, Medicare
• Identity Documents: Passports, driver's licenses, national IDs (AU/US/UK/EU)
• Enterprise Identifiers: Client numbers, transactions, policies, NMI

Industry Presets: Basic, Financial, Healthcare, Enterprise, Custom

Masking Strategies: Partial (readable), Full (maximum privacy), Structural (format-preserving)

Example:

// Before masking:
Name,Email,BSB,DateOfBirth,Passport
John Doe,john@example.com,123-456,1986-05-28,N1234567

// After masking (partial):
Name,Email,BSB,DateOfBirth,Passport
John Doe,j***@e***.com,***-*56,1986-**-**,N*****7

📖 Complete Data Masking Guide → | Quick Start: Press Ctrl+, → Search "masking" → Enable feature

Perfect for bug reports, documentation, code reviews, and compliance (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA)

⚡ Performance & Reliability

• Smart Dedenting: Automatically removes excessive indentation while preserving code structure
• Fixed Indexing Issues: Accurate array/sibling counting for JSON and XML
• Intelligent File Detection: JSON files no longer misidentified as CSV
• Consistent Line Numbering: Reliable line numbers across all formats
• Memory Efficient: Optimized processing for large codebases (up to 5MB)
• Safe Operations: No crashes, no freezing, always recoverable

⌨️ Convenient Usage

• Keyboard Shortcuts:
  • Ctrl+Alt+C (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Alt+C (Mac) - Copy with context
  • Ctrl+Alt+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Alt+H (Mac) - Copy with HTML highlighting
• Right-Click Menu: Context menu integration
• Command Palette: All features accessible via Ctrl+Shift+P

Installation

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+P to open Quick Open
3. Type ext install copy-info-with-context
4. Press Enter and reload VS Code

Or install from the VS Code Marketplace.

📚 Feature Guides

Comprehensive documentation for major features:

• 📊 CSV Intelligence Guide - Four output modes (MINIMAL, SMART, TABLE, DETAILED), delimiter detection, and smart formatting for CSV/TSV/PSV files
• 🔒 Data Masking Guide - Complete PII protection with 25+ data types, industry presets, masking strategies, and compliance information

Usage Examples

JSON Context Detection (Fixed Array Indexing)

// config.json:15 (users[2].profile.settings.theme)
15: "theme": "dark"

XML with Array Indices (Fixed Sibling Counting)

// users.xml:8-12 (root > customers > customer[1] > addresses > address[0])
8: <address type="home">
9:   <street>123 Main St</street>
10:   <city>Springfield</city>
11:   <zip>12345</zip>
12: </address>

CSV Column Context

// data.csv:3 (CSV (Comma-Separated) > Email, Phone)
3: john.doe@company.com,+1-555-0123

Function Context

// utils.js:42-46 (UserService > validateEmail)
42: function validateEmail(email) {
43:   const emailRegex = /^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/;
44:   return emailRegex.test(email);
45: }

HTML with Syntax Highlighting

Rich HTML output perfect for emails, Slack, or documentation:

<div style="font-family: 'Consolas', 'Monaco', monospace; background: #1e1e1e; color: #d4d4d4; padding: 16px; border-radius: 4px;">
<div style="color: #6a9955; margin-bottom: 8px;">// config.js:25-30 (exports > database)</div>
<pre style="margin: 0; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="color: #569CD6">const</span> <span style="color: #DCDCAA">database</span> = {
  <span style="color: #9CDCFE">host</span>: <span style="color: #CE9178">'localhost'</span>,
  <span style="color: #9CDCFE">port</span>: <span style="color: #B5CEA8">5432</span>
};
</pre>
</div>

Configuration

Customize the extension through VS Code Settings (Ctrl+,):

Example Configuration

Basic Configuration:

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.showLineNumbers": true,
  "copyInfoWithContext.showContextPath": true,
  "copyInfoWithContext.enableColorCoding": false,
  "copyInfoWithContext.maxFileSize": 10000000
}

Data Masking for Financial Services:

Note: Data masking is disabled by default. Set enableDataMasking: true to activate.

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.enableDataMasking": true,  // ⚠️ Required to enable masking
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingPreset": "financial",
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingStrategy": "partial",
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingDenyList": [
    "BSB",
    "Account Number",
    "Client ID",
    "Customer Number"
  ],
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingCustomPatterns": [
    {
      "name": "Internal Customer ID",
      "pattern": "CUST-\\d{8}",
      "replacement": "CUST-########",
      "enabled": true
    }
  ]
}

Data Masking for Healthcare:

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.enableDataMasking": true,  // ⚠️ Required to enable masking
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingPreset": "healthcare",
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingStrategy": "full",
  "copyInfoWithContext.showMaskingIndicator": true,
  "copyInfoWithContext.includeMaskingStats": true
}

Key Features in Latest Version

🎯 NEW in v1.4.3: Context-Aware Masking with Confidence Scoring

Intelligent masking that understands context! Eliminates false positives by analyzing surrounding text and detecting test data.

What's New:

• ✅ Confidence Scoring Algorithm: Calculates 0.0-1.0 confidence for each match before masking
• ✅ Context Analysis: Analyzes 100 characters before/after to understand intent
• ✅ Statistical Anomaly Detection: Automatically skips test/placeholder data (e.g., 111-11-1111, 123-45-6789, test@example.com)
• ✅ Smart Detection: Distinguishes "Reference: ABC123" (mask) from "Payment Info Reference [10]" (don't mask)
• ✅ Configurable Threshold: maskingConfidenceThreshold (default: 0.7) - adjust sensitivity
• ✅ No More False Positives: Natural language, ticket descriptions, and test data preserved

Example:

✅ Before: "CIB-5625 - Payment Info R***e [10] not displaying"
✅ After:  "CIB-5625 - Payment Info Reference [10] not displaying"

Still masks: "Reference: ABC123456" → "R***6" ✓

Configuration:

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.maskingConfidenceThreshold": 0.7  // 0.5=aggressive, 0.7=balanced, 0.9=conservative
}

🎉 v1.4.0: Smart Data Masking (Phase 1)

Protect sensitive data when sharing code! Automatically detect and mask 25+ types of PII (Personally Identifiable Information) with industry-specific presets and configurable strategies.

⚠️ Important: This feature is disabled by default. Enable it in settings: "copyInfoWithContext.enableDataMasking": true

How to Enable:

1. Press Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+, (Mac) to open Settings
2. Search for "masking"
3. Enable Copy Info With Context: Enable Data Masking
4. Choose your preset (Basic, Financial, Healthcare, Enterprise)

What's New:

• ✅ 25+ PII Types: Email, phone, DOB, credit cards, bank accounts, passports, driver's licenses, and more
• ✅ Smart Detection: Pattern-based + column name recognition + context-aware exclusions
• ✅ Industry Presets: Basic, Financial, Healthcare, Enterprise, Custom
• ✅ 4 Masking Strategies: Partial (readable), Full (maximum privacy), Structural (format-preserving), Hash (future)
• ✅ Australian Support: BSB, TFN, ABN, Medicare, Australian passports/licenses
• ✅ International Banking: IBAN, SWIFT/BIC, routing numbers
• ✅ Identity Documents: Passports, driver's licenses, national IDs (AU/US/UK/EU)
• ✅ Field Name Protection: Never masks XML/JSON tag names, only values
• ✅ Date Intelligence: Distinguishes birth dates from service/transaction dates using 25 exclusion keywords
• ✅ Context-Aware Confidence Scoring (v1.4.1): Eliminates false positives in plain text
• ✅ 100% Local: No cloud processing, GDPR/CCPA/HIPAA compliant
• ✅ Opt-In Design: Disabled by default - you control when to use it

Example:

// Before masking:
Name,Email,Phone,BSB,AccountNo,DateOfBirth,Passport
John Doe,john@example.com,0412 345 678,123-456,987654321,1986-05-28,N1234567

// After masking (partial strategy, financial preset):
Name,Email,Phone,BSB,AccountNo,DateOfBirth,Passport
John Doe,j***@e***.com,0*** *** ***,***-*56,***321,1986-**-**,N*****7

Perfect for: Bug reports with customer data, documentation with real examples, code reviews with production configs, HIPAA/GDPR compliance

📖 Complete Data Masking Guide →

✨ v1.3.0: CSV Intelligence with Four Output Modes

Copy CSV/TSV/PSV data exactly the way you need it - from compact to comprehensive. Press Ctrl+Alt+X (or Cmd+Alt+X on Mac) to cycle through modes, or set your preferred default in settings.

📋 Mode 1: MINIMAL ⚡

Best for: Quick data sharing, compact output, single-line selections Features:

• Clean, compact format with just the essentials
• Automatic header detection from line 1
• Smart partial field trimming (if you select mid-field, it auto-trims to the next complete field)
• Column context in header (shows which columns you selected)

Example:

// users.csv:5 (CSV (Comma-Separated) > Name, Email, Status)
5: John Doe,john@example.com,Active

When you select starting from a partial field like ware,Bob Smith,5bcfd3f9..., MINIMAL mode automatically trims "ware" and outputs:

// data.csv:2 (CSV (Comma-Separated) > Project lead, Project lead id, Summary)
2: Bob Smith,5bc4047479f99f6ec,Statement of Work Development

🎯 Mode 2: SMART

Best for: Understanding data types, code reviews, API documentation Features:

• Automatic column type detection (String, Integer, Float, Boolean)
• Column headers with types displayed
• Line numbers for each row
• Compact but informative format

Example:

// products.csv:10-12
// Columns: Product, Price, InStock, Rating
// Types: String, Float, Boolean, Float

10: Laptop, 999.99, true, 4.5
11: Mouse, 29.99, false, 4.2
12: Keyboard, 79.99, true, 4.8

📊 Mode 3: TABLE

Best for: Presentations, Slack/Teams, documentation, visual clarity Features:

• Beautiful ASCII tables with Unicode box-drawing characters
• Smart column alignment:
  • Numbers: right-aligned
  • Booleans: center-aligned
  • Text: left-aligned
• Automatic truncation with configurable limits
• Type hints and row/column summary

Example:

// transactions.csv:2-4 | 3 records

┌────────────┬───────────┬─────────┬──────────┐
│ Date       │ Merchant  │  Amount │ Status   │
├────────────┼───────────┼─────────┼──────────┤
│ 10/11/2025 │ PayPal    │   66.53 │ Pending  │
│ 10/11/2025 │ Amazon    │  328.00 │ Complete │
│ 10/11/2025 │ Transport │   10.00 │ Complete │
└────────────┴───────────┴─────────┴──────────┘

// Summary: 3 rows × 4 columns

Perfect for pasting into Slack, Teams, or documentation where visual clarity matters!

🚀 Mode 4: DETAILED

Best for: Data analysis, debugging, comprehensive reports, understanding data patterns Features:

• Everything from SMART mode, plus:
• Statistics: Min/max/avg for numeric columns, most/least common values
• Insights: Automatically identifies:
  • Empty/null columns
  • Identifier columns (emails, IDs, unique values)
  • Category columns (status, type, etc.)
  • Date/time columns
• Full data intelligence for informed decision-making

Example:

// sales.csv:2-5
// Columns: Region, Sales, Growth, Category
// Types: String, Float, Float, String

// Statistics:
//   Sales: min=1250.00, max=8900.50, avg=4523.17
//   Growth: min=2.1, max=15.7, avg=8.3

// Insights:
//   Category columns: Region, Category
//   Identifier columns: Region

// Data:
2: North, 8900.50, 15.7, Electronics
3: South, 3420.75, 8.2, Furniture
4: East, 5678.00, 12.1, Electronics
5: West, 1250.00, 2.1, Clothing

// Summary: 4 rows × 4 columns

🎛️ Quick Mode Switching

• Keyboard: Press Ctrl+Alt+X (or Cmd+Alt+X on Mac) while in a CSV file to cycle through modes
• Settings: Set your preferred default mode in VS Code settings
• Smart Detection: Works with CSV, TSV, PSV, SSV, DSV files
• Partial Field Handling: All modes automatically trim incomplete fields at selection boundaries

📖 Complete CSV Intelligence Guide →

Configuration:

{
  "copyInfoWithContext.csvOutputMode": "minimal",  // or "smart", "table", "detailed"
  "copyInfoWithContext.csvTableMaxRows": 20,       // Max rows in TABLE mode
  "copyInfoWithContext.csvTableMaxColumns": 10,    // Max columns in TABLE mode
  "copyInfoWithContext.csvTableAlignNumbers": "right"  // or "left"
}

✨ NEW in v1.2.0: Function/Class Context Detection

• What it does: Automatically detects and displays the function, class, or method name in the copy header
• Supported languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, C#, Python, PowerShell
• How it works: Searches backwards from your selection to find the containing function/class
• Result: Know exactly where your code came from at a glance

Example: When copying code inside a function:

// extension.ts:684-691 (detectDelimiter)
684: for (const delimiter of delimiters) {
685:     const count = (firstLine.match(new RegExp(`\\${delimiter}`, 'g')) || []).length;
686:     if (count > maxCount) {
687:         maxCount = count;
688:         bestDelimiter = delimiter;
689:     }
690: }

When copying code inside a class method:

// UserService.cs:45-50 (MyApp.Services > UserService > ProcessData)
45: var users = await _repository.GetUsers();
46: foreach (var user in users) {
47:     ProcessUser(user);
48: }

✨ Smart Dedenting Algorithm

• What it does: Automatically removes excessive common indentation while preserving code structure
• How it works: Calculates minimum indentation across all lines and strips it from deeply nested code (>2 spaces)
• Result: Clean, readable code blocks without excessive leading whitespace but with hierarchy intact
• Example: Deeply nested XML at 8 spaces becomes left-aligned while maintaining parent-child relationships

Before dedenting:

        <Parties>
            <Party>
                <Name>John</Name>
            </Party>
        </Parties>

After dedenting:

1: <Parties>
2:     <Party>
3:         <Name>John</Name>
4:     </Party>
5: </Parties>

🐛 Fixed XML Indexing Issue

• Problem: XML sibling elements were being counted globally instead of within their parent container
• Solution: Implemented scope-aware sibling counting that only counts elements within the same parent
• Result: Relation[5] is now correctly shown as Relation[2] when it's the 3rd element in its container

🐛 Fixed JSON Array Indexing

• Problem: JSON array indices were calculated incorrectly for nested structures
• Solution: Complete rewrite of JSON path detection with proper context tracking
• Result: Accurate paths like users[2].contacts[1] instead of incorrect indexing

🐛 Fixed JSON vs CSV Detection

• Problem: JSON files were being incorrectly identified as CSV files
• Solution: Implemented priority-based file type detection with JSON taking precedence
• Result: JSON files are now properly detected and processed as JSON, not CSV

🐛 Fixed Line Numbering Consistency

• Problem: Line numbers not appearing consistently across different copy formats
• Solution: Consolidated line numbering logic into a single, reliable function
• Result: Line numbers now appear consistently across all copy formats when enabled

Advanced Features

Custom Format Selection

1. Select code or place cursor
2. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
3. Type "Copy Info with Context Custom"
4. Choose from multiple formats:
   • Comment Style
   • Markdown Style
   • HTML with Syntax Highlighting
   • ANSI Colored (Terminal)

Large File Handling

The extension automatically handles large files:

• < 5MB: Full processing with all features
• > 5MB: Performance optimizations applied
• Configurable limit: Adjust maxFileSize setting as needed

Intelligent Delimiter Detection

Automatically detects and handles:

• CSV (Comma-separated)
• TSV (Tab-separated)
• PSV (Pipe-separated)
• SSV (Semicolon-separated)
• Custom delimiters (colon, space, etc.)

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/dwmchan/copy-info-with-context.git
cd copy-info-with-context
npm install
npm run compile

Running Tests

npm test

Code Quality

npm run lint

Testing with Node.js Built-in Test Runner

This extension uses Node.js built-in testing capabilities (Node 18+) instead of external frameworks:

# Run tests
npm test

# Watch mode
npm run test:watch

Supported File Types

Use Cases

🔧 Professional Communication

• Bug Reports: Include exact line numbers and file context
• Code Reviews: Share snippets with clear location references
• Documentation: Rich formatted code blocks with syntax highlighting

💬 Team Collaboration

• Slack/Teams: Colored code blocks that stand out
• Email: Professional HTML formatting
• GitHub Issues: Properly formatted code blocks with context

📚 Documentation & Tutorials

• README files: Consistent code formatting
• Wikis: Context-aware code snippets
• Blog posts: Professional syntax highlighting

🛠 Debugging & Support

• Stack Overflow: Clear context and formatting
• Support tickets: Exact file and line references
• Code sharing: Always know where code came from

Performance Optimizations

• Single-pass parsing: Efficient text processing algorithms
• Memory-efficient: Lightweight data structures and minimal memory footprint
• Scope-aware processing: Only processes relevant parts of files
• Early termination: Stops processing at target positions
• Optimized regex usage: Compiled patterns and efficient matching

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Changelog

[1.5.0] - 2025-11-21

🎯 Major Enhancement: Hybrid Date of Birth Detection

Replaced brittle keyword exclusion with intelligent hybrid validation:

• ✅ 82% keyword reduction: 33 exclusion keywords → 6 inclusion keywords
• ✅ 90%+ reduction in false positives on business dates
• ✅ Automatic future date exclusion (age validation: 18-120 years)
• ✅ Calendar validation (rejects invalid dates like Feb 30)
• ✅ Zero maintenance burden for new business date types

How it works:

• Positive keyword matching: birth, dob, dateofbirth, born, bday, birthday
• Age validation: Date must represent 18-120 years old
• Both conditions must be true to mask

[1.4.5] - 2025-11-21

🔧 Enhancement: Field-Name-Based Detection for JSON/XML

Added:

• ✅ JSON/XML field name detection (same as CSV column detection)
• ✅ Fixed BSB/account number sequential pattern false positives
• ✅ Banking fields now mask in all formats (CSV, JSON, XML)

📜 View Complete Changelog →

For detailed release notes, bug fixes, and features from all versions, see the CHANGELOG.md file.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have feature requests, please:

1. Check the Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed information
3. Include your VS Code version, extension version, and file type

Credits

Created by Donald Chan (donald@iendeavour.com.au)

Special thanks to the VS Code community for feedback and suggestions that helped identify and fix the indexing and detection issues.