Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Getting Started
• Configuration
• Supported Languages
• Best Practices
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Performance
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License

Features

Core Capabilities

• Real-time analysis of your active file as you type and edit
• Automatic analysis when switching between editor tabs (configurable)
• Visual highlighting of duplicate strings with customizable colors and styles
• Status bar integration showing duplicate count at a glance
• Workspace-wide scanning for duplicate strings across multiple files
• Detailed analysis reports with occurrence locations and file information

Customization

• Configurable minimum string length and occurrence count thresholds
• Flexible ignore patterns for URLs, paths, and specific patterns
• Multiple highlighting styles: background, border, underline, or custom
• CSS class support for advanced styling
• Per-string highlighting control via exclusion patterns

Developer Experience

• Keyboard shortcuts for quick analysis access
• Dedicated commands for settings and shortcuts management
• Multi-language support for popular programming languages
• Lightweight design with minimal performance impact
• Comprehensive notification system with auto-dismiss options

Installation

Via VS Code Marketplace

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) to open the Extensions panel
2. Search for "String Extractor"
3. Click Install

Via Command Palette

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS)
2. Type "Extensions: Install Extensions"
3. Search for "String Extractor"

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Unzip the downloaded file
3. Open VS Code and go to Extensions → ... → Install from VSIX
4. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Getting Started

Automatic Analysis

The extension automatically analyzes your active file when:

• You open a supported file type
• You switch to a different editor tab (if enabled in settings)
• You make changes to the document

Manual Analysis

Run analysis commands from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Viewing Results

Status Bar: Displays the number of duplicate strings found. Click it to view the detailed report.

Editor Highlighting: Duplicate strings are highlighted with customizable styles. Hover over highlighted strings to see details.

Report Panel: Comprehensive analysis showing:

• Total strings analyzed
• Unique string count
• Duplicate strings with occurrence counts
• Line numbers and file locations

Configuration

Configure the extension in VS Code settings (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,) under String Extractor.

Available Settings

Example Configuration

{
  "stringExtractor.minStringLength": 8,
  "stringExtractor.minOccurrenceCount": 3,
  "stringExtractor.ignorePatterns": [
    "^http",
    "^https",
    "^/",
    "^\\./",
    "^\\.\\./",
    "^\\w+$",
    "^\\d+$",
    "^console\\.log",
    "^throw new Error",
    "^[\\s\\n]*$"
  ],
  "stringExtractor.highlightColor": "rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.15)",
  "stringExtractor.highlightStyle": "border",
  "stringExtractor.analyzeOnFileSwitch": false,
  "stringExtractor.notificationTimeout": 5000
}

Supported Languages

String Extractor supports analysis for the following programming languages:

• JavaScript
• TypeScript
• JavaScript React (JSX)
• TypeScript React (TSX)
• Python
• Java
• C#
• Go
• PHP
• Ruby

Best Practices

When to Extract Strings

Consider extracting strings when:

• A string appears multiple times in your code (2+ occurrences)
• The string represents user-facing text (may need i18n)
• The string is a configuration value or magic string
• The string is a repeated error message or validation text
• The string is a URL or API endpoint

Example: Before

function validateUser(user) {
  if (!user.email) {
    throw new Error("Email is required");
  }
  if (!user.password) {
    throw new Error("Password is required");
  }
}

function login(email, password) {
  if (!email) {
    throw new Error("Email is required");
  }
  if (!password) {
    throw new Error("Password is required");
  }
}

Example: After

const ERROR_MESSAGES = {
  EMAIL_REQUIRED: "Email is required",
  PASSWORD_REQUIRED: "Password is required",
};

function validateUser(user) {
  if (!user.email) {
    throw new Error(ERROR_MESSAGES.EMAIL_REQUIRED);
  }
  if (!user.password) {
    throw new Error(ERROR_MESSAGES.PASSWORD_REQUIRED);
  }
}

function login(email, password) {
  if (!email) {
    throw new Error(ERROR_MESSAGES.EMAIL_REQUIRED);
  }
  if (!password) {
    throw new Error(ERROR_MESSAGES.PASSWORD_REQUIRED);
  }
}

Keyboard Shortcuts

Default Shortcuts

Customizing Shortcuts

Customize keyboard shortcuts in File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts:

{
  "key": "ctrl+shift+s",
  "command": "stringExtractor.analyzeFile"
}

To view and edit all String Extractor shortcuts, use the "Open Keyboard Shortcuts" command from the Command Palette.

Performance

String Extractor is designed to be lightweight and efficient:

• Optimized Analysis: Runs on document changes, not on every keystroke
• Async Processing: Workspace analysis scans files asynchronously
• Decoration API: Uses VS Code's native Decoration API for optimal rendering
• No External Dependencies: Self-contained with no database requirements
• Minimal Footprint: Efficient string matching algorithms

Troubleshooting

Highlighting Not Showing

1. Verify stringExtractor.highlightDuplicates is enabled in settings
2. Check that the file type is supported
3. Ensure strings meet minimum length and occurrence requirements

False Positives

If you encounter false positives:

1. Add custom ignore patterns to settings
2. Increase minStringLength or minOccurrenceCount thresholds
3. Temporarily toggle highlighting: stringExtractor.toggleHighlighting
4. Use noHighlightPatterns for specific strings to exclude

Performance Issues

If you experience performance issues:

1. Increase minStringLength to reduce matches
2. Increase minOccurrenceCount to focus on significant duplicates
3. Disable status bar: stringExtractor.showStatusBar = false
4. Disable highlighting: stringExtractor.highlightDuplicates = false
5. Disable auto-analysis on file switch: stringExtractor.analyzeOnFileSwitch = false

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Issues

• Use the issue tracker for bug reports
• Include detailed steps to reproduce
• Provide your VS Code version and extension version

Submitting Pull Requests

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a 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

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dotjumpdot/string-extractor.git

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Run tests
npm test

# Run linter
npm run lint

# Watch for changes
npm run watch

License

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

Copyright © 2026 DotJumpDot

Acknowledgments

• Built with VS Code Extension API
• Inspired by the need for better code maintainability and internationalization preparation
• Uses efficient string matching algorithms for optimal performance
• Thanks to all contributors who help improve this extension