Synthetic.new Usage Tracker
A VSCode extension that monitors your Synthetic.new API usage and quotas directly from the status bar.
View Changelog
Features
- Real-time Usage Tracking: Monitor your Synthetic.new API quota usage directly from the VSCode status bar
- Three-Quota Tracking: Track usage across three distinct quota types - subscription (monthly), search.hourly (hourly search limit), and toolCallDiscounts (tool call functionality)
- Multi-Key Management: Support for multiple API keys with easy cycling and secure storage
- Manual Key Cycling: Quickly switch between multiple API keys using round-robin rotation
- Secure Storage: API keys are stored securely using VSCode SecretStorage with encryption
- Key Management Commands: Add, remove, and clear API keys with confirmation dialogs
- Auto-refresh: Automatically updates usage data at configurable intervals (minimum 30 seconds, maximum 30 minutes)
- Visual Indicators: Custom font icons for normal and loading states, color-coded status bar based on usage thresholds
- Enhanced Tooltips: Hover over the status bar to see detailed category breakdowns with ASCII progress bars and time remaining
- Quota Warning Symbols: Visual indicators (⚠️ for warning, 🔴 for critical) in the status bar when thresholds are exceeded
- API Key Suffix Display: Shows last 4 characters of the active API key in tooltips (masked for security)
- Configurable Thresholds: Set custom warning and critical usage percentages
- Quick Actions: Refresh, set interval, configure, and view details from the command palette or status bar
- Copy to Clipboard: Quickly copy formatted usage information (with progress bars) matching the popup view for sharing or bug reports
- Context-Aware Commands: Usage-related commands only appear when API key is configured
- Intelligent Tooltip Management: Tooltips temporarily clear on user interactions and auto-restore
- Silent Launch: Extension launches silently without auto-showing popups
- Smart Refresh Button: Reloads popup content when clicked instead of closing
- Cross-Window Synchronization: API key state automatically syncs across multiple VSCode windows
Installation
From VSCode Marketplace
- Open VSCode
- Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for "Synthetic.new Usage Tracker"
- Click Install
From Open VSX Registry
- Open VSCode
- Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Click the "..." menu in the top right
- Select "Install from VSIX..."
- Download the extension from Open VSX Registry
- Or install using the command:
code --install-extension Ellipsis.synthetic-usage-tracker
From .vsix File
- Download the latest
.vsix file from the Releases page
- Open VSCode
- Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Click the "..." menu in the top right
- Select "Install from VSIX..."
- Select the downloaded
.vsix file
Getting Started
Configure your API Key:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
- Type
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Configure API Key
- Enter your Synthetic.new API key (starts with
syn_)
Quick Alternative: Click the Status Bar
- When no key is configured, the status bar shows in red with
Synthetic.new - No API key
- Simply click on the red status bar item
- The API key configuration dialog will open immediately
- This is the fastest way to set up your initial key on first launch
View Your Usage:
- Look at the status bar on the right side
- You'll see usage percentage and/or raw numbers
- Click on the status bar item to see detailed information
Configure Settings:
- Press
Ctrl+, to open Settings
- Search for "Synthetic Usage Tracker"
- Adjust settings to your preference
Multi-Key Management
The extension supports managing multiple API keys for flexibility and redundancy. All keys are stored securely in VSCode's encrypted SecretStorage.
Adding API Keys
You can add multiple API keys to configure different Synthetic.new accounts or projects:
- Add a New Key:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
- Type
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Add API Key
- Enter your Synthetic.new API key (must start with
syn_)
- Optionally add a label for easy identification (e.g., "Dev Account", "Production Key")
- The key is automatically added to your secure storage
Cycling Between Keys
When you have multiple API keys configured, you can quickly switch between them:
Cycle to Next Key:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P
- Type
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Cycle to Next Key
- The extension rotates to the next key in round-robin fashion
- Usage data automatically refreshes with the new active key
From Usage Details Popup:
- Click on the status bar to view usage details
- Single key configured: Shows "Refresh", "Open Dashboard", and "Subscribe with Discount" buttons
- Multiple keys configured: "Subscribe with Discount" button is replaced with "Cycle Keys" button
- Click "Cycle Keys" to switch to the next key and view its usage in the same popup
- The popup refreshes automatically with the new key's data
Managing and Removing Keys
You can remove individual keys or clear all keys:
Remove a Specific Key:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P
- Type
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Remove API Key
- Select the key you want to remove from the list
- Confirm removal in the dialog
- The extension will activate the next available key
Clear All Keys:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P
- Type
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Clear All Keys
- Confirm the action in the dialog
- All API keys are removed from secure storage
- The extension returns to idle state (no keys configured)
Viewing Active Key
The status bar tooltip shows which key is currently active:
API Key: syn_••••••••••••x789
The masked display reveals:
- Key prefix (
syn_)
- Last 4 characters for identification
- Middle characters masked with dots (•) for security
Cross-Window Synchronization
When you manage keys in one VSCode window, changes automatically sync across all open windows:
- Adding a key in one window → available in all windows
- Switching keys in one window → syncs to all windows
- Removing keys → updates across all windows
The extension uses polling (every 5 seconds) to detect changes made in other windows.
Security and Storage
All API keys are stored using VSCode's SecretStorage API:
- Encrypted storage: Keys are encrypted at the operating system level
- Workspace isolation: Keys are stored per-workspace, not globally
- No plaintext storage: Keys are never written to files or settings
- Secure deletion: Removing keys permanently deletes them from encrypted storage
Backward Compatibility
The extension automatically migrates from legacy single-key format (stored as syntheticApiKey) to the new multi-key format (stored as syntheticApiKeys). Your existing single key is preserved during migration.
Three-Quota Structure
The Synthetic.new API provides three separate quota types that are tracked independently:
- Subscription: Monthly quota for your account
- Search (hourly): Hourly limit for search operations
- Tool Calls: Quota for tool call functionality
Each quota type has its own limit, usage count, and renewal schedule. The extension tracks all three quotas simultaneously and displays them in the tooltip for comprehensive visibility.
Status Bar Features
The extension provides several visual indicators in the status bar to help you quickly understand your API usage status.
Hover over the status bar to see detailed category breakdowns with visual progress bars for each quota type:
Subscription: ████████████░░░░░░░ 850/1000 (85%)
Search (hourly): ████████████████░░ 16/20 (80%) 🔍
Tool Calls: ████████████░░░░░░░ 120/200 (60%) 🔧
█ (filled block): Represents used quota░ (empty block): Represents remaining quota🔍 (search emoji): Appears when search.hourly quota exceeds 80%🔧 (wrench emoji): Appears when toolCallDiscounts quota exceeds 80%
Quota Warning Symbols
The status bar displays visual warning symbols based on your usage thresholds:
- ⚠️ (Warning): Appears when usage reaches the warning threshold (default: 80%)
- 🔴 (Critical): Appears when usage reaches the critical threshold (default: 90%)
Category-specific warnings: When individual quotas exceed 80%, specific warning symbols appear:
- 🔍 (search icon): Appears when Search (hourly) quota exceeds 80%
- 🔧 (wrench icon): Appears when Tool Calls quota exceeds 80%
The extension displays a maximum of 2 category warnings and 3 total symbols to keep the status bar readable.
API Key Suffix Display
The tooltip shows a masked version of your API key for easy identification:
API Key: syn_******************x7b9
This displays your API key with the prefix (syn_) and last 4 characters, with the middle masked with asterisks. The number of asterisks varies based on the key length. This helps you quickly verify which API key is currently active without revealing the full key.
Format: syn_****...****abcd where:
syn_ is the API key prefix**** is variable-length asterisk mask (key length - 8 characters)abcd are the last 4 characters of your key
Example lengths:
- 12-character key:
syn_****abcd (4 asterisks)
- 20-character key:
syn_************abcd (12 asterisks)
- 40-character key:
syn_************************abcd (32 asterisks)
Edge cases handled:
- Missing or undefined API keys: Shows "Key: Not configured"
- Short API keys (< 8 characters): Shows available characters with asterisks
Custom Font Icons
The extension uses custom font icons for different states:
- Normal state: Custom Synthetic.new icon when usage is displayed
- Loading state: Spinning loading icon when refreshing data
This provides a more polished and professional appearance compared to default VSCode icons.
The extension implements smart tooltip management:
- Tooltips temporarily clear on status bar clicks (restore after 500ms)
- Tooltips clear for longer periods when using specific commands (5 seconds for Show Commands)
- This prevents tooltips from covering UI elements while keeping them available most of the time
Silent Launch
The extension starts silently without automatically popping up usage details windows when you first launch VSCode. You control when you want to view detailed usage information.
When viewing the usage details popup, clicking the Refresh button reloads the data and shows the updated information in the same popup instead of closing it. This makes it easy to monitor your usage in real-time.
Screenshots
The status bar displays your current usage, and hovering over it shows detailed information including quota limits and renewal dates.
Warning State
When your usage approaches the warning threshold (default: 80%), the status bar changes color to alert you.
Usage Details
Click on the status bar item to view a detailed breakdown of your API usage, including raw numbers and quota information.
Commands
Access all extension commands through the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P):
Configuration
The extension can be configured through VSCode settings:
Note: Some configuration changes may not be reflected until the next refresh of usage data. You can manually refresh by clicking the status bar item or using the "Synthetic Usage Tracker: Refresh Usage" command.
| Setting |
Type |
Default |
Description |
syntheticUsageTracker.apiEndpoint |
string |
https://api.synthetic.new/v2 |
The Synthetic.new API endpoint |
syntheticUsageTracker.refreshInterval |
number |
60 |
Auto-refresh interval in seconds (min: 30, max: 1800) |
syntheticUsageTracker.showPercentage |
boolean |
true |
Show usage as percentage in status bar |
syntheticUsageTracker.showRawNumbers |
boolean |
false |
Show raw request numbers in status bar tooltip |
syntheticUsageTracker.enableNotifications |
boolean |
true |
Show notifications for API errors and quota warnings |
syntheticUsageTracker.warningThreshold |
number |
80 |
Usage percentage threshold for warning notifications |
syntheticUsageTracker.criticalThreshold |
number |
90 |
Usage percentage threshold for critical notifications |
Commands
| Command |
Description |
Availability |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Set API Key |
Configure or update your API key |
Always |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Set Refresh Interval |
Set auto-refresh interval (30s-30min, accepts 60 seconds or 5min) |
Always |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Toggle Auto-Refresh |
Enable or disable automatic refresh (shows current state in menu) |
Always |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Subscribe with Discount |
Subscribe with referral bonus credits ($10 standard, $20 pro) |
Always |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Open Synthetic Dashboard |
Open the Synthetic.new dashboard in your browser |
Always |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Refresh Usage |
Manually refresh the usage data |
API key configured ⚠️ |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Show Usage Details |
Display detailed usage information with action buttons |
API key configured ⚠️ |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Copy Usage to Clipboard |
Copy formatted usage information to clipboard (with progress bars) |
API key configured ⚠️ |
Synthetic Usage Tracker: Clear API Key |
Remove the stored API key |
API key configured ⚠️ |
⚠️ Commands marked with this icon only appear in the command palette and "Show Commands" menu when an API key is configured.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guidelines before submitting a pull request.
For developers, please refer to agents.md and agents.min.md for development guidelines and build processes.
License
GPL-3.0 License - see LICENSE for details.
Support
Get Help
Technical Documentation
Support This Project ❤️
If you find this extension useful, there are two ways to support its continued development:
Option 1: Join Synthetic.new with Referral
When you subscribe to Synthetic.new using our referral link, you'll receive bonus credits:
- $10.00 in subscription credit for standard signups
- $20.00 in subscription credit for pro signups
This also helps support the extension at no extra cost to you!
Sign up with referral link
Option 2: Crypto Donation
If you'd prefer to donate directly via cryptocurrency, you can send Bitcoin to:
bc1q8nrdytlvms0a0zurp04xwfppflcxwgpyrzw5hn
Thank you for supporting free and open source software! 🙏
Acknowledgments
Co-vibe coded with AI - Built with human creativity enhanced by artificial intelligence
