Formatter Lab is a Visual Studio Code extension that allows you to load, format, and display JSON files in a structured and visually appealing way. This extension leverages webviews to render the formatted JSON in a dedicated editor panel, with syntax highlighting and theme-aware colors for a seamless developer experience.
Features
Open JSON Files: Easily select and open JSON files from your system.
Formatted Display: Visualize JSON data in a clean, formatted structure.
Theme Support: Automatically adapts to your VS Code theme (light or dark).
Interactive Interface: Rendered JSON is styled with collapsible brackets and syntax highlighting.
Installation
Open Visual Studio Code.
Go to the Extensions view by clicking the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
Search for "Formatter Lab."
Click Install.
Usage
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).
Search for Formatter Lab: Show Formatted JSON and select the command.
Select a JSON file from your system using the file picker.
The JSON data will be displayed in a formatted, color-coded webview.
Commands
Command Name
Description
formatter-lab.showFormattedJson
Opens a file picker to load and format a JSON file.
JSON Styling
The JSON content is styled with the following features:
Key Color: Matches your theme’s color palette.
Value Color: Ensures readable distinction for values.
Bracket Collapsibility: Clickable brackets for better navigation in nested JSON structures.
Extension API
Activate
The activate function is called when the extension is initialized. It registers the formatter-lab.showFormattedJson command.
Deactivate
The deactivate function is called when the extension is unloaded.
Development
To build or extend this extension:
Clone this repository.
Run yarn install to install dependencies.
Open the project in VS Code.
Use F5 to launch an Extension Development Host to test your changes.
Feedback and Contributions
Feel free to submit bug reports, feature requests, or contribute to the extension on its GitHub repository.
