PDF Annotator for VS Code
Read and annotate PDFs without leaving Visual Studio Code. Inspired by Zotero's annotation workflow, PDF Annotator supports text highlights, underlines, sticky notes, comments, and Markdown note exports.
Features
- Contextual annotations: select text and choose a highlight color or underline it from a small floating palette.
- Smooth PDF reading: continuous scrolling, mouse-centered zoom, and a blurred preview while pages are re-rendered.
- Editable notes: add comments to highlights or place a note directly on a page.
- Portable annotations: save highlights, underlines, and notes as standard PDF annotations.
- Markdown export: export quoted passages and comments, grouped by page.
- Offline by default: PDF rendering and annotation processing run locally in VS Code.
Installation
- From a VSIX: open the Command Palette and run
Extensions: Install from VSIX....
- From source: run
npm ci, then press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host, or run npm run package to build a VSIX.
Usage
Right-click a PDF and select Open With... → PDF Annotator. To use it for all PDFs, choose Configure Default Editor for '*.pdf'.
| Action |
How to use it |
| Highlight text |
Select a passage, then click a color in the contextual palette, or press H |
| Underline text |
Select a passage and click Underline, or press U |
| Add a note |
Click Note in the toolbar (or press N), then click on the page |
| Return to selection mode |
Press V or Escape |
| Add a comment |
Use the text field in the annotation card in the sidebar |
| Change an annotation's color |
Select the annotation, then choose a color in its card |
| Delete an annotation |
Click the × button on its card, or press Delete when selected |
| Undo / redo |
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (Cmd on macOS), using VS Code's native undo history |
| Save |
Ctrl+S to write annotations into the PDF |
| Export notes |
Click Export or run PDF Annotator: Export Notes and Quotes to save Markdown or copy to clipboard |
The Show annotations / Hide annotations button toggles the annotation sidebar.
Annotation storage
The extension writes standard PDF annotations (/Highlight, /Underline, and /Text, including QuadPoints and appearance streams). They can be read by compatible PDF applications, including Zotero and Acrobat. Quoted text is also stored in a private /VSPdfQuote field, which other readers can safely ignore.
Existing highlights, underlines, and notes are imported when a PDF is opened. If the PDF cannot be modified, for example because it is encrypted, annotations are saved to a neighboring <filename>.pdf.annotations.json file and restored on the next open.
Development
npm ci
npm run typecheck
npm run compile
npm run package
License
MIT. See the LICENSE file in the project repository.
