Stack Overflow Quick Search

Instantly search Stack Overflow without leaving VS Code. Find solutions faster and stay in your flow.

🚀 Overview

Stack Overflow Quick Search brings the power of Stack Overflow directly into your VS Code editor. Simply highlight any code snippet or error message, right-click, and instantly view search results in a convenient side panel—no context switching required.

✨ Features

• ⚡ Lightning Fast - Highlight any code or error message to search instantly
• 🔧 Seamlessly Integrated - Adds "Search Stack Overflow" to your context menu
• 📊 Clean Interface - View search results in a clean panel right beside your code
• 🔑 Your Personal API Key - Use your own Stack Exchange API key for 10,000 requests/day

📋 Prerequisites

This extension requires a free Stack Exchange API key to function. Don't worry—it's completely free and provides a generous 10,000 requests per day limit.

🔧 Setup Instructions

Step 1: Get Your Free API Key

1. Navigate to Stack Apps OAuth Registration

   • Log in with your Stack Overflow account if prompted

2. Fill out the registration form:

   • Application Name: My VS Code Searcher (or any name you prefer)
   • Application Website: http://localhost or leave it blank
   • Application Description: A private tool for searching Stack Overflow from VS Code
   • Leave other fields blank
   • Check the box to agree to the terms

3. Click "Register Your Application"

4. Copy the Key displayed on the next page (a string of letters and numbers)

Step 2: Configure the Extension

1. Open VS Code Settings:

   • Windows/Linux: File > Preferences > Settings or press Ctrl+,
   • macOS: Code > Preferences > Settings or press Cmd+,

2. In the search bar, type: stackOverflowSearch.apiKey

3. Paste your API key into the Stack Overflow Search settings field

4. Save—you're all set! ✅

Note: You only need to configure your API key once.

📖 How to Use

1. Highlight any text in your editor (e.g., error message like TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable)

2. Right-click on the highlighted text

3. Select "Search Stack Overflow" from the context menu

4. View results in the new panel that opens alongside your code

🎯 Use Cases

• Quickly search error messages without leaving your IDE
• Find code examples and solutions instantly
• Research APIs and syntax on-the-fly
• Debug issues faster with immediate Stack Overflow access

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Feel free to check out the GitHub repository.

☕ Support

If you find this extension helpful, consider supporting me:

📄 License

This project is licensed under the terms specified in the LICENSE file.

👨‍💻 Author

Created By Krishn Dhola

• GitHub: @I-Am-Krishn
• Ko-Fi: Support Me