Todo It
A modern, hybrid TODO manager for Visual Studio Code — scan your code for comment tags and keep your own checkable tasks, side by side in one sidebar.
Todo It is a fresh, MIT-licensed take on the much-loved (but unmaintained) Todo Tree — rebuilt from scratch on the current VS Code APIs, with fast ripgrep scanning and a built-in task list.
TODO IT
├─ 📌 My Tasks (click a task → Task Details panel)
│ ☐ Write parser tests high · due 2026-06-01 · 📝
│ ☑ Set up CI
│ ☐ Review PR [#42](https://github.com/KiSchnelle/todo_it/issues/42) low
└─ 🔍 Found in Code
├─ TODO (12)
│ ├─ refactor this loop src/app.ts:42
│ └─ handle the empty case src/api.ts:8
├─ FIXME (3)
│ └─ race condition here src/db.ts:91
└─ HACK (1)
Features
- Scans your whole workspace for tags like
TODO, FIXME, HACK, BUG, NOTE, XXX inside comments — fully configurable.
- Powered by ripgrep (bundled), so it stays fast even on large repos.
- Group by tag, by file, or as a flat list — switch any time from the view toolbar.
- Jump to code: click any result to open the file at the exact line and column.
- Respects
.gitignore and your own include/exclude globs.
✅ Editor highlights
- Per-tag gutter icons, tag coloring, and overview-ruler marks so todos are visible while you code.
- Colors and icons are configurable per tag; toggle all highlighting with one command.
📌 My Tasks — built-in task list
- Add, check off (real tree checkboxes), and delete tasks without leaving the editor.
- Click a task to open the Task Details panel — a dedicated editor with title, priority, due date, and a large multi-line note field (save with
⌘/Ctrl+S).
- Flexible due dates: an exact date (
2026-06-01) or a relative one (tomorrow, 3 days, 2 weeks, 1 month) — in the panel or the quick-add prompts.
- Sort tasks by priority, due date, or manual order (completed tasks always sink to the bottom).
- Tasks are persisted with your project in
.vscode/todos.json by default — commit them to share with your team, or switch to a private/local store.
⚡ Live & multi-root
- Live updates: files are re-scanned automatically as you edit and save (debounced); deletions disappear on their own.
- Monorepo-ready: results and tasks are scoped per workspace folder.
Getting started
- Install Todo It from the Marketplace (or run
Extensions: Install from VSIX…).
- Open the Todo It view from the Activity Bar (the checklist icon).
- The Found in Code section fills in automatically from your workspace; click any item to jump to it.
- Add your own tasks with the
+ button (or Todo It: Add Task from the Command Palette).
Commands
All commands are available from the Command Palette under the Todo It category.
| Command |
Title |
Where |
todoIt.addTask |
Add Task |
View toolbar (+), Command Palette |
todoIt.editTask |
Open Task Details (title / priority / due / note) |
Click a task, pencil icon |
todoIt.deleteTask |
Delete Task |
Task context menu |
todoIt.setTaskSort |
Sort Tasks By… |
My Tasks header |
todoIt.refresh |
Refresh |
View toolbar |
todoIt.setGrouping |
Change Grouping |
View toolbar |
todoIt.toggleDecorations |
Toggle Editor Highlights |
View toolbar |
todoIt.openMatch |
Open Todo |
Click a scanned result |
Settings
Configure everything under the Todo It section of Settings (todoIt.*).
| Setting |
Type |
Default |
Description |
todoIt.tags |
array |
TODO, FIXME, HACK, BUG, NOTE, XXX |
Tags to scan for, with optional color, backgroundColor, iconPath, and rulerColor. |
todoIt.caseSensitive |
boolean |
true |
Match case-sensitively, so only TODO matches (not Todo/todo) — avoids catching words like "note". |
todoIt.commentsOnly |
boolean |
true |
Only match tags that follow a comment marker — ignores prose, strings, and code. |
todoIt.commentMarkers |
string[] |
// # <!-- /* * -- ; % |
Comment leaders used when commentsOnly is on. Tune to suit your languages. |
todoIt.include |
string[] |
["**/*"] |
Glob patterns of files to scan. |
todoIt.exclude |
string[] |
node_modules, dist, out, .git, *.min.* |
Glob patterns to exclude. |
todoIt.respectGitignore |
boolean |
true |
Skip files ignored by .gitignore. |
todoIt.maxResults |
number |
5000 |
Maximum number of scanned matches. |
todoIt.debounceMs |
number |
400 |
Delay before re-scanning a changed file. |
todoIt.scan.grouping |
enum |
tag |
Group scanned results by tag, file, or flat. |
todoIt.decorations.enabled |
boolean |
true |
Highlight tags in the editor. |
todoIt.tasks.storage |
enum |
file |
Where manual tasks live: file (committed .vscode/todos.json), gitignoredFile, or workspaceState. |
todoIt.tasks.sortBy |
enum |
manual |
Order tasks by manual, priority, or dueDate (completed always last). |
"todoIt.tags": [
{ "tag": "TODO", "color": "#ffbd2e" },
{ "tag": "FIXME", "color": "#ff5f56" },
{ "tag": "REVIEW", "color": "#a6e22e", "backgroundColor": "#2c3327" }
]
Where are my tasks stored?
todoIt.tasks.storage controls it:
| Mode |
Location |
Good for |
file (default) |
.vscode/todos.json (committed) |
Sharing tasks with your team |
gitignoredFile |
.vscode/todos.local.json (auto-gitignored) |
File-based but private to you |
workspaceState |
VS Code internal storage |
Fully local, never a file |
Requirements
- VS Code 1.120.0 or newer.
- The code scanner needs local files (it runs ripgrep), so it is unavailable in virtual workspaces such as github.dev — your manual tasks still work there.
Trust & privacy
Todo It is read-only against your code (it never modifies source files) and runs entirely offline — no telemetry, no network calls. It supports Workspace Trust: in an untrusted workspace, custom tag styling from the folder's settings is ignored as a safety measure, while scanning and tasks keep working.
Known limitations
- Scanning requires a real filesystem, so it is limited in virtual/remote-virtual workspaces.
- Tags are matched as whole words on a line; multi-line block-comment context is not parsed.
Development
npm install # install dependencies
npm run watch # esbuild in watch mode — then press F5 to launch the Extension Host
npm run check-types
npm run lint
npm test # unit + integration tests (VS Code test host)
npm run vsix # build a .vsix package
Contributions and issues are welcome. The codebase is small and typed: scanning lives in src/scanner/, the tree in src/tree/, tasks in src/tasks/, and editor highlights in src/decorations/.
License
MIT © Kilian Schnelle
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