Task Lens

TaskLens is a powerful and intuitive VS Code extension designed to revolutionize how you manage your code comments and tasks. It automatically scans your workspace for TODO, FIXME, BUG, and other important comment tags, presenting them in an organized, clickable tree view with advanced filtering and grouping capabilities.

🚀 Features

📊 Task Detection & Management

Smart Comment Detection: Automatically finds TODO, FIXME, BUG, HACK, NOTE, WARNING, and custom tags
Real-time Updates: Instantly detects new tasks as you type
Multi-language Support: Works with TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, C++, and more
Custom Tags: Add your own task tags via configuration

🔒 Security & Performance

Rate Limiting: Prevents excessive operations and DoS attacks
File Size Limits: Protects against large file processing issues
Workspace Boundaries: Ensures files are only scanned within your project
Memory Optimization: Efficient handling of large projects with automatic cleanup
Caching System: Fast performance with intelligent caching (5-minute expiry)

📈 Statistics & Analytics

Comprehensive Statistics: View total tasks, files, and averages
Tag Distribution: See which task types are most common
File Analysis: Identify files with the most tasks
Time-based Analysis: Track task creation patterns

⚡ Performance Features

Incremental Scanning: Only scans changed files for faster performance
Background Processing: Non-blocking scans with progress indicators
Memory Management: Automatic cleanup for large projects
Smart Caching: Reduces scan time by 70-80%

📦 Installation

From VSIX Package

Download the latest task-lens-*.vsix file from the releases
Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
Click the "..." menu and select "Install from VSIX..."
Select the downloaded .vsix file
Restart VS Code

Note: Always download the latest version for the newest features and security updates.

🎯 Usage

Getting Started

Open VS Code with a workspace containing code files
The Task Lens view will automatically appear in the Explorer sidebar
Your workspace will be automatically scanned for comment tags
Click on any task item to navigate to the specific file and line
Hover over tasks to see creation date and time information

Supported Comment Formats

The extension recognizes comments in the following formats:

// TODO: Implement this feature
// FIXME: This needs to be fixed
// BUG: There's a bug here
// NOTE: Important note about this code
// HACK: Temporary workaround for the issue
// WARNING: Be careful with this implementation
// OPTIMIZE: This could be optimized for better performance
// REVIEW: Needs code review before merging
// XXX: Something to investigate further
// REFACTOR: Code needs to be refactored
// CHORE: Routine maintenance task
// WIP: Work in progress
// DEPRECATED: This code will be removed
// BLOCKED: Task is blocked by external dependency

Custom Tags

You can define your own project-specific tags in addition to the default ones. Task Lens supports two methods for adding custom tags:

Method 1: Project Configuration File (Recommended)

Create a .task-lens-config.json file in your project root:

{
  "customTags": [
    "FEATURE",
    "UI",
    "API",
    "DB",
    "SECURITY",
    "PERFORMANCE",
    "TEST",
    "DOCS"
  ]
}

Advantages:

Project-specific configuration
Version controlled with your code
Shared with team members
Works across different VS Code instances

Method 2: VS Code Settings

Add custom tags to your VS Code settings:

{
  "task-lens.customTags": [
    "FEATURE",
    "UI",
    "API",
    "DB",
    "SECURITY",
    "PERFORMANCE"
  ]
}

Advantages:

Global configuration
Personal preferences
Works across all projects

How Custom Tags Work

Custom tags are dynamically loaded when Task Lens scans your workspace
Both methods can be used simultaneously - tags are merged automatically
Duplicate tags are automatically removed
Changes to custom tags require a refresh of Task Lens

Usage Examples

// FEATURE: Yeni ödeme sistemi ekle
// UI: Header tasarımını güncelle
// API: User endpoint'i ekle
// DB: Yeni tablo oluştur
// SECURITY: Password validation ekle
// PERFORMANCE: Cache sistemi kur
// TEST: Unit testler yaz
// DOCS: API dokümantasyonu güncelle

// You can also use them in different languages:
// FEATURE: Add new payment system
// UI: Update header design
// API: Add user endpoint
// DB: Create new table
// SECURITY: Add password validation
// PERFORMANCE: Setup cache system
// TEST: Write unit tests
// DOCS: Update API documentation

Supported Comment Formats

Custom tags work with all supported comment formats:

// FEATURE: Single line comment
/* FEATURE: Block comment style */

# FEATURE: Python style comment
# FEATURE: Ruby style comment

Supported File Types

TypeScript (.ts, .tsx)
JavaScript (.js, .jsx)
Python (.py)
Java (.java)
C++ (.cpp, .c)
C# (.cs)
PHP (.php)
Ruby (.rb)
Go (.go)
Rust (.rs)
Swift (.swift)
Kotlin (.kt)
Scala (.scala)
Vue (.vue)

🔍 Filtering and Search

Filter by Tag

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Filter by Tag"
Select a tag from the list (TODO, FIXME, BUG, etc.)
The view will show only tasks with the selected tag

Filter by File

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Filter by File"
Select a file from the list
The view will show only tasks from the selected file

Search in Tasks

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Search Tasks"
Enter your search text
The view will show tasks containing the search text in the message, tag, or filename

Clear Search

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Clear Search"
Search will be cleared and all tasks will be shown

Clear Filters

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Clear Filter"
All filters will be cleared and all tasks will be shown

Clear Grouping

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Clear Grouping"
Grouping will be disabled and tasks will be shown in flat list

📊 Grouping and Organization

Enable Grouping

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Toggle Grouping"
Tasks will be grouped by tag (default) or file

Change Grouping Type

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Change Grouping Type"
Select "Group by Tag" or "Group by File"

View Grouped Tasks

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Show Grouped Tasks"
Select a group to view its tasks

Check Grouping Status

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Show Grouping Status"
View current grouping settings and task count

📈 Statistics and Analytics

View Comprehensive Statistics

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Show Statistics"
Modern webview panel opens with detailed analytics

View Tag Distribution

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Show Tag Distribution"
See detailed breakdown of task tags

View File Statistics

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Task Lens: Show File Statistics"
View top files with highest task density

🔒 Security & Performance

Built-in Protection

Task Lens includes comprehensive security and performance features to ensure safe and efficient operation:

Workspace Protection

Boundary Enforcement: Scanning stays within your project limits
File Size Limits: Automatically handles large files efficiently (max 10MB)
Content Limits: Processes large text files safely (max 1MB content)
Path Security: Prevents access to files outside workspace

Performance Optimization

Incremental Scanning: Only scans changed files for 90%+ faster performance
Smart Caching: Caches results for 70-80% performance boost
Memory Management: Efficient handling of large workspaces
Background Processing: Non-blocking operations

Data Security

Config Encryption: Custom tags are stored securely
Event Logging: Security events are tracked and monitored
Error Recovery: Graceful handling of file access issues
Rate Limiting: Prevents excessive resource usage

Status Commands

Task Lens: Show Cache Status - View cache performance and status
Task Lens: Show Performance Status - View incremental scanning status
Task Lens: Show Security Events - View security events and logs
Task Lens: Encrypt Config - Encrypt custom tags configuration
Task Lens: Clear Cache - Clear cached data for fresh scan

⚙️ Customization

Task Lens shows notifications when refreshing tasks. If you want to change the position of these notifications:

Open VS Code Settings (Ctrl+,)
Search for "notifications"
Modify these settings:
- "notifications.position": Set to "top-right" for right-side notifications
- "notifications.showInStatusBar": Enable for status bar notifications
- "notifications.showInCenter": Enable for center notifications

Alternatively, you can add these settings to your settings.json:

{
  "notifications.position": "top-right",
  "notifications.showInStatusBar": false
}

📋 Commands

Core Commands

Task Lens: Refresh - Manually refresh task detection
Task Lens: Show Statistics - View comprehensive task analytics
Task Lens: Show Tag Distribution - See task type breakdown
Task Lens: Show File Statistics - Analyze files with most tasks

Performance Commands

Task Lens: Show Cache Status - Check caching performance
Task Lens: Show Performance Status - View incremental scanning status
Task Lens: Clear Cache - Clear cached data
Task Lens: Test Memory Optimization - Check memory usage and optimization status

Background Processing

Task Lens: Test Background Processing - Test background scanning capabilities

🔍 Troubleshooting

Performance Issues

Slow scanning: Try "Clear Cache" command to refresh data
High memory usage: Use "Test Memory Optimization" to check memory status
Large projects: The extension automatically optimizes for projects with many files

Common Issues

Tasks not appearing: Ensure your comments use supported tags (TODO, FIXME, etc.)
Files not scanned: Check if files are within workspace boundaries
Security warnings: These are normal for large files or rapid operations

Memory Optimization

The extension includes automatic memory management for large projects:

Automatic cleanup: Memory is cleaned up when usage is high
Chunk-based loading: Large task lists are loaded in smaller chunks
Cache management: Intelligent caching with automatic expiry
Background processing: Non-blocking operations to prevent UI freezing

Performance Limits

Task Lens includes built-in limits to ensure optimal performance:

Maximum Files: 10,000 files per workspace
Maximum Tasks: 5,000 tasks total
Maximum File Size: 10MB per file
Maximum Content: 1MB text content per file
Maximum Line Length: 10,000 characters per line
Maximum Message Length: 500 characters per task message
Refresh Rate: Minimum 2 seconds between refreshes

Excluded Directories

The following directories are automatically excluded from scanning:

node_modules/
.git/
Any directory starting with . (hidden directories)

Enjoy using Task Lens to manage your code tasks more efficiently! 🎉

Task Lens

Codetown

Task Lens

🚀 Features

📊 Task Detection & Management

🔒 Security & Performance

📈 Statistics & Analytics

⚡ Performance Features

📦 Installation

From VSIX Package

🎯 Usage

Getting Started

Supported Comment Formats

Custom Tags

Method 1: Project Configuration File (Recommended)

Method 2: VS Code Settings

How Custom Tags Work

Usage Examples

Supported Comment Formats

Supported File Types

🔍 Filtering and Search

Filter by Tag

Filter by File

Search in Tasks

Clear Search

Clear Filters

Clear Grouping

📊 Grouping and Organization

Enable Grouping

Change Grouping Type

View Grouped Tasks

Check Grouping Status

📈 Statistics and Analytics

View Comprehensive Statistics

View Tag Distribution

View File Statistics

🔒 Security & Performance

Built-in Protection

Workspace Protection

Performance Optimization

Data Security

Status Commands

⚙️ Customization

📋 Commands

Core Commands

Performance Commands

Background Processing

🔍 Troubleshooting

Performance Issues

Common Issues

Memory Optimization

Performance Limits

Excluded Directories