Mood Ring for VS Code
Your coding environment, attuned to your state of mind.
Mood Ring is an experimental VS Code extension that attempts to detect your "coding mood" in real-time. By analyzing your typing speed (WPM), error rate, and backspace usage, it dynamically adjusts your workspace theme and provides audio feedback to match your flow.
How It Works
The extension monitors your typing patterns and categorizes your state into three moods:
1. Relaxed (Default)
Condition: Normal typing speed, few errors, or idle.
- Theme: Calming Sea Green accents.
- Status Bar:
$(heart) Mood: RELAXED
- Audio: Silence (or soft ambient if configured).
2. Flow (The Zone)
Condition: High typing speed (High WPM) with few interruptions.
- Trigger: WPM > 60 (configurable).
- Theme: Electric Neon / Blue Violet accents to maintain energy.
- Status Bar:
$(rocket) Mood: FLOW
- Audio: Plays a low-volume, rhythmic "flow" track to keep you focused.
3. Panic (Debug Mode)
Condition: Erratic typing, frequent backspaces, or high syntax error count.
- Trigger: > 30% backspace ratio or > 3 syntax errors in a short burst.
- Theme: High-contrast Orange/Red accents to alert you to step back.
- Status Bar:
$(alert) Mood: PANIC
- Audio: Plays a slightly more tense or alerting track (if configured) to signal a break in flow.
Configuration
Customize the sensitivity and behavior of Mood Ring in your VS Code settings (Ctrl+,):
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
moodRing.enabled |
true |
Turn the entire extension on or off. |
moodRing.flowThreshold |
60 |
The Words Per Minute (WPM) required to enter Flow state. Lower this if you type slower to trigger flow more easily. |
moodRing.audioEnabled |
true |
Toggle the ambient audio feedback. |
Adding Custom Audio
To enable audio feedback, you must provide your own mp3 files. The extension looks for them in the extension's media folder.
- Navigate to the extension installation folder.
- Open the
media folder.
- Add two files:
flow.mp3 - A track for high-focus moments.panic.mp3 - A track for high-stress/debugging moments.
- Reload the window.
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and type:
- Mood Ring: Reset Mood: Manually forces the extension back to "Relaxed" state and resets the theme colors.
Important Note on Themes
This extension works by writing to your Workspace Settings (.vscode/settings.json) under workbench.colorCustomizations.
- It will override your current theme's colors for the Title Bar, Status Bar, and Activity Bar while active.
- It restores your original workspace colors when deactivated or uninstalled (best effort).
Q&A
Q: Why isn't audio playing?
A: Check if you have added flow.mp3 and panic.mp3 to the media folder. By default, the extension ships without audio files to keep the package light and avoid licensing issues.
Q: The colors are stuck!
A: Run the Mood Ring: Reset Mood command. If that doesn't work, open your .vscode/settings.json and manually delete the workbench.colorCustomizations block.
Enjoy your flow!
