Break Room

A playful VS Code extension for the moments when a coding agent is working and you have a minute to spare.

Break Room is intentionally honest: version 0.1 uses a manual start/stop control. It does not claim to know what an AI agent is doing.

What is inside

• Stack — a one-button neon stacker with increasing speed, combos, and a persistent best score.
• Learn — twelve concise backend and systems questions with explanations, streaks, and durable progress.
• Session timer — a simple elapsed timer and end-of-session summary.
• Theme-aware UI — adapts to VS Code and Cursor light/dark themes and respects reduced-motion preferences.

Game and learning progress is stored in VS Code's extension globalState. The extension has no telemetry, makes no network requests, and does not inspect terminal output or source code.

Install

From the extension marketplace

VS Code installs from the Visual Studio Marketplace; Cursor installs from Open VSX.

1. Open Extensions
2. Search Break Room (publisher NakulJain)
3. Click Install
4. Run Break Room: Start Break Room

Publishing steps are in docs/publishing.md in the source repository.

From a VSIX

npm install
npm run package

Then use Extensions: Install from VSIX… and choose waiting-room-0.1.1.vsix.

Develop the extension

Requirements: Node.js 20+ and a recent VS Code or Cursor release compatible with VS Code API 1.93.

npm install
npm run build

Open this folder in VS Code or Cursor and press F5. In the Extension Development Host:

1. Open the Command Palette.
2. Run Break Room: Start Break Room.
3. Use the pause button or run Break Room: Stop Break Room to end the session.

In Stack mode, click the playfield or press Space/Enter to place a block.

Develop the webview

The browser preview includes a local mock of the VS Code message bridge:

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:43127. Preview progress uses browser local storage; extension progress uses VS Code storage.

Useful checks:

npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm test
npm run package

npm run package creates a .vsix.
npm run publish:marketplace publishes with the official @vscode/vsce tool after you log in. Open VSX publishing is covered in docs/publishing.md.

Agent activity detection

There is no universal public VS Code/Cursor event for “an AI agent is working.” Standard APIs can observe terminal, editor, and file activity, but cannot reliably attribute it to an agent. Claude Code offers explicit opt-in hooks that could support a future adapter.

The full researched constraints and recommended next experiment are in docs/activity-detection.md in the source repository.

Project layout

• src/extension.ts — extension commands, panel lifecycle, persistence, and CSP.
• src/shared/protocol.ts — typed extension/webview messages and persisted state.
• src/webview/ — React break-room interface, game, and learning content.
• tests/ — deterministic game and persistence tests.

License

MIT