Caret History

WebStorm-style caret position history navigation for VS Code.

Features

• True caret history: Tracks actual cursor position changes, not just file navigation
• Hybrid navigation: Uses caret history first, falls back to VS Code's native navigation when empty
• Works everywhere: Mouse clicks, keyboard navigation, Go to Definition - all tracked equally

Keyboard Shortcuts

Manual Keybinding Setup

If the default keybindings don't work (due to conflicts with other extensions), add these to your keybindings.json (Cmd+Shift+P → "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)"):

[
  {
    "key": "cmd+alt+left",
    "command": "caretHistory.back",
    "when": "editorTextFocus"
  },
  {
    "key": "cmd+alt+right",
    "command": "caretHistory.forward",
    "when": "editorTextFocus"
  }
]

For Windows/Linux, replace cmd with ctrl.

Commands

• Caret History: Go Back - Navigate to previous caret position
• Caret History: Go Forward - Navigate to next caret position
• Caret History: Clear - Clear all history

How It Works

1. Every cursor movement that jumps 5+ lines is recorded
2. When you press "Go Back", it navigates through your caret history
3. If caret history is empty, it falls back to VS Code's built-in navigation
4. New cursor movements clear the forward stack (like a web browser)

Why Use This?

VS Code's built-in navigation (workbench.action.navigateBack) only tracks:

• File switches
• Go to Definition
• Symbol navigation

It doesn't track regular cursor movements within a file. This extension fills that gap, giving you WebStorm-like navigation.

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release with core functionality:

• Caret position tracking
• Back/Forward navigation
• Hybrid fallback to VS Code navigation
• Small movement filtering