PasteGuard 🛡️

Prevent Accidental Secret Leaks to AI Chats

PasteGuard is a VS Code extension that intelligently detects secrets (API keys, passwords, tokens, credentials) before you paste them into AI chat tools like GitHub Copilot, preventing accidental exposure of sensitive information.

Created by: Praveen Raj Ragunathan | Developer & Security Innovation Specialist

🎯 The Problem

Developers frequently copy code containing secrets (API keys, passwords, database strings) and accidentally paste them into AI chat tools, creating security risks:

• Credentials exposed in chat logs
• Secrets inadvertently shared in screenshots
• Compliance violations
• Security audit failures

✨ The Solution

PasteGuard acts as a smart clipboard guard that:

• 🔍 Scans clipboard content in real-time before paste
• ⚡ Fast - <10ms scan time, scans all paste operations
• 🛡️ Blocks paste with modal dialog when secrets detected
• 📊 Audit Trail - Logs all detections for compliance

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Install from VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "PasteGuard"
4. Click Install
5. Reload VS Code

Option 2: Install from VSIX File

1. Download pasteguard-1.0.0.vsix from Releases
2. Open VS Code
3. Extensions → ... menu → "Install from VSIX"
4. Select the .vsix file
5. Reload VS Code

Option 3: Clone & Build from Source (Developers)

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Praveen-Raj-Ragunathan/PasteGuard.git
cd PasteGuard

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Test in development
Press F5 in VS Code

# Package as VSIX
npm run package

First Use

1. Copy any code with a secret (e.g., AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE)
2. Try pasting anywhere (Ctrl+V)
3. PasteGuard will block and show dialog ⚠️
4. Click "✅ Approve Paste" to proceed or close modal to cancel

🔍 What Gets Detected?

21 Secret Patterns + Entropy Analysis

97% Test Pass Rate - 33 of 34 test cases passing

⚙️ Configuration

Customize behavior via Settings (File → Preferences → Settings → Search "pasteguard"):

Quick Settings Access

{
  "pasteguard.enabled": true,
  "pasteguard.logViolations": true
}

🛠️ Commands

Access via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

🔒 Privacy & Security

• ✅ 100% Local - All scanning happens on your machine
• ✅ Zero Telemetry - No data ever leaves your computer
• ✅ No Network Calls - Completely offline operation
• ✅ Zero Runtime Dependencies - No external libraries
• ✅ Open Source - Full code transparency (MIT License)
• ✅ Audit Trail - All actions logged to Output channel

📊 Performance

• ⚡ Scan Time: 5-10ms per paste
• ⚡ Cache Hit: <1ms (repeated content)
• 💾 Memory: 5-minute cache expiry, 100 entry limit
• 🎯 Accuracy: 97% test pass rate

👨‍💻 Author

Praveen Raj Ragunathan

Developer & Security Innovation Specialist

• 🔗 GitHub: @Praveen-Raj-Ragunathan
• 📧 Email: Available via GitHub profile
• 🏢 Focus: Security Innovation, Developer Tools, Privacy-First Solutions

This extension was designed and developed from scratch as a practical security solution for the developer community.

🎖️ Project Highlights

• ✅ Original Concept & Implementation: Complete design and development
• ✅ Architecture: 21-pattern secret scanner with intelligent detection
• ✅ Performance: Optimized to <10ms scan time with smart caching
• ✅ Production Ready: 97% test coverage, zero dependencies, fully documented
• ✅ Security Focus: 100% local processing, no telemetry, audit trail

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for:

• How to report bugs
• Feature request process
• Development guidelines
• Pull request procedure

📞 Support

• 🐛 Found a bug? Open an issue
• 💡 Have a feature idea? Start a discussion
• 📚 Need help? Check the FAQ section

❓ FAQ

Q: Will PasteGuard slow down my editor?
A: No. Scans complete in <10ms, cached results in <1ms. You won't notice any performance impact.

Q: Does PasteGuard send my clipboard to the cloud?
A: Absolutely not. Everything happens locally on your machine. Zero telemetry, zero network calls.

Q: Can I disable PasteGuard for specific files?
A: Yes. Edit your settings to disable by file type or context, or use the "Safe Paste" command.

Q: What if I have a legitimate secret I need to paste?
A: Click "Approve Paste" in the modal dialog to proceed. You can also use "Safe Paste" command.

Q: Is this extension open source?
A: Yes! Licensed under MIT. See LICENSE for details.

Q: How often is this updated?
A: Check CHANGELOG.md for version history and updates.

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          User presses Ctrl+V            │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘
                   ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│       Context Detector (5 layers)       │
│  ✓ Configuration check                  │
│  ✓ Active editor URI/scheme             │
│  ✓ Language ID detection                │
│  ✓ Terminal context                     │
│  ✓ Visible editors scan                 │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘
                   ↓
            Is Risky Context?
                   │
        ┌──────────┴──────────┐
        NO                    YES
        │                      │
   Paste Directly         ┌───▼───┐
   (<1ms)                 │ Cache?│
                          └───┬───┘
                              │
                      ┌───────┴────────┐
                    MISS              HIT
                      │                │
              ┌───────▼──────┐    (<1ms)
              │   Scanner    │
              │ 21 Patterns  │
              │ + Entropy    │
              └───────┬──────┘
                      ↓
                 Secrets Found?
                      │
              ┌───────┴────────┐
             NO               YES
              │                 │
         Paste Directly    ┌───▼───────┐
                           │ UI Modal  │
                           │ 5 Options │
                           └───────────┘

� License

MIT License - see LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2025 Praveen Raj Ragunathan

🙏 Acknowledgments

This extension was independently developed by Praveen Raj Ragunathan as a security solution for the developer community. Built with dedication to help prevent accidental secret leaks in modern development workflows.

Special thanks to all early testers who provided valuable feedback.

Guard Every Paste 🛡️

Protecting developers from accidental secret leaks since 2025

Created by Praveen Raj Ragunathan