Error Audio Player

An VS Code extension that plays a custom sound whenever a terminal command fails or produces an error. Never miss an error again!

Features

• Automatic Error Detection: Monitors terminal output and detects errors, failures, exceptions, and build errors
• Custom Audio: Choose any audio file (MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A) to play on errors
• Flexible Configuration: Adjust volume, debounce delays, and toggle the extension on/off
• Hidden Operation: Runs silently in the background without cluttering your UI
• Default Fallback: Falls back to a beep sound if no custom audio is configured

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Error Audio Player"
4. Click Install

From Source (Development)

git clone https://github.com/your-username/error-audio-player.git
cd error-audio-player
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 to open Extension Development Host

Usage

Commands

The extension provides three main commands (accessible via Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P):

• Error Audio Player: Pick audio file... - Select a custom audio file to play on errors
• Error Audio Player: Test play sound - Preview the configured sound
• Error Audio Player: Toggle enable/disable - Quickly turn the extension on/off

Configuration

Access settings via Preferences > Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for "Error Audio Player":

• errorAudioPlayer.enable (boolean, default: true)
  Enable or disable the extension globally

• errorAudioPlayer.audioPath (string, default: empty)
  Full path or URL to your audio file. Supports:

  • Local files: C:\Users\YourName\Music\error.mp3 or /home/user/sounds/error.wav
  • URLs: https://example.com/sound.mp3
  • Leave empty to use bundled beep sound

• errorAudioPlayer.volume (number, default: 0.8, range: 0.0 - 1.0)
  Playback volume level

• errorAudioPlayer.playDebounce (number, default: 300 ms)
  Minimum delay between consecutive sound plays to avoid repeated triggers

Example Configuration

Add to your VS Code settings.json:

{
  "errorAudioPlayer.enable": true,
  "errorAudioPlayer.audioPath": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Music\\error-alert.mp3",
  "errorAudioPlayer.volume": 0.6,
  "errorAudioPlayer.playDebounce": 500
}

Bundled Audio

To include a default audio file with your extension:

1. Create a media folder in the extension root:

   mkdir media
   

2. Add your audio file as media/error-sound.mp3 or media/error-sound.wav
3. The extension will automatically use it if no custom audio is configured

Supported Error Patterns

The extension detects errors using these heuristics:

• Keywords: error, failed, failure, exception, traceback, fatal, not found, undefined, null
• Exit codes: Any non-zero exit code (exit 1, exit 127, etc.)
• Build errors: npm err, compilation failed, build failed, syntax error
• Test failures: test failed, failing tests, fail:
• Severity markers: [ERROR], [FAIL], [FATAL], ERROR:, etc.

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• errorAudioPlayer.enable: Enable/disable playing audio on terminal errors
• errorAudioPlayer.audioPath: Path or URL to custom audio file
• errorAudioPlayer.volume: Audio playback volume (0.0 - 1.0)
• errorAudioPlayer.playDebounce: Minimum milliseconds between consecutive plays

Known Issues

• Audio playback on WSL terminals may require additional system configuration
• Some specialized shell output formats may not be detected; open an issue if you find patterns we miss

Publishing to VS Code Marketplace

Prerequisites

1. Create a Microsoft account at https://aka.ms/SignupMicrosoftAccount
2. Register as a publisher on https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage/publishers
3. Create a Personal Access Token (PAT) in Azure DevOps

Steps to Publish

1. Install vsce (VS Code Extension CLI):

   npm install -g @vsce/vsce
   

2. Update package.json with your publisher:

   {
     "publisher": "your-publisher-name",
     "name": "error-audio-player",
     ...
   }
   

3. Create CHANGELOG.md (already present)

4. Create LICENSE file (recommended):

   echo "MIT License - 2024" > LICENSE
   

5. Package the extension:

   npm run package
   # or manually:
   vsce package
   

   This creates error-audio-player-0.0.1.vsix

6. Publish to Marketplace:

   vsce publish
   # You'll be prompted for your PAT
   

7. Or publish manually:

   • Go to https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage/publishers/your-publisher-name
   • Upload the .vsix file
   • Fill in marketplace details and publish

Updating After Publishing

To publish a new version:

1. Update version in package.json
2. Add release notes to CHANGELOG.md
3. Run vsce publish

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release with the following features:

• Terminal error detection
• Custom audio file selection
• Volume and debounce configuration
• Test play sound command
• Enable/disable toggle command

Contributing

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue on GitHub!

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Credits

Built with ❤️ using VS Code Extension API

Following extension guidelines

Ensure that you've read through the extensions guidelines and follow the best practices for creating your extension.

• Extension Guidelines

Working with Markdown

You can author your README using Visual Studio Code. Here are some useful editor keyboard shortcuts:

• Split the editor (Cmd+\ on macOS or Ctrl+\ on Windows and Linux).
• Toggle preview (Shift+Cmd+V on macOS or Shift+Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux).
• Press Ctrl+Space (Windows, Linux, macOS) to see a list of Markdown snippets.

For more information

• Visual Studio Code's Markdown Support
• Markdown Syntax Reference

Enjoy!