Smart Log Redactor - VS Code Extension

Transform sensitive data redaction from a manual process into a seamless, automated VS Code experience. Detect and redact emails, API tokens, credit cards, and more directly in your editor.

Features

✨ Real-Time Detection

Detect 50+ types of sensitive data patterns
Color-coded confidence indicators
Real-time detection as you edit

🔄 Auto-Redaction

Automatically redact on save
Customize masking strategies
Create backups before redaction

🎨 Interactive Sidebar Panel

Visual detection summary
Confidence breakdown
Quick action buttons
Live statistics

⚡ Fast & Simple

One-click file redaction
Redact selected text inline
Works with .log and .jsonl files

📋 Audit Trail

Track all redaction operations
Backup management
Compliance logging

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "Smart Log Redactor"
Click Install

Manual Installation (Development)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/smart-log-redactor.git
cd smart-log-redactor/vscode-extension

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Or watch for changes during development
npm run watch

Requirements

VS Code: 1.80.0 or later
Python: 3.7 or later (with redactor_engine.py in workspace)
Log Files: .log, .jsonl, .json, .csv, .tsv formats supported

Quick Start

1. Basic Setup

# Ensure redactor_engine.py is in your workspace root
# Then open a log file in VS Code

2. Detect Sensitive Data

Press: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
Or: Right-click file > "Redact Current File"

Result:

Detections appear in sidebar panel
Redacted file is saved to redacted_logs/ directory
Original file is backed up (optional)

3. View Detections

Click: "🔍 Analyze for Sensitive Data" in sidebar

Shows:

Total items found
Confidence scores (high/medium/low)
Breakdown by sensitive data type

Usage

Via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)

> Smart Log Redactor: Redact Current File
> Smart Log Redactor: Redact Selected Text
> Smart Log Redactor: Show Detections
> Smart Log Redactor: Toggle Auto-Redact on Save
> Smart Log Redactor: Settings

On Files:

Right-click .log file → "Redact Current File"

In Editor:

Right-click selected text → "Redact Selected Text"

Via Keyboard

Action	Windows/Linux	Mac
Redact File	Ctrl+Shift+R	Cmd+Shift+R
(Add more as needed)

Configuration

Settings (Ctrl+,)

Search for "smartLogRedactor" to access settings:

{
  // Enable/disable the extension
  "smartLogRedactor.enabled": true,

  // Auto-redact files when saved
  "smartLogRedactor.autoRedactOnSave": false,

  // Masking strategy
  "smartLogRedactor.maskingStrategy": "hash", // full, partial, hash, format-preserving

  // Minimum confidence level (0-1)
  "smartLogRedactor.confidenceThreshold": 0.5,

  // Create backup before redaction
  "smartLogRedactor.createBackups": true,

  // Output directory for redacted files
  "smartLogRedactor.outputDirectory": "redacted_logs",

  // Python executable path
  "smartLogRedactor.pythonPath": "python"
}

Masking Strategies

1. Full Mask (*** or [REDACTED])

Before: password=SuperSecret123
After:  password=***

2. Partial Mask (Keep first/last chars)

Before: john.doe@company.com
After:  j***.d*@company.com

3. Hash Mask (Deterministic hashing)

Before: john.doe@company.com
After:  [HASH_a1b2c3d4]

4. Format-Preserving (Maintain structure)

Before: john.doe@company.com
After:  xxxx.xxxx@company.com

Examples

Scenario 1: Redact a Production Log File

1. Open prod.log in VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+R
3. Extension detects:
   - 15 API tokens
   - 8 database credentials
   - 12 email addresses
4. Saves redacted version to: redacted_logs/prod.log.redacted.20260409
5. Original file backed up to: redacted_logs/backups/prod.log.backup.20260409_143022

Scenario 2: Auto-Redact on Save

1. Enable in settings: "smartLogRedactor.autoRedactOnSave": true
2. Open app.log
3. Make edits and save (Ctrl+S)
4. Extension automatically redacts and saves result
5. No manual action needed

Scenario 3: Redact Selected Text

1. Open any file
2. Select sensitive text: "sk_live_abc123..."
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
4. Choose "Smart Log Redactor: Redact Selected Text"
5. Text is replaced with redacted version inline

Supported Patterns

The extension detects 50+ sensitive data patterns:

PII (Personally Identifiable Information)

Email addresses
Phone numbers
Social Security Numbers (SSN)
Passport numbers
UUIDs

Credentials & Secrets

API keys (OpenAI, Stripe, etc.)
JWT tokens
OAuth tokens
Passwords
Database connection strings

Financial Data

Credit card numbers (Visa, MasterCard, Amex)
Bank account numbers
IBAN codes
Routing numbers

Network & Infrastructure

IP addresses (IPv4, IPv6)
MAC addresses
URLs with credentials
Hostnames

Identifiers

AWS access keys
SSH keys
Private keys (RSA, DSA)
Certificates

Other

Slack webhooks
GitHub tokens
Docker image references
And more...

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Python not found" error

Solution:

Go to Settings (Ctrl+,)
Search for "pythonPath"
Set correct path:
- Windows: python.exe or C:\Python39\python.exe
- Mac/Linux: /usr/bin/python3 or python3

Issue: Extension doesn't detect sensitive data

Check:

File size not too large (>100MB)
File is readable text (not binary)
Pattern matches your data format
Confidence threshold not too high

Solution:

Lower confidence threshold in settings
Check file encoding (should be UTF-8)
Test with sample_log.log from project

Issue: Redacted file has wrong content

Check:

Original file still exists in backups/ folder
Verify masking strategy is correct
Check Python redactor_engine.py is available

Solution:

Restore from backup
Change masking strategy and retry
Ensure workspace has redactor_engine.py

Performance

Detection Speed: <50ms for typical logs
Large Files: <5 seconds for 100MB file
Memory Usage: <100MB for typical usage
Sidebar Updates: Real-time, sub-100ms

Security

✅ Local Processing: All redaction happens locally on your machine ✅ No Data Upload: Files never leave your system ✅ No Persistence: Results not stored after processing ✅ Audit Logging: Track all operations for compliance

Keyboard Shortcuts

Create custom shortcuts in VS Code:

// In keybindings.json (Ctrl+K Ctrl+S)
[
  {
    "key": "ctrl+shift+r",
    "command": "smartLogRedactor.redactFile",
    "when": "editorFocus && resourceExtname =~ /\\.(log|jsonl)$/"
  }
]

Contributing

Found a bug? Have a feature request?

Open an issue on GitHub
Provide the log file pattern causing issues
Include VS Code version and Python version

Changelog

v1.0.0 (Stable Release)

✅ Real-time detection
✅ 50+ pattern library
✅ 4 masking strategies
✅ Auto-redact on save
✅ Sidebar panel
✅ Audit logging

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

Support

Documentation: See IMPLEMENTATION_GUIDE.md
Testing: See TESTING_GUIDE.md
Issues: GitHub issues tracker

Happy Redacting! 🛡️

For questions or feedback, open an issue on the GitHub repository.

SmartLog Redactor

SanjitTeja

Smart Log Redactor - VS Code Extension

Features

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Manual Installation (Development)

Requirements

Quick Start

1. Basic Setup

2. Detect Sensitive Data

3. View Detections

Usage

Via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)

Via Context Menu

Via Keyboard

Configuration

Settings (Ctrl+,)

Masking Strategies

Examples

Scenario 1: Redact a Production Log File

Scenario 2: Auto-Redact on Save

Scenario 3: Redact Selected Text

Supported Patterns

PII (Personally Identifiable Information)

Credentials & Secrets

Financial Data

Network & Infrastructure

Identifiers

Other

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Python not found" error

Issue: Extension doesn't detect sensitive data

Issue: Redacted file has wrong content

Performance

Security

Keyboard Shortcuts

Contributing

Changelog

v1.0.0 (Stable Release)

License

Support