CyrFlip - keyboard layout at the caret (VS Code)

Companion extension for the CyrFlip Windows app. It shows the active keyboard layout right at the text caret inside the editor - accurately, because the extension reads Monaco's real caret position (something the external CyrFlip overlay can't do reliably in VS Code / Electron). It displays the two-letter code of any layout the app reports - EN, RU, UK, DE, FR, ZH, AR and so on - not just the original three.

Requires the CyrFlip desktop app to be running. The app detects the layout; this extension only displays it. Get the app here: https://github.com/SerZhyAle/CyrFlip

Install the desktop app with winget

If you don't have the CyrFlip Windows app yet, install it with:

winget install --id SerZhyAle.CyrFlip -e

По-русски: эта команда устанавливает настольное приложение CyrFlip через winget (Windows Package Manager). Именно оно определяет текущую раскладку клавиатуры в Windows и записывает её в файл. Это расширение VS Code само раскладку не определяет - оно только читает данные от приложения и показывает двухбуквенный код любой раскладки прямо у текстового курсора.

How the two pieces fit together

┌──────────────────────────┐        writes        ┌──────────────────────────┐
│  CyrFlip.exe (tray app)   │  ───────────────────▶ │  %LOCALAPPDATA%\CyrFlip\ │
│  detects any layout       │   current layout code │       layout.txt         │
└──────────────────────────┘                       └─────────────┬────────────┘
                                                                  │ watches
                                                                  ▼
                                                   ┌──────────────────────────┐
                                                   │  This VS Code extension   │
                                                   │  draws the marker at the  │
                                                   │  editor caret             │
                                                   └──────────────────────────┘

• The CyrFlip app detects the keyboard layout and writes the current code to %LOCALAPPDATA%\CyrFlip\layout.txt - or, when CyrFlip was installed from the Microsoft Store, to its own per-user folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\SZA.CyrFlip_fdk7e19xt9z9j\LocalCache\Local\CyrFlip\layout.txt. The extension checks both and reads whichever was written most recently. Older Store versions of the app wrote to %ProgramData%\CyrFlip\layout.txt, which every account on the PC shares; that file is read only when neither per-user file exists, so another users layout never outranks yours. Beside it, layout-klid.txt names the exact keyboard layout, so the marker gets that layout's own shade. When the app exits it removes both files, and the marker disappears.
• This extension watches that file and renders a small coloured marker (with a black outline) diagonally below-right of the caret, so it never shifts or covers your text. It also shows the layout in the status bar.

Everywhere outside the editor, CyrFlip's own tray icon and mouse-cursor marker keep working.

Colours

The colour comes from the same table the app uses: each of the 13 curated languages has its own colour, each of their 25 keyboard layouts its own shade of that colour (Russian is always red, Russian Typewriter a different red), and every other layout shares one neutral colour. The marker is drawn 60% opaque, like the app's, so the text under it stays readable. The full table is in the CyrFlip guide.

No double marker

The app can find the editor caret too, and used to draw its own marker a few pixels from this one. While this extension is drawing, it keeps a small file, editor-caret.txt, fresh beside layout.txt, and the app hides its own marker for as long as that file is recent. The claim lapses about five seconds after your last editor activity, so the app's marker comes back in the chat panel, the terminal and search boxes, where this extension cannot draw.

Usage

1. Install and run CyrFlip (the tray app). Its icon appears in the notification area and shows the active layout.
2. Install this extension and reload VS Code (Developer: Reload Window). It activates on startup.
3. Click into a code editor and type. Switch your keyboard layout - the coloured marker (EN, RU, DE, ZH or whatever layout is active) follows your caret, and the status bar shows it too (⌨ EN).

If nothing appears: confirm the app is running and that %LOCALAPPDATA%\CyrFlip\layout.txt (for a Store install, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\SZA.CyrFlip_fdk7e19xt9z9j\LocalCache\Local\CyrFlip\layout.txt) exists and updates when you switch layout. The status-bar indicator is the quickest way to confirm the extension is reading the file.

Scope

The caret marker only renders inside code editors (Monaco text documents). VS Code webviews and custom widgets - the integrated terminal, search boxes, chat panels, the Command Palette - can't host editor decorations, so the marker can't appear there. In those spots, rely on CyrFlip's mouse-cursor marker and tray icon. The status-bar indicator stays visible everywhere.

Settings

Build & package

npm install
npm run compile        # tsc → out/
npm run package        # produces cyrflip-vscode-<version>.vsix

Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host for live debugging.

Publishing (maintainers)

npx @vscode/vsce login SerZhyAle   # paste a Marketplace PAT (Azure DevOps → Marketplace: Manage)
npm run publish                    # builds + uploads to the VS Code Marketplace
# optional, for VSCodium / Cursor / etc.:
npx ovsx publish cyrflip-vscode-<version>.vsix -p <open-vsx-token>

License

MIT - see LICENSE.