Codebase Notebook 📝

Codebase Notebook is a VS Code extension that lets you take structured notes across your codebase and quickly jump between code and the notes that describe it.

✨ Features

Browse all notes in a tree view
Open, preview, and delete notes
Drag-and-drop reorder references within notes
Pin/favorite key references to surface them first
Tag-based filtering and archive toggle
Inline actions: pin, tag, archive, comment, delete

📸 UI Overview

Example

Activity Bar → Codebase Notebook
Sidebar tree listing all your notes
Right-click context menu in editor with full command access
Commands available in the view header & context menu

🧭 Code References

Attach notes to specific files + line numbers
Jump directly back to referenced code via CodeLens
Bulk add references — select multiple ranges or files at once
Auto-update line numbers when code shifts (file change watcher)
Hover preview — see annotation when hovering over referenced lines
Quick Add — Single-keystroke annotation without leaving the editor (Cmd+Shift+L)
Auto Annotate (AI) — AI generates an annotation based on selected code and note context (Cmd+Shift+;)
Annotation History — Track changes to annotations over time, view full revision history per reference
Broken Reference Detection — Auto-scan for references to deleted/moved files on startup, with manual command

📊 Monitoring & Quality

Status Bar Badge — Shows count of stale/broken annotations with warning indicator
Annotation Timeline — Chronological webview showing when annotations were added across all notes
Annotation Quality Scoring (AI) — Rate annotations for staleness/vagueness and suggest rewrites

🔌 AI Provider Flexibility

VS Code (default) — Uses built-in Language Model API (GitHub Copilot). Zero config.
External API — OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Works in Cursor and other VS Code forks.
Auto-detect — Automatically picks VS Code LM if available, prompts for external config otherwise.
API keys stored securely via VS Code SecretStorage (never in plaintext settings).

🤖 AI-Powered (Chat Participant)

Use @codenotes in VS Code Chat with these commands:

Command	Description
`@codenotes /annotate`	Generate an annotation for the selected code and add it to your note
`@codenotes /summarize`	Summarize all references in the current note
`@codenotes /relate`	Find relationships between references in a note
`@codenotes /diff`	Compare code at a reference with its current state
`@codenotes /suggest-note`	Suggest which note a code snippet belongs to

Additional AI commands (Command Palette):

Command	Description
`Codebase Notebook: Suggest Note`	AI suggests which note fits the current code (Cmd+Shift+K)
`Codebase Notebook: Auto Annotate (AI)`	AI generates annotation from code context (Cmd+Shift+;)
`Codebase Notebook: Auto-Tag Note (AI)`	Suggest tags for a note based on its references
`Codebase Notebook: Ask Notes (AI)`	Ask questions about your notes ("Which note covers auth?")
`Codebase Notebook: Semantic Search (AI)`	Natural language search across all annotations
`Codebase Notebook: Smart Linking (AI)`	Auto-detect related references and suggest cross-links
`Codebase Notebook: Annotation Quality Score (AI)`	Rate staleness/vagueness and suggest rewrites
`Codebase Notebook: Code Review Assistant (AI)`	Surface relevant annotations during code review (git diff)
`Codebase Notebook: Refresh Stale Annotations (AI)`	Detect changed code and regenerate annotations

🏷️ Organization

Tags/labels — Add tags like #auth, #perf, #bug for filtering
Archive notes — Hide completed research without deleting
Note templates — Start from Bug Investigation, Code Review, Feature Exploration, Architecture Decision, or Learning Notes
Note comments/threads — Add conversation threads on any reference

Export to Markdown — Generate a standalone document with embedded code snippets
Import from clipboard — Paste markdown and auto-detect file references
Share via workspace — Store notes in .codenotes/ for git-committed team sharing

Reference graph — Interactive webview showing how notes connect to files (click to open)
References to this file — See all notes referencing the current file
Semantic Search (AI) — Natural language queries across all annotations (sparkle button in tree view)
Smart Linking (AI) — Auto-detect related references and add cross-link comments
Code Review Assistant (AI) — Surface relevant annotations for your git changes
CodeLens — "View Note" lens on referenced lines
Inline completions — Annotation suggestions as you type

✍️ Simple Markdown Notes

Notes are stored as readable Markdown
Easy to version, sync, and share
You own your notes (no database, no vendor lock)

⚙️ Configuration

Setting	Description
`crosscodenotes.notesDirectory`	Custom directory for storing notes (supports `~`). Leave empty for default.
`crosscodenotes.useWorkspaceFolder`	Store notes in `.codenotes/` inside the workspace root for team sharing.
`crosscodenotes.modelFamily`	Preferred AI model family (e.g., `gpt-4o`, `claude-sonnet`). Leave empty to choose from all available.
`crosscodenotes.aiProvider`	AI provider: `auto` (default), `vscode`, or `external`. Auto-detects VS Code LM or falls back to API.
`crosscodenotes.aiEndpoint`	Base URL for external AI API (OpenAI-compatible, e.g., `https://api.openai.com/v1` or Ollama).
`crosscodenotes.aiModel`	Model name for external provider (e.g., `gpt-4o`, `claude-sonnet-4-20250514`, `llama3`).

🎯 Core Commands

Command	Description
`Codebase Notebook: Create Note`	Create a new note
`Codebase Notebook: Create Note from Template`	Create from a predefined template
`Codebase Notebook: Select Note`	Switch the active note
`Codebase Notebook: Add Reference`	Attach a code reference to a note
`Codebase Notebook: Quick Add Annotation`	Fast inline annotation (no dialogs)
`Codebase Notebook: Bulk Add References`	Add multiple references at once
`Codebase Notebook: Go to Reference`	Jump to referenced file + line
`Codebase Notebook: View Note`	Open preview of current note
`Codebase Notebook: Search Notes`	Search existing notes
`Codebase Notebook: Export Note`	Export a note as Markdown or to clipboard
`Codebase Notebook: References to This File`	Show notes referencing the active file
`Codebase Notebook: Show Reference Graph`	Open interactive reference graph
`Codebase Notebook: Toggle Workspace Storage`	Switch between global and `.codenotes/` storage
`Codebase Notebook: Add Tag`	Add a tag to a note
`Codebase Notebook: Filter by Tag`	Filter tree view by tag
`Codebase Notebook: Archive/Unarchive Note`	Archive or restore a note
`Codebase Notebook: Import from Clipboard`	Import references from clipboard markdown
`Codebase Notebook: Add Comment`	Add a comment to a reference
`Codebase Notebook: View Comments`	View/delete comments on a reference
`Codebase Notebook: Delete Annotation`	Delete a reference and its section from the note
`Codebase Notebook: Show Annotation Timeline`	Chronological view of all annotations
`Codebase Notebook: Detect Broken References`	Scan for references to deleted/moved files
`Codebase Notebook: View Annotation History`	View revision history of a reference
`Codebase Notebook: Set AI API Key`	Store API key securely for external AI provider
`Codebase Notebook: Clear AI API Key`	Remove stored AI API key
`Codebase Notebook: Change Notes Directory`	Select / change the directory used for notes
`Codebase Notebook: Open Notes Directory`	Open storage folder for notes
`Codebase Notebook: Delete Note`	Remove note
`Codebase Notebook: Refresh Notes`	Reload the notes list

You'll find most actions in:

Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
Codebase Notebook sidebar
Editor right-click context menu
Tree item inline buttons

⌨️ Keybindings

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Add Reference to Notebook	`Ctrl + Shift + J`	`Cmd + Shift + J`
Quick Add Annotation	`Ctrl + Shift + L`	`Cmd + Shift + L`
Suggest Note (AI)	`Ctrl + Shift + K`	`Cmd + Shift + K`
Auto Annotate (AI)	`Ctrl + Shift + ;`	`Cmd + Shift + ;`

Quick Add vs Add Reference

	Add Reference (`Cmd+Shift+J`)	Quick Add (`Cmd+Shift+L`)
No note selected	Warning dialog → stops	Auto-picks single note or shows inline picker
Confirmation	Modal with "View Note" button	Status bar flash (3 sec)
Dialogs	Up to 3	Just 1 (annotation input)
Use case	First-time / deliberate	Rapid-fire while reading code

🗂️ Where are notes stored?

Notes are stored locally in a Markdown directory (managed by the extension). They're human readable and version-control friendly.

With workspace storage enabled (crosscodenotes.useWorkspaceFolder), notes live in .codenotes/ at your repo root — commit and share with your team.

If this helps your workflow, consider sponsoring: 👉 https://github.com/sponsors/kyonru

🏷️ License

MIT — feel free to hack, extend, and share.

Codebase Notebook

SolenodonteLabs

Codebase Notebook 📝

✨ Features

📂 Notes Sidebar View

📸 UI Overview

🧭 Code References

📊 Monitoring & Quality

🔌 AI Provider Flexibility

🤖 AI-Powered (Chat Participant)

🏷️ Organization

🗺️ Navigation & Discovery

✍️ Simple Markdown Notes

⚙️ Configuration

🎯 Core Commands

⌨️ Keybindings

Quick Add vs Add Reference

🗂️ Where are notes stored?

🏷️ License

Codebase Notebook

SolenodonteLabs

Codebase Notebook 📝

✨ Features

📂 Notes Sidebar View

📸 UI Overview

🧭 Code References

📊 Monitoring & Quality

🔌 AI Provider Flexibility

🤖 AI-Powered (Chat Participant)

🏷️ Organization

📤 Export & Sharing

🗺️ Navigation & Discovery

✍️ Simple Markdown Notes

⚙️ Configuration

🎯 Core Commands

⌨️ Keybindings

Quick Add vs Add Reference

🗂️ Where are notes stored?

❤️ Sponsor

🏷️ License