Stuttering

A lightweight VSCode extension that replaces repeated characters with customizable sequences while typing. For example, (( can be replaced with {, and ((( with [.

Features

• Real-time replacement: Automatically replaces repeated characters as you type
• Fully customizable: Define your own replacement rules in VSCode settings
• Lightweight: Minimal performance impact

Example

This example uses the following mapping configuration:

"stuttering.mappings": {
  "/": [
    {
      "languages": ["verilog", "systemverilog"],
      "mappings": [
        "// ",
        "////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////",
        "////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\n// $\n////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "&": [
    {
      "languages": ["verilog", "systemverilog"],
      "mappings": [" & ", " && "]
    }
  ],
  "(": [
    {
      "languages": ["verilog", "systemverilog"],
      "mappings": ["[", "{"]
    }
  ],
  ",": [
    {
      "languages": ["verilog", "systemverilog"],
      "mappings": [" <= "]
    }
  ]
}

Note: All replacements are configurable via settings.

Cursor Positioning: The positionMarkerCharacter ($ by default) is used to specify the final cursor position after replacement.

• In the example above, ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\n// $\n//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// will place the cursor after the // $ line.
• If you want to include the positionMarkerCharacter itself in the output (without moving the cursor), escape it with a backslash (\$).

Commands

The extension provides the following commands:

• Toggle Stuttering: stuttering.toggle - Toggles the extension on/off
• Enable Stuttering: stuttering.enable - Explicitly enables the extension
• Disable Stuttering: stuttering.disable - Explicitly disables the extension
• Paste Without Stuttering: stuttering.pasteWithoutStuttering - Pastes content without applying stuttering transformations
• Temporarily Disable Stuttering: stuttering.disableTemporarily - Disables stuttering until the next non-empty change

You can run these commands from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) or bind them to keyboard shortcuts in your keybindings.json file.

Recommended Keybindings:

1. Paste Without Stuttering

To paste without stuttering using the standard paste shortcut (Ctrl+V/Cmd+V), add this to your keybindings.json:

{
  "key": "ctrl+v",
  "command": "stuttering.pasteWithoutStuttering",
  "when": "editorTextFocus"
}

Or for macOS:

{
  "key": "cmd+v",
  "command": "stuttering.pasteWithoutStuttering",
  "when": "editorTextFocus"
}

2. Temporarily Disable Stuttering

To temporarily disable stuttering (useful for middle-click paste on Linux), add this to your keybindings.json:

{
  "key": "alt+s",
  "command": "stuttering.disableTemporarily",
  "when": "editorTextFocus"
}

This keybinding allows you to quickly disable stuttering before making a change (like pasting with middle-click), and it will automatically re-enable after your change.

Note: These keybindings only override the default behavior when the stuttering extension is active.

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

stuttering.escape

Enable/disable the escape character:

"stuttering.escape": true

• Default: true

stuttering.escapeCharacter

The escape character to prevent stuttering:

"stuttering.escapeCharacter": "'"

• Default: '

stuttering.mappings

Define mappings for character replacements (language-specific or default):

Each mapping entry can specify:

• languages: Array of language IDs where this mapping applies
• mappings: Array of replacement sequences for repeated characters
• replace (optional): Single character replacement for a single occurrence

The replace key is useful when you want to replace even a single occurrence of a character with something else. For example, in TCL where { is dominant, you can configure it so that hitting ( once will insert { instead:

"stuttering.mappings": {
  "(": [
    {
      "languages": ["verilog", "systemverilog"],
      "mappings": ["[", "{"]
    },
    {
      "languages": ["tcl"],
      "mappings": ["[", "("],
      "replace": "{"  // Single ( will be replaced by {
    },
    {
      "languages": ["default"],
      "mappings": ["{", "["]
    }
  ]
}

stuttering.smartClose

Automatically use the appropriate closing character:

"stuttering.smartClose": true

• Default: true

stuttering.positionMarker

Enable/disable the position marker for cursor placement after replacement:

"stuttering.positionMarker": true

• Default: true

stuttering.positionMarkerCharacter

The character used to mark cursor position after replacement:

"stuttering.positionMarkerCharacter": ""

• Default: ""

stuttering.processMultiLine

Enable/disable multi-line processing:

"stuttering.processMultiLine": false

• Default: false
• When enabled, stuttering replacement will be performed on complete lines or multi-line selections