Codats
See what your friends are doing in the editor — typing, pasting, AI edits, terminal — in near realtime, without sharing their code.
Works in Cursor and VS Code. You need a GitHub account to sign in. Friends connect with invite codes (no email invites).
What you see
In Explorer → Codats, each person shows a short live status (for example is typing… in app.ts or ai coding… +12).
Expand someone to see more detail:
| Field |
What it means |
| Status |
Online or Offline |
| Activity |
Current status label |
| Tool |
Cursor, VS Code, etc. |
| File |
Current file basename only (e.g. app.ts) |
| Counters |
Chars typed, lines +/-, paste/copy, saves, undos, terminal cmds |
Your own row is marked with *. Activity updates about every 5–10 seconds while the extension is running.
Get started
- Install Codats, then open the Explorer sidebar
- Find the Codats section (same area as Outline / Timeline)
- Click Sign in with GitHub and finish in the browser
- Click Copy My Invite Code (toolbar or Command Palette) and send it to a friend
- Friend clicks Add Friend, pastes your code, and you’re connected
Both of you must stay signed in with the extension running. Different networks / Wi‑Fi are fine.
Tip: Use Set Nickname so friends see a short name instead of your full GitHub name. Use Toggle Pause Sharing when you don’t want to appear active.
Activity statuses
| Status |
Meaning |
| Typing |
Small editor inserts |
| Pasting |
Paste-like inserts |
| Copying |
Copy / cut in the editor |
| Working |
Large non-paste bulk inserts |
| AI Coding |
Sticky status after bulk AI-like edits (e.g. Cursor Keep/Review) |
| Reading |
Scrolling or moving the cursor without editing — shows Reading filename |
| AI Running Terminal |
Shell running without recent user terminal focus (typical agent shell). Interactive AI CLIs (claude, …) pulse briefly then release so status is not stuck. |
| Running Terminal / In Terminal |
User-run shell (terminal was focused when the command started). Editor typing/scrolling clears a stuck terminal lock. |
| Idle |
Online, but no recent activity |
| Offline |
Friend hasn’t checked in recently, or sharing is paused |
Chat typing (Asking…) is not available yet — editors don’t expose that reliably to extensions.
Privacy
Shared with friends
- Display name / nickname, online status, short activity label
- File basename only when part of the label (never the full path)
- Counters only (chars, paste/copy counts, line +/-, terminal command count)
Never shared
- Source code, full paths, clipboard text, prompts, chat
- Terminal command lines, arguments, or output
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) and type Codats:
| Command |
Action |
| Sign in with GitHub |
Connect your account |
| Sign Out |
Disconnect and clear local session |
| Add Friend |
Paste someone’s invite code |
| Copy My Invite Code |
Copy your code to share |
| Set Nickname |
Name friends see in the list |
| Toggle Pause Sharing |
Stop publishing activity / presence |
| Refresh |
Reload friends and statuses |
| Show Output |
Open the Codats log (useful if sign-in fails) |
| Open Friends View |
Jump to the Codats sidebar |
Reinstall / restore
Your profile, invite code, and friends live in the cloud. After reinstalling, sign in with the same GitHub account to restore them. Sign Out clears the local session on this machine.
