Cpp Insight
Cpp Insight is a lightweight VS Code sidebar for reading C and C++ code.
It focuses on two things:
- A searchable workspace file list
- A searchable symbol list for the current file
The goal is a fast, Source Insight-style reading experience without rebuilding a full C/C++ analysis stack.
Features
- Search files from a dedicated Files view
- Open a file immediately by selecting it from the list
- Parse the current C/C++ file locally and show its symbols
- Search symbols with name-first matching for quick filtering
- Jump to the selected symbol instantly
- Keep the UI focused on reading and navigation
What It Does Not Try To Do
Cpp Insight is intentionally narrow in scope. It does not try to replace full language tooling such as:
- Go to definition across the workspace
- Cross-file indexing
- Diagnostics
- Refactoring
For those features, it is better to rely on existing C/C++ extensions in VS Code.
Supported Files
By default, the file list and current-file parser target:
.c.cc.cpp.cxx.h.hh.hpp.hxx
Settings
Cpp Insight contributes the following settings:
cppInsight.fileExtensions: file extensions included in the Files view. You can use string entries such as .cpp, or object entries such as { "extension": ".sqx", "kind": "source" } and { "extension": ".api", "kind": "header" }.cppInsight.excludeGlobs: glob patterns excluded from the Files view
Example:
"cppInsight.fileExtensions": [
{ "extension": ".cpp", "kind": "source" },
{ "extension": ".hpp", "kind": "header" },
{ "extension": ".sqx", "kind": "source" },
{ "extension": ".api", "kind": "header" }
]
Usage
- Open the
Cpp Insight activity bar view container.
- Use
Files to search and open files.
- Open a C/C++ file in the editor.
- Use
Symbols to search within the current file and jump to the selected symbol.
Notes
- Current-file symbol parsing is local to the active document.
- The extension is optimized for code reading and quick navigation, not full semantic analysis.
