Thai Mascot Buddy for VS Code & Kiro
A buddy walks round your editor while you code: a GMMTV mascot (MuvMuv,
Lunar, Any, Jewel, Vimmy, Wesley, Goldie, LOLO) or an animal sticker. You pick up a
Thai word every few minutes, keep a Pomodoro, set reminders that each come
with a Thai word, and get a nudge when it's time for a break. English or
繁體中文. Mac and Windows.
The buddies
- Development buddy (on by default): one buddy walks round the edges of the
editor window, head pointing in. It pauses to show off a gesture, makes the
odd dash, naps when you're away and hops when you're back. Click it for a
Thai word.
- Pop-up (on by default): break reminders, Pomodoro breaks, reminders and
alarms all pop up as one of the buddies you chose (animals by default), in any
app on a Mac, with a Thai word and buttons (Take a break / 10 more min /
Skip, Done / Snooze). It stays until you answer. Off: just a notification.
- Work time in the status bar: how long you've been working since your last
break. Any time at the computer counts, in any app; being away 5 minutes
(or a locked screen) is a break, or press Take a break on the pop-up.
- Mascots do every move (steps, blinks, closed eyes, gestures, props in
hand), in cartoon or pixel style. Animal stickers are
photos: they waddle, hop and gesture, and change to the sticker sorted for
each moment, but don't blink or hold props.
- Pick who, and their size, in Thai Mascot Buddy: Settings (the ⚙ on the panel, or
the 🐾 in the status bar).
The walking buddy is drawn by a small helper that comes with
the extension: bin/darwin/DevHelpBuddy on a Mac, and on Windows a script
Windows PowerShell compiles the first time (nothing to install). On Linux
there's the panel and the status bar.
The panel
A panel in the Explorer: a mascot in a scene (office, café,
Wat Arun, Songkran, the fanmeet stage…) doing activities, party friends, and
the Thai word card on top (click it for the next word, ✓ I know this to
see that word less).
Thai words
Thai words by level and by scene, plus 12 everyday
topics (work, food, feelings, time, fan talk…). The current word sits in the
status bar; hover for its meaning. Quiz mode blurs the meaning until you click.
Pomodoro, breaks, reminders
- 🍅 Pomodoro: classic 25 · 5 · 15 after 4 rounds, or your own lengths.
The countdown is in the status bar; at the end of a round the buddy cheers,
then the break pop-up comes.
- ☕ Break reminders without the Pomodoro: every 30–90 minutes at the editor.
- ⏰ Reminders: once, every day, weekdays or every N minutes, each with a
Thai word that goes with it (Stand-up meeting → ประชุม).
Credits
The mascots belong to GMMTV; our drawings follow the official art. Fan-made and free; not
affiliated with GMMTV or the artists. To have an image removed or credited
differently: alitasdepollos01@gmail.com.
Building
sh tools/package.sh # words, sprites, stickers, helpers -> devhelp-<version>.vsix
code --install-extension vscode-extension/devhelp-1.0.10.vsix
kiro --install-extension vscode-extension/devhelp-1.0.10.vsix
cd vscode-extension && npm install && npm test # runs it in a separate VS Code
The stickers come from design/ (kept out of git); tools/stickers.py says
where. helper/mac/build.sh needs Xcode's command-line tools.
