Batch Replacer

This extension allows to performs multiple text replacements at once, based on a script.

Usage

1. Open a new file (CTRL + N)

2. Write a script using the following syntax:

   replace "Alice"
   with "Bob"
   
   replace "Carol"
   with "David"
   

3. CTRL + SHIFT + P -> Batch Replace

   This will replace (across all files in the workspace):

   • all occurrences of "Alice" with "Bob"
   • then all occurrences of "Carol" with "David"

Script syntax

Commands

A basic command consists of a replace instruction and a with instruction.

replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

Comments

Lines that start with // are ignored.

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

Regular expressions

In order to interpret the value of the replace instruction as a regular expression, use the replace-regex instruction instead.

// Replace "Alice" or "Alex" with "Bob"
replace-regex "Al(ice|ex)"
with "Bob"

The replace-regex instruction also allows to:

• replace with part of the matched text

  // Replace, for example, "document 01-01-2018" with "2018 - Report"
  replace-regex "document \d{2}-\d{2}-(\d{4})"
  with "$1 - Report"
  

• replace with text containing the \t (tab), \r (carriage return), or \n (line feed) characters

  // Replace "Label - Amount" with "Label{tab character}Amount"
  replace-regex "Label - Amount"
  with "Label\tAmount"
  

Escaping characters

Unlike in most programming languages, quotes and slashes in the values of replace and with instructions don't need escaping.

// Input:
//     John said "oh"
// Output
//     John said "hello"
replace "said "oh""
with "said "hello""

// Input:
//     C:\Users\johndoe\Documents\file1.txt
// Output
//     C:/Users/johndoe/Documents/file1.txt
replace "\"
with "/"

Slashes in regular expression metacharacters don't need escaping either.

// Input:
//     this sentence should be obscured
// Output
//     ____ ________ ______ __ ________
replace-regex "\w"
with "_"

Filter files

To restrict a command to specific files, use the in instruction at the beginning of the command.

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in the document.txt file in the root folder
in "document.txt"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in the document.txt file in the Documents folder in the root folder
in "Documents/document.txt"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in document.txt files anywhere
in "**/document.txt"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in any .txt file in the root folder
in "*.txt"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in any .txt file
in "**/*.txt"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

To restrict all commands to specific files, use the filter instruction at the beginning of the script.

// Apply all commands only to .txt files
filter "**/*.txt"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in any .txt file
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Carol" with "David" in any .txt file
replace "Carol"
with "David"

You can combine the filter instruction (applied to all commands) with the in instruction applied to each command.

// Apply all commands only to .txt files
filter "**/*.txt"

// Replace "Alice" with "Bob" in any .txt file in any Documents folder
in "**/Documents/*"
replace "Alice"
with "Bob"

// Replace "Carol" with "David" in any .txt file in any Reports folder
in "**/Reports/*"
replace "Carol"
with "David"

Variables

Complex regular expressions can be created using variables. Variables are applied to the entire script, and should be defined at the beginning of the script. Variables are defined as ... = "..." and are used as %{...}. Variables can only be used in the replace and replace-regex instructions.

// Input:
//     C:\Users\johndoe\Desktop\My-Files\new file.txt
//     C:\Users\johndoe\Desktop\New Folder\photo.jpg
//     C:\Users\johndoe\My.Documents\doc.docx
//
// Output:
//     new file.txt
//     photo.jpg
//     doc.docx

// This is a variable
extension = "\.(txt|jpg|docx)"

// This is another variable
name = "[\w\. -]+"

// This is where the variables are used
replace-regex "C:(\\%{name})*\\(%{name}%{extension})"
with "$2"

Variables can reference themselves and be overwritten. Here is an advanced example:

// Input:
//   export interface {
//       function1(): void;
//       function2(a: string | undefined): string[];
//       function3(a: Map<string, number>, b: string[], c: string): Set<number> | undefined;
//       function4(a: Class1.Type2): void;
//   }
//
// Output:
//   export interface {
//       function1: () => void;
//       function2: (a: string | undefined) => string[];
//       function3: (a: Map<string, number>, b: string[], c: string) => Set<number> | undefined;
//       function4: (a: Class1.Type2) => void;
//   }

name = "\w+"
type = "[\w\.]+"
type = "%{type}(?:<\w+(?:, \w+)*>)?"
type = "%{type}(?:\[\])?"
type = "%{type}(?: \| %{type})?"
parameter = "%{name}: %{type}"
parameters = "(?:%{parameter}(?:, %{parameter})*)?"

replace-regex "(%{name})\((%{parameters})\): (%{type})"
with "$1: ($2) => $3"