Reference Grouper

A Visual Studio Code extension that groups references into Read and Write categories in the references view.

Screenshots

References grouped by Writes and Reads in the bottom panel

Features

• 📖 Read References: Shows all places where a symbol is read/accessed
• ✏️ Write References: Shows all places where a symbol is modified/written to
• 🔢 Reference Counts: Displays the count of reads and writes
• ⚙️ Configurable: Enable/disable grouping and counts through settings

Usage

1. Place your cursor on a variable, function, or symbol
2. Use one of these methods:
   • Right-click and select "Find All References"
   • Press Shift+F12 (default keybinding)
   • Press Shift+Alt+F12 (extension keybinding)
   • Use Command Palette: References: Find All References (Grouped)
3. The extension will show references grouped into:
   • Writes: Assignments, increments, decrements, mutations
   • Reads: All other references

Example

The bottom panel shows:

• ✏️ Writes (7) - All places where the variable is modified
• 📖 Reads (7) - All places where the variable is accessed

Click on any reference to jump to that location in your code.

Write Detection

The extension identifies writes by detecting:

• Assignment operators (=, +=, -=, *=, etc.)
• Increment/decrement operators (++, --)
• Destructuring assignments
• Function parameters
• Array/object mutations (push, pop, splice, etc.)

Configuration

Access settings through File > Preferences > Settings or search for "Reference Grouper":

{
  // Enable or disable reference grouping
  "referenceGrouper.enabled": true,
  
  // Show count of references in each group
  "referenceGrouper.showCounts": true
}

Installation

From Source

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Open the folder in VS Code
3. Run npm install to install dependencies
4. Press F5 to launch the extension in debug mode
5. Test in the Extension Development Host window

Building VSIX

1. Install vsce: npm install -g @vscode/vsce
2. Package the extension: vsce package
3. Install the .vsix file: code --install-extension reference-grouper-0.5.0.vsix

Development

Setup

npm install
npm run compile

Watch Mode

npm run watch

Testing

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host for testing.

You can use the example file in examples/test-example.ts to test the extension.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.85.0 or higher
• TypeScript support for best results

Known Limitations

• Write detection is heuristic-based and may not catch all write patterns in all languages
• Works best with JavaScript, TypeScript, and similar C-style languages
• Some complex write patterns (like certain destructuring) may be classified as reads

Roadmap

• [ ] Language-specific write detection (Python, Java, C++, etc.)
• [ ] Tree-sitter integration for more accurate analysis
• [ ] Customizable peek view
• [ ] Filter references by type
• [ ] Export reference reports

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

MIT

Release Notes

0.1.0

Initial release with basic read/write grouping functionality.

0.5.0

Added highlight feature

Added group by file feature

Added toggle file fullpath feature