Drafts Lab Notes

Contextual code notes, private developer scratchpad, AI Git diff summaries & cross-device cloud sync for VS Code.

Created by DraftsLab • Get Beta Passkey & Guide

Drafts Lab Notes is a lightweight, non-intrusive VS Code extension designed to attach persistent notes directly to specific lines of code or general project scratchpads—without modifying your source files or polluting your repository.

Keep your developer notes, architectural decisions, TODO lists, and local debugging context organized right inside your editor workspace, now with AI-powered Git diff summarization and multi-device Cloud Sync.

🚀 What's New in v0.0.5

• ☁️ Cross-Device Cloud Synchronization (Premium / Beta): Synchronize your notes in real time across multiple IDEs and workstations with automatic background sync and Last-Write-Wins (LWW) conflict resolution.
• 🤖 AI-Powered Git Diff Summarizer: Generate structured technical summaries and documentation directly from your working changes (staged/unstaged) powered by Google Gemini AI and local heuristic fallbacks.
• 🌐 Remote-Scoped Note Anchoring: Gutter icons and editor highlights are now scoped to your active Git remote repository, preventing cross-project note collisions.
• 🌿 Git Branch & Remote Awareness: Filter and organize notes by active Git branch and remote repository URL.
• 🖥️ Full-Page Tab Panel: Open your notes dashboard in a full editor tab (Drafts Lab Notes: Open as Tab) alongside the sidebar.
• 🔑 Secure Passkey & Device Identity Management: Hardware/IDE instance UUID tracking and secure passkey credential storage using VS Code SecretStorage.

✨ Key Features

• 📍 Contextual Code Anchoring: Attach notes directly to specific code snippets or lines in any file. Includes smart line-drift tracking to keep notes aligned as surrounding code evolves.
• ☁️ Cross-Device Cloud Sync: Synchronize notes across workstations using secure passkey authentication and repository-level scoping.
• 🤖 AI Git Diff & Code Notes: Summarize code changes with one click in the Note Composer using Gemini AI or local diff heuristics.
• 🌿 Git Branch & Remote Awareness: Filter notes by the active Git branch or remote repository URL.
• 🖥️ Dual View Layout: Manage notes in the Activity Bar sidebar or open them in a dedicated full-sized editor tab panel.
• 🔒 Private & Secure Storage: Notes are kept in isolated workspace storage or encrypted remote storage, separate from your source git tree.
• 📝 Workspace Scratchpad: Create general project notes for ideas, architectural plans, or tasks that aren't tied to a specific file.
• ⚡ Lifecycle Management: Organize notes through a complete status lifecycle:
  • Active: Work in progress and active developer notes.
  • Done: Mark notes as complete with visual strikethrough and editor gutter indicators.
  • Archived: Archive completed notes to declutter your workspace while preserving history.
  • Trash: Soft-delete notes with auto-purge safety and quick restoration.
• 🎨 Interactive Sidebar & Tab: Modern UI featuring real-time search, flexible filtering (Current File, Current Directory, Notes, Branch, All), and status views.
• 🔌 AI Assistant Integration (MCP): Built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server allowing AI coding assistants to query and interact with your developer notes seamlessly.

🔒 Privacy & Data Security

We believe your code, ideas, and architecture should remain strictly private:

• Local-First by Default: Unless you explicitly enable Cloud Sync, 100% of your notes, anchors, and metadata reside locally on your machine.
• Zero Sensitive Data or Codebase Scraping: The extension never parses, scans, or uploads your repository files, environment variables (.env), credentials, or git history.
• Ephemeral AI Diff Processing: When generating AI summaries from Git diffs, only the active change snippets are sent over encrypted TLS to generate the note summary. Diffs are processed ephemerally in-memory and are never stored, shared, or used to train AI models.
• Secure Credential Storage: Authentication passkeys are stored using VS Code's native SecretStorage API (backed by the operating system keychain / Secret Service).
• Zero In-App Telemetry: We do not track keystrokes, personal identity, or analytics.

🔑 Getting a Passkey (Beta / Premium Access)

To unlock Cross-Device Cloud Sync and AI Git Diff Summaries:

1. Visit the DraftsLab Beta Portal (https://www.draftslab.site/dl-note/beta) to request early access and generate your activation passkey.
2. In VS Code, click the Cloud Sync icon in the sidebar or tab panel header, or run Drafts Lab Notes: Reset Beta Passkey from the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
3. Enter your passkey (e.g. dln-...) in the prompt input.

   💡 One-Click Portal Access: The passkey prompt input in VS Code includes a direct link button in the title bar that opens https://www.draftslab.site/dl-note/beta in your browser without closing your prompt.

🚀 Quick Start Guide

1. Attach a Note to Code

1. Select a code snippet or place your cursor on any line in an open file.
2. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
3. Run Drafts Lab Notes: Add Note to Current File.
4. Enter your title and description, then save.

2. Create a General Project Note

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
2. Run Drafts Lab Notes: Add Note (or click the + icon in the sidebar/tab panel).
3. Enter your note details and save.

3. Generate AI Summaries from Git Diffs

1. Open the Note Compose Modal (click + or attach to code).
2. Click the ✨ Summarize Git Diff button.
3. The extension analyzes your working changes and generates a structured summary with problem context, technical solution, and architectural impact.

4. Enable Cross-Device Cloud Sync

1. Obtain your passkey at draftslab.site/dl-note/beta.
2. Click the Cloud Sync button in the sidebar or tab panel header (or run Drafts Lab Notes: Toggle Cloud Sync (Premium)).
3. Enter your passkey into the prompt input (or click the external link button in the prompt input header to visit the portal). Background sync will activate automatically across all your devices.

5. Open Notes as a Tab Panel

1. Click the Open as Tab icon in the sidebar title bar, or run Drafts Lab Notes: Open as Tab.
2. Manage your notes in a widescreen editor tab.

⌨️ Commands Reference

⚙️ Configuration

Drafts Lab Notes provides the following configurable settings:

To configure:

1. Open VS Code Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,).
2. Search for Drafts Lab Notes.
3. Toggle the desired features.

📋 Release Notes

Version 0.0.5

• Cloud Note Synchronization: Added cross-device note synchronization with LWW conflict resolution and background polling.
• AI Git Diff Summarizer: Integrated Gemini AI and local diff analyzers to draft notes from working tree changes.
• Remote & Branch Scoping: Added Git remote filtering to editor decorators and branch awareness to note storage.
• Tab Panel View: Added dedicated tab panel for widescreen note browsing and editing.
• Security & Lifecycle: Added secure secret storage for passkeys, device quota management, and automated uninstallation cleanup.

For a complete history of changes, see the CHANGELOG.md.

📄 License & Publisher

• License: MIT License
• Developed by: DraftsLab

Made with ❤️ by DraftsLab.