Todo Manager - VSCode Extension

A powerful task management extension for Visual Studio Code that helps you track todos both from your codebase and manually added tasks. Now with advanced Python-powered TODO detection and gitignore support!

✨ New Features (v0.1.0)

🐍 Advanced Python Integration

• Gitignore Support: Automatically respects .gitignore files in your workspace
• Smart Categorization: TODOs are automatically categorized as Bug, Feature, Refactor, Documentation, Testing, or General
• Enhanced Detection: Finds more TODO variations including FIXME, FIX ME, and various case combinations
• Better Performance: Excludes binary files and respects ignore patterns
• Visual Enhancements: Category-specific icons and emojis in the TODO tree

Features

🔄 Sync Todos from Codebase

• Advanced Detection: Uses a sophisticated Python script for comprehensive TODO scanning
• Gitignore Aware: Automatically excludes files and directories listed in .gitignore
• Multiple Formats: Supports extensive comment formats:
  • // TODO: your task
  • # TODO: your task
  • <!-- TODO: your task -->
  • /* TODO: your task */
  • """ TODO: your task """
  • And many more variations including FIXME, FIX ME
• Smart Categorization: Automatically categorizes TODOs based on keywords:
  • 🐛 Bug: Contains "bug", "fix", "error", "issue"
  • ✨ Feature: Contains "feature", "implement", "add"
  • ♻️ Refactor: Contains "refactor", "clean", "optimize"
  • 📚 Documentation: Contains "document", "docs", "comment"
  • 🧪 Testing: Contains "test", "testing", "unit test"
  • 📝 General: All other TODOs
• File Type Support: Works across Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, Markdown, and many more
• Click to Navigate: Jump directly to the file and line where the TODO is located

✏️ Manual Todo Management

• Add custom todos directly through the extension
• Mark todos as complete/incomplete
• Delete todos when they're no longer needed

💾 Persistent Storage

• Saves todos in a .todo file in your workspace
• Automatically loads todos when you open your workspace
• Preserves both manual and synced todos

🎨 Enhanced Interface

• Category-specific icons and emojis for visual distinction
• Rich tooltips showing category, file location, and context
• Strikethrough formatting for completed todos
• Seamless integration into VSCode's Explorer sidebar

Installation Requirements

Required

• Visual Studio Code 1.96.0 or higher
• Python 3.x for advanced TODO detection

Optional (Recommended)

• pathspec library: For better gitignore support

  pip install pathspec
  

Installation

Using the Project Installation Script (Recommended)

1. From the project root directory, run:

   ./install_extension.sh
   

2. Select "task-manager" from the list of available extensions

3. Choose your preferred IDE (VSCode, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)

4. Choose "Package and install locally"

5. The extension will be automatically built and installed

Manual Installation

1. Navigate to the extensions/task-manager directory
2. Run npm install to install dependencies
3. Run npm run compile to compile TypeScript
4. Run vsce package to create the .vsix file
5. Install using code --install-extension task-manager-0.1.0.vsix

After installation, restart your IDE and the Todo Manager will appear in your Explorer sidebar.

Usage

1. View Todos: Open the Explorer sidebar and look for the "TO-DO LIST" panel
2. Sync from Codebase: Click the sync button (🔄) to scan your code for TODO comments
   • First attempt uses the advanced Python script with gitignore support
   • Falls back to basic regex detection if Python is unavailable
3. Add Manual Todo: Click the add button (➕) and enter your task
4. Mark Complete: Click the check button (✓) next to any todo
5. Delete Todo: Click the trash button (🗑️) to remove a todo
6. Jump to Code: Click on codebase todos to open the file at the exact line

Advanced Features

Gitignore Integration

The extension automatically respects your .gitignore file, excluding:

• Files and directories listed in .gitignore
• Common build artifacts (dist/, build/, node_modules/)
• Virtual environments (.venv/, venv/)
• IDE-specific files (.vscode/, .idea/)

Fallback Behavior

If Python is not available or the advanced script fails:

• Shows a helpful warning message
• Automatically falls back to basic regex-based detection
• Continues to work with reduced functionality

File Storage

Todos are automatically saved to a .todo file in your workspace root. This file is in JSON format and can be committed to version control if you want to share todos with your team.

Supported Comment Formats

The extension recognizes TODO comments in these formats and many more:

• // TODO: task description
• # TODO: task description
• <!-- TODO: task description -->
• /* TODO: task description */
• """ TODO: task description """
• ''' TODO: task description '''
• // FIXME: fix this issue
• # FIX ME: needs attention

All variations are case-insensitive, so todo, TODO, To-Do, FIXME, etc. all work.

Commands

• todoManager.sync - Sync todos from codebase (with advanced Python detection)
• todoManager.addTodo - Add a new manual todo
• todoManager.refresh - Refresh the todo list
• todoManager.toggleComplete - Toggle completion status
• todoManager.deleteTodo - Delete a todo

Troubleshooting

Python Not Found

• Ensure Python 3 is installed and in your PATH
• The extension tries both python3 and python commands
• Install the optional pathspec library for better performance

No TODOs Found

• Check if your files are being ignored by .gitignore
• Verify TODO format matches supported patterns
• Ensure files have supported extensions

For more detailed information, see INTEGRATION.md.

Enjoy productive task management with advanced TODO detection! 🚀