Scratchpad VSCode Extension

Scratchpad brings a lightweight GitHub Gist-powered note system into VS Code with automatic sync and dual view modes.

🔗 Links

Web app: https://scratch.chidiorji.com/
VS Code Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=chidimo.scratch
Open VSX Registry: https://open-vsx.org/extension/chidimo/scratch

Create Notes: Create new markdown notes that automatically become GitHub Gists
Add to Gist: Add additional notes to existing gists via inline action
Delete Notes: Remove individual notes with automatic GitHub sync
Rename Notes: Rename notes locally and remotely in one action
Open in Browser: Open a note's gist on GitHub in your browser
Delete Gists: Remove entire gists with all their notes

Manual Sync: Import selected GitHub Gists into your workspace
Smart Filtering: Only shows unimported gists when syncing to avoid duplicates
Auto-Refresh: Configurable timer (5-30 minutes) to pull remote changes
Two-Way Sync: Local edits automatically push to GitHub after a debounce delay
File Watching: Detects file changes, creations, and deletions
Empty Folder Cleanup: Automatically removes empty gist folders after deleting last note

Notes organized by gist ID in collapsible folders
Inline actions on gist folders:
- ➕ Add a new note to the gist
- 🗑️ Delete the entire gist
Clean, hierarchical view of your gist collection

OAuth Authentication: Secure sign-in using VS Code's built-in GitHub auth
Persistent Sessions: Stay signed in across VS Code restarts
Status Bar Integration: Shows auth state, last refresh time, and quick actions
Rate Limit Protection: Configurable refresh intervals to prevent hitting GitHub API limits
Output Channel: Detailed logging for troubleshooting sync issues

All settings are available via VS Code Settings (Cmd/Ctrl+,):

Storage Path (scratch.storagePath): Global folder for storing gists (default: ~/scratch)
Auto-Refresh (scratch.gistAutoRefreshMinutes): Auto-refresh interval
- Options: 0 (disabled), 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes
- Default: 15 minutes
Folder Watching (scratch.watchScratchFolder): Enable/disable file change detection
Auto-Create (scratch.autoCreateScratchFolder): Auto-create scratch folder on startup

Access via Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P):

Inline Actions: Hover over gist folders or notes to see available actions
Auto-Refresh: Set to 15-30 minutes for regular sync without excessive API calls
Flat View: Use for quick note access when you have many gists
Grouped View: Use for organizing notes by project/topic (each gist = one topic)

Notes not syncing? Check the Output panel (View > Output > Scratch) for errors
Rate limit errors? Increase the auto-refresh interval or disable it
Gist not showing? Ensure it contains at least one markdown file (.md)

Only markdown files (.md, .markdown) are synced
Gist descriptions become folder names in the grouped view
File changes are debounced (5 seconds) before syncing to GitHub
Multiple editors can share the same scratch.storagePath, but concurrent edits to the same note may overwrite each other