code-is-crying 😭

Your terminal failed. It knows. Now everyone will hear it.

code-is-crying plays a sound the moment a terminal command exits with an error. No more silently failing builds. No more missed crashes. Your terminal will cry about it — out loud.

What It Does

Watches your terminal for failed commands (non-zero exit codes)
Plays a sound the moment something errors out
Supports multiple sound files — plays one at random each time
Works with any command — npm, tsc, python, git, anything

[!IMPORTANT] This extension watches terminal command failures, not editor squiggles. It triggers when a command exits with a non-zero exit code (e.g. npm run build fails, tsc throws errors, a script crashes). It does not trigger on red underlines while you type.

Installation

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for code-is-crying
Click Install

That's it. No setup. No config. It just works.

Sounds

Comes loaded with multiple meme sounds out of the box. Every time your terminal fails, a random one plays — so you never know what's coming.

Supports .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .aiff.

Custom Sounds

You can add your own sounds — straight from VS Code or your terminal.

Via Command Palette

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) and search "Code is Crying":

Command Palette	Command ID	What it does
`Code is Crying: Add Custom Sound`	`code-is-crying.addCustomSound`	Opens a file picker — pick any audio file(s) to add to your collection
`Code is Crying: Remove Custom Sound`	`code-is-crying.removeSound`	Shows a list of your custom sounds — select one or more to delete
`Code is Crying: List Loaded Sounds`	`code-is-crying.listSounds`	See every sound currently in the pool (bundled + custom)
`Code is Crying: Install CLI to PATH`	`code-is-crying.installCli`	One-click install of the `code-is-crying` CLI to `/usr/local/bin`

The first time you add a sound, it gets saved to a folder managed by the extension. You can also point it at any folder you like via settings (see below).

Via Settings

Point the extension at any folder full of sounds:

Settings → search "code-is-crying" → Custom Sounds Directory

Or add it directly to your settings.json:

{
  "code-is-crying.customSoundsDirectory": "/path/to/your/sounds"
}

All files in that folder will be added to the pool alongside the built-in sounds.

Terminal CLI

Want to manage your sounds without leaving the terminal? Install the CLI first:

Option 1 — from VS Code: Open the Command Palette → Code is Crying: Install CLI to PATH

Option 2 — manually:

sudo node /path/to/extension/bin/cli.js  # or let the command above handle it

Once installed, you get the code-is-crying command anywhere:

# Add one or more sounds
code-is-crying add ./my-sound.mp3
code-is-crying add ~/Downloads/vine-boom.mp3 ~/Downloads/sad-trombone.wav

# Remove a custom sound by filename
code-is-crying remove vine-boom.mp3

# List all your custom sounds
code-is-crying list

# Print the custom sounds folder path
code-is-crying dir

# Help
code-is-crying help

The CLI reads your VS Code settings automatically — if you've set a custom sounds directory, it uses that. Otherwise it uses the same default folder the extension manages.

Requirements

[!WARNING] VS Code Shell Integration must be enabled (it is on by default). Without it, the extension cannot detect terminal command failures.

To verify it's on, open a terminal in VS Code and run any command. You should see a small ✓ or ✗ icon next to the prompt after it runs. If you don't see it, enable it via: Settings → Terminal → Integrated: Shell Integration: Enabled → turn it on

VS Code 1.93 or later or Cursor
macOS, Windows, or Linux

Works On

OS	Status
macOS	Works out of the box
Windows	Works out of the box
Linux	Run `sudo apt install alsa-utils` if no sound plays

Editor	Status
VS Code	✓ Full support
Cursor	✓ Full support (install from VS Code Marketplace or `.vsix`)

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
No sound plays	Make sure at least one audio file is in the sounds pool (run `code-is-crying list` to check)
Sound never triggers	Check that Shell Integration is enabled (see Requirements above)
Extension not activating	Make sure you're on VS Code 1.93+
CLI install fails with permission error	The command will offer to re-run with `sudo` automatically
Custom sounds not playing	Verify the path in Settings → `code-is-crying.customSoundsDirectory` exists and contains audio files

Join the club

If this made you laugh

Give it a star on GitHub — it won't fix your code but it'll make the extension feel better about itself.

Your teammates need to know about this.

Built for developers who need a little emotional damage to stay productive.

code-is-crying