CtxSnap

Keep your AI coding assistant in sync with your project — 100% local, zero friction.

Context drift is the #1 frustration with AI coding tools. You ask the AI about your code, implement its suggestions, edit a few files — and now the AI's understanding is stale. CtxSnap solves this by tracking exactly what changed since your last AI session and packaging it into a ready-to-paste handoff block.

How it works

1. Open a project — CtxSnap automatically scans your workspace and establishes a baseline snapshot
2. Code normally — the status bar shows drift building up as you save files: ↺ CtxSnap: 3 changed · 5m ago
3. Before your next AI prompt — open the CtxSnap panel (Ctrl+Alt+S / Cmd+Alt+S, or Ctrl+Shift+P → CtxSnap: Show Panel)
4. Review and copy — toggle which files to include, watch the token bar, click Copy AI Handoff
5. Paste into Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI tool — the AI immediately understands it's a continuation

Features

Free tier

• Delta snapshot — only changed files since last session
• Session memory — X files changed · X min ago at a glance in the status bar
• Interactive token budget bar
• AI Handoff Block — one-click copy with preamble
• .ctxignore support (same syntax as .gitignore) with live reload — no window restart needed
• Up to 30 files · 5 MB project size · 10 snapshot history

Pro — $12 one-time

• Up to 250 files · 75 MB project size · unlimited history
• Per-model token counts (Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, Cursor)
• Multi-AI model presets
• Import chain awareness — see the blast radius of a change
• Snapshot templates (Bug Report, Code Review, New Feature, Onboarding)
• All future features included

Upgrade to Pro →

Privacy

CtxSnap is 100% local. No files, no code, no telemetry ever leaves your machine. Snapshots are stored in VS Code's extension storage on your disk. Clearing extension data clears all snapshots.

The only network call CtxSnap makes is a one-time license key verification against Gumroad's API when you activate Pro.

Commands

.ctxignore

CtxSnap creates a .ctxignore file in your project root on first activation with sensible defaults for all major languages and frameworks. Edit it the same way you would a .gitignore — changes take effect immediately without reloading the window:

node_modules/
dist/
*.lock
*.log
.env

Token counts

Token counts are approximate. CtxSnap uses the cl100k_base tokenizer (GPT-4 family) for all models — counts may differ from Claude's actual tokenizer by roughly 10–20%. The ~ prefix in the UI indicates an estimate. For Claude specifically, treat the bar as a directional guide rather than an exact figure.

License management

Activating: Open the Command Palette → CtxSnap: Activate Pro License → paste your key from the Gumroad purchase email. Pro is tied to your VS Code profile and persists across restarts.

Transferring to a new device: Run CtxSnap: Deactivate Pro License on the old machine first. Then activate on the new one. CtxSnap allows up to 3 active devices per license. If you need your activation count reset (e.g. after a machine failure), contact support at [contextcraft.io@gmail.com] and include your Gumroad order email.

Known limitations

• Multi-root workspaces: CtxSnap tracks the primary workspace folder only. If you have multiple roots open, the other folders are not monitored.
• Token counts: Approximate — see the Token counts section above.
• Large Pro projects: On projects with 250 files, VS Code's internal storage for snapshot baselines may approach size limits. This is unlikely in practice but worth noting if you see unexpected behaviour on very large repositories.

Requirements

VS Code 1.85 or later.

Related

• Repoprep — full repo → AI context for starting a new session. CtxSnap keeps AI updated as you code. Together they cover the complete AI coding workflow.

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.