Code Entropy Meter

Code Entropy Meter is a lightweight VS Code extension that estimates how structurally complex the active file feels. It turns a few fast, heuristic signals into an Entropy Score from 0 to 100.

What Entropy Means Entropy here is a rough indicator of how tangled a file might be. High scores usually point to deeper nesting, long functions, lots of TODOs, and other small signals of complexity. It is not a linter and it never changes your code.

Metrics Used

• Total number of lines
• Lines longer than the configured max length
• TODO / FIXME comments
• console.log calls
• any type usage
• Maximum nesting depth (brace tracking)
• Average function length (function keyword detection)
• Cyclomatic complexity (if/for/while/switch/case/catch)
• Comment-to-code ratio (line-based)
• Long functions ("god" function detection)

Example Output Status bar: 🧬 Entropy: 72 (Unstable)

Breakdown view:

• Score and state
• Per-metric contributions
• Project average comparison
• Mini history graph (last runs)
• Metric badges (top contributors)
• Gentle suggestions (non-prescriptive)

Commands

• Code Entropy Meter: Analyze Current File
• Code Entropy Meter: Show Detailed Breakdown

Settings

• codeEntropyMeter.enabled: Enable the extension (default true)
• codeEntropyMeter.analyzeOnSave: Analyze files on save (default true)
• codeEntropyMeter.maxLineLength: Line length threshold (default 120)
• codeEntropyMeter.ignoreTestFiles: Ignore common test files (default true)
• codeEntropyMeter.excludeGlobs: Exclude folders/files by glob patterns (default [])
• codeEntropyMeter.weightConfig: Optional metric weights for advanced tuning
• codeEntropyMeter.stateThresholds: Customize score thresholds for Stable/Rising/Unstable

Run Locally

cd unnecessary-vscode-extensions/extensions/code-entropy-meter
npm install
npm run compile

Then press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.