Kickback Status — VS Code extension (proof of concept)

Shows a sponsored one-line message in the VS Code status bar while a build, test run, or other tracked task is in progress. Records impressions and clicks against a backend so a developer's "earnings" (revenue share) can be tallied and eventually paid out.

This is a deliberately minimal v1 for a quick revenue experiment — no live bidding auction, no real payment processing. Manually sell fixed-price sponsor slots to 2-3 advertisers first and validate before building anything fancier.

Project layout

kickback-status/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts      # status bar logic, task hooks, commands
│   ├── sponsorClient.ts  # talks to backend for sponsor line / impressions / clicks
│   └── earningsStore.ts  # local cache of user's lifetime earnings (VS Code globalState)
├── server/
│   └── mock-backend.js   # tiny Node http server simulating the real backend
├── package.json          # extension manifest
└── tsconfig.json

Running locally

1. Start the mock backend

cd server
node mock-backend.js

This serves on http://localhost:3000 (matches the extension's default kickbackStatus.backendUrl setting). It round-robins between two hardcoded sponsor lines — swap SPONSORS in mock-backend.js for whatever you've actually sold.

2. Compile and launch the extension

npm install
npm run compile

Then open this folder in VS Code and press F5 (or Run → Start Debugging). This launches an "Extension Development Host" window with the extension loaded.

3. Trigger a sponsored line

In the Extension Development Host window, run any VS Code Task (Terminal → Run Task, or Ctrl+Shift+B / Cmd+Shift+B for the default build task) that takes longer than kickbackStatus.minTaskSeconds (default 3s). You'll see a megaphone icon + sponsor text appear in the bottom-right status bar for the duration of the task.

If you don't have a tasks.json yet, create one with a task that sleeps a few seconds, e.g.:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "fake-build",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "sleep 5",
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

Click the status bar item to "click" the ad (opens the sponsor URL and records a click). Run the command Kickback Status: Show My Earnings from the Command Palette to see the running local tally.

4. Check what the backend recorded

curl http://localhost:3000/v1/stats

What's stubbed vs. real here

• Real: status bar rendering, VS Code task lifecycle hooks, impression/click network calls, local earnings cache, settings (backend URL, on/off toggle, minimum task duration before showing an ad).
• Stubbed / intentionally simple: sponsor selection (round-robin instead of an auction), payout (no actual money moves — payoutPaise is just recorded), persistence (mock backend is in-memory, resets on restart).

Extending coverage beyond VS Code Tasks

vscode.tasks.onDidStartTask / onDidEndTask only fires for things run through the VS Code Tasks API. A lot of real "waiting" happens in a raw terminal (npm install, docker build, etc.) which VS Code doesn't expose task events for. The extension exports a small API (beginWait() / endWait()) so a terminal-shell-integration helper, or a wrapper script your users add to their shell profile, can call into it directly — that's the next thing to build once you've validated advertiser/developer demand with the Tasks-only version.

Packaging for distribution

npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package

This produces a .vsix file you can share directly (for early testers) or publish to the VS Code Marketplace (vsce publish, requires a publisher account — far better trust signal in India's dev community than asking people to curl | install from an unknown domain).

Before going further

• Replace the mock backend with something real (even a simple hosted Node/Express + Postgres setup, or Supabase, is enough for v1).
• Decide payout mechanics: UPI via Razorpay X or Cashfree payouts is the natural choice for India — batch small balances and pay out monthly to keep transaction fees from eating the (already tiny) payouts.
• Read VS Code Marketplace policies before publishing — ad-injection extensions sit in a gray area; be upfront in your listing description that this shows sponsored content, so it isn't flagged as deceptive.