RegExp Replacer (VS Code Extension)

Reusable regex / text / wildcard replacement commands for VS Code.

UI preview

RegExp UI (webview)

The RegExp UI webview: command list on the left, rule editor (expression, flags, hooks), test editor, and replace preview / list / details / explain tools.

Command Palette

Extension commands when searching the palette (for example, RegExp).

Editor title icon (optional)

When Show icon is on and Icon placement is editor, the title bar opens a submenu for Replace in File, Replace in Selection, and RegExp UI.

Features

• Replace in File: run a configured replacement command on the active editor document.
• Replace in Selection: run a configured replacement command on the current selection(s).
• RegExp UI: open a webview to manage/create/edit commands and test rules.
• Command hooks: run VS Code command ids (or chained configured commands) before/after each rule in a replacement command.
• Import / Export (RegExp UI): import/export commands as JSON files.
• Resizable layout (RegExp UI): drag splitters to resize the left command list and the bottom tools dock.
• Optional icon / menu: show a quick entry (editor title bar or status bar left/right); click for the same actions (Replace in File, Replace in Selection, RegExp UI). Editor placement uses a submenu; status bar uses QuickPick.
• Editor context menu (optional): Replace in File / Replace in Selection can appear in the editor right-click menu; turn off Show Editor Context Menu in settings if you prefer not to.

Configuration

Commands are stored in VS Code settings under:

• regexpReplacer.commands: ReplaceCommand[]
• regexpReplacer.ui.showIcon: boolean (show the quick entry when enabled)
• regexpReplacer.ui.showEditorContextMenu: boolean (default: true; set false to hide Replace in File / Replace in Selection from the editor context menu)
• regexpReplacer.ui.iconPlacement: editor | statusBarLeft | statusBarRight (default: editor; status bar opens a quick pick on click)

Each command can contain multiple rules executed in order:

• enable (optional): boolean (default: true). If false, the rule is skipped in Replace in File / Replace in Selection.
• engine: regex | text | wildcard
• find: pattern string
• replace: replacement template (JavaScript String.replace syntax, e.g. $1, $&, $$)
• replaceMode (optional): template | map (default: template)
• map (optional): { mode: "text" | "regex", cases: Array<{ find: string, replace: string }> } (only used when replaceMode is map)
• flags (regex only): g i m s u y d
• wildcardOptions.dotAll (wildcard only): allow * / ? to match newline

Replace mode: map

In map mode, the rule will:

• First match fragments using the main rule (find + flags).
• Then apply map.cases to capture groups only ($1..$n, in order). It scans the table top to bottom and applies only the first rule that matches for the first matching group, then writes the result back into the fragment:
  • map.mode="text": literal (text) global replacement on the group text
  • map.mode="regex": regex global replacement on the group text (table regex flags are fixed to g)
• map mode only supports engine: "regex".
• replace in each case item uses the same replacement template logic as normal replace (supports \\n, \\t, \\\\, and $&, $1..$99, $$, $<name>).

settings.json format example

Below is an example you can paste into VS Code settings.json.

{
  "regexpReplacer.commands": [
    {
      "id": "demo-text",
      "title": "Demo: Text replace",
      "description": "Replace a literal substring",
      "rules": [
        {
          "engine": "text",
          "find": "foo",
          "replace": "bar",
          "preCommands": ["editor.action.formatDocument"],
          "postCommands": []
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "demo-regex",
      "title": "Demo: Regex replace",
      "rules": [
        {
          "engine": "regex",
          "find": "(\\d+)",
          "replace": "Number($1)",
          "flags": "gim",
          "preCommands": ["demo-text"],
          "postCommands": []
        },
        {
          "engine": "wildcard",
          "find": "hello*world\\n?",
          "replace": "hi",
          "wildcardOptions": { "dotAll": true }
        },
        {
          "engine": "regex",
          "find": "x=([A-Z])",
          "replaceMode": "map",
          "map": {
            "mode": "text",
            "cases": [
              { "find": "A", "replace": "AA" },
              { "find": "C", "replace": "CC" }
            ]
          },
          "replace": "",
          "flags": "g"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Notes:

• Replacement template: uses JavaScript String.replace templates (e.g. $1, $&, $', $$).
• Wildcard engine: supports glob-like * / ? and \\n. Use wildcardOptions.dotAll=true if you want * / ? to match newline.
• Rule enable:
  • If a command has all rules disabled, it is hidden from the IDE command picker (QuickPick).
  • Hook chains triggered via preCommands / postCommands are not filtered by enable.
• Hooks (preCommands / postCommands) (rule level only): each entry is a VS Code command id or another configured command id (for chaining). The extension runs them before/after that rule in Replace in File / Replace in Selection. RegExp UI edits these per rule. Command-level hooks are not supported (legacy fields in settings.json are ignored).
  • If a loop is detected in the command chain during execution, the extension will abort and show an error to prevent hanging.

RegExp UI notes

• The command list always keeps a top Untitled command draft for quick creation (it is not saved if left pristine).
• UI-only states (temporary template input, active tools tab, etc.) are cached per (command + rule) for convenience and are not written into settings.
• Test text is UI-only by default. If you enable Save test text in RegExp UI, it will be saved to settings as rule.testText and restored next time.

Contributing

How to build and debug this repository locally is documented for contributors in CONTRIBUTING.md.