Auto TODO Manager

Effortlessly detect, organize, and track all TODO comments in your project — fully automated.

Auto TODO Manager scans your entire workspace for TODO-style comments (TODO, FIXME, BUG, HACK, NOTE), builds a clean sidebar tree, and keeps everything up-to-date as you work.

Perfect for developers who want a clean, centralized, and automated way to track pending tasks.

The sidebar view showing all TODOs organized by file

Extension Icon

Features

Automatic detection of TODO, FIXME, BUG, HACK, NOTE
Tree view sidebar grouped by files
Live updates on file save, create, or delete
Quick navigation — click any TODO to jump to the exact line
Configurable keywords and file patterns
Zero configuration required — works out of the box
Future: auto-warning for outdated TODOs
Future: assign TODOs to team members
Future: daily reminders panel

Quick Start

Install the extension from the VSCode marketplace
Open your workspace — the extension automatically scans for TODOs
View TODOs in the sidebar under "Auto TODOs"
Click any TODO to navigate directly to its location

Usage Examples

Basic TODO Comments

The extension detects various comment formats:

// TODO: Refactor this function to use async/await
function fetchData() {
  // implementation
}

// FIXME: Memory leak in event listeners
window.addEventListener('click', handler);

// BUG: This doesn't handle null values correctly
const result = data.map(item => item.value);

// HACK: Temporary workaround for API limitation
const response = await fetch(url).catch(() => mockData);

// NOTE: This algorithm is O(n log n) complexity
function sortArray(arr) {
  // implementation
}

Vue Component Example

The extension works with Vue single-file components:

<template>
  <!-- TODO: Add loading state for async data -->
  <div v-if="loading">Loading...</div>
</template>

<script>
export default {
  // FIXME: This should use computed property instead of method call
  methods: {
    // BUG: This doesn't handle null values correctly
    processData(data) {
      return data.map(item => item.value);
    }
  }
}
</script>

<style scoped>
/* HACK: Temporary workaround for styling issue */
.container {
  padding: 20px;
}
</style>

Supported Comment Styles

Works with different comment syntaxes:

// TODO: Single line comment
/* TODO: Block comment */
# TODO: Python/Script comment
<!-- TODO: HTML comment -->

Custom Keywords

You can configure custom keywords in your VSCode settings:

{
  "autoTodoManager.keywords": ["TODO", "FIXME", "BUG", "HACK", "NOTE", "REVIEW", "OPTIMIZE"]
}

Custom File Patterns

Configure which files to scan:

{
  "autoTodoManager.globPatterns": [
    "**/*.ts",
    "**/*.tsx",
    "**/*.js",
    "**/*.jsx",
    "**/*.vue",
    "**/*.py",
    "**/*.go"
  ]
}

Configuration

Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`autoTodoManager.keywords`	`string[]`	`["TODO", "FIXME", "BUG", "HACK", "NOTE"]`	Keywords used to detect reminders in code
`autoTodoManager.globPatterns`	`string[]`	`["*/.ts", "*/.tsx", "*/.js", "*/.jsx", ...]`	File patterns scanned for TODOs

Commands

Auto TODO Manager: Rescan TODOs — Manually refresh the TODO list

Use Cases

Personal Projects

Track your own pending tasks and improvements as you code.

Team Collaboration

Share TODO comments in code reviews and track technical debt.

Code Reviews

Quickly identify areas that need attention during code reviews.

Technical Debt Management

Organize and prioritize technical improvements across your codebase.

Development

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/heberalmeida/auto-todo-manager.git
cd auto-todo-manager

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch for changes
npm run watch

Project Structure

auto-todo-manager/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts      # Main extension entry point
│   ├── todoTree.ts       # Tree view data provider
│   └── images/           # Extension icons and screenshots
├── package.json          # Extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md            # This file

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

Built with VSCode Extension API
Inspired by the need for better TODO management in development workflows

Roadmap

This roadmap outlines the planned features and improvements for Auto TODO Manager. Features are organized by priority and expected release timeline.

✅ Completed (v0.0.3)

Recently implemented features

[x] Multi-language Support
- [x] Enhanced exclude patterns for multiple programming languages
- [x] Support for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, Rust, C#/.NET, PHP, iOS/macOS projects
- [x] Comprehensive exclusion of dependency and build directories

🎯 Short-term (v0.1.x - v0.2.x)

Core improvements and essential features - Q1 2025

Priority: High | Estimated: 2-3 months

Performance & Reliability

[x] Performance Optimization 🔥 High Priority
- [x] Incremental scanning (only scan changed files)
- [x] Debouncing for file change events (prevent excessive scans)
- [x] Progress indicator during large scans
- [x] Cache scan results with file hash validation
- [ ] Background scanning for large workspaces (Progress is async, but not true background workers)
[x] Better Error Handling
- [x] User-friendly error messages
- [x] Graceful handling of permission errors
- [x] Retry mechanism for failed file reads
- [x] Error reporting to output channel

User Experience

[x] Filtering & Search 🔥 High Priority
- [x] Filter by keyword type (TODO, FIXME, BUG, etc.)
- [x] Search box to filter by text content (Command: "Search TODOs by Text")
- [x] "Show only in current file" option
- [x] Filter by file path/pattern (Code implemented, can be added via filter API)
- [ ] Quick filter buttons in toolbar (Commands available, toolbar buttons pending)
[x] Enhanced Tree View
- [x] Show TODO count in root node
- [x] Group by TODO type as alternative view mode
- [x] Expand/collapse all buttons (Commands available)
- [x] Color-code by TODO type
- [x] Sort options (by file, by type, by line) (Age sorting pending)
- [x] Empty state messages with helpful tips
[x] Context Menu Actions
- [x] "Mark as Done" - comment out or remove TODO
- [x] "Copy TODO text" - copy to clipboard
- [x] "Copy file path" - copy file path with line number
- [x] "Reveal in Explorer" - show file in file explorer
- [ ] "Open in new editor" - open file in split view (Clicking TODO already opens file)

Configuration

[x] Settings Improvements
- [x] Configurable exclude patterns (beyond defaults)
- [x] Set maximum file size to scan
- [x] Configure refresh interval
- [x] Enable/disable auto-scan on save
- [x] Per-workspace configuration support (VSCode natively supports workspace settings)

🚀 Medium-term (v0.3.x - v0.5.x)

Advanced features and UX improvements - Q2-Q3 2025

Priority: Medium | Estimated: 4-6 months

Analytics & Tracking

[ ] TODO Age Detection
- [ ] Track when TODOs were first detected
- [ ] Show age indicator (e.g., "2 weeks old")
- [ ] Warning badge for TODOs older than X days
- [ ] Configurable age thresholds
- [ ] Age-based sorting and filtering
[x] Statistics Dashboard
- [x] Total TODO count in status bar
- [x] Breakdown by type (TODO, FIXME, BUG, etc.)
- [x] Breakdown by file
- [x] Most TODO-heavy files list
- [x] Trend analysis (TODOs over time)
- [x] Visual charts and graphs (text-based bars and statistics)

[ ] Export Functionality
- [ ] Export to Markdown (formatted report)
- [ ] Export to JSON (machine-readable)
- [ ] Export to CSV (spreadsheet compatible)
- [ ] Copy to clipboard as formatted text
- [ ] Scheduled exports
- [ ] Custom export templates

Advanced Features

[ ] Better Pattern Matching
- [ ] Support regex patterns for keywords
- [ ] Ignore TODOs in strings/comments within strings
- [ ] Support multi-line TODO comments
- [ ] Better handling of different comment styles per language
- [ ] Language-specific comment pattern detection
[ ] Configuration Enhancements
- [ ] Configure comment patterns per language
- [ ] Custom keyword patterns with regex
- [ ] Workspace-specific vs global settings
- [ ] Import/export configuration

UI/UX Improvements

[ ] Status Bar Integration
- [ ] Show TODO count in status bar
- [ ] Click to open TODO view
- [ ] Show scan status indicator
- [ ] Quick actions from status bar
[ ] Keyboard Shortcuts
- [ ] Quick navigation between TODOs
- [ ] Keyboard shortcuts for common actions
- [ ] Command palette integration
- [ ] Customizable keybindings

🌟 Long-term (v0.6.x+)

Collaboration and integration features - Q4 2025+

Priority: Low | Estimated: 6+ months

Team Collaboration

[ ] Team Collaboration Features
- [ ] Assign TODOs to team members (via comments)
- [ ] TODO ownership tracking
- [ ] Share TODO list with team
- [ ] Integration with issue trackers (GitHub Issues, Jira)
- [ ] Team TODO dashboard
- [ ] TODO assignment notifications

Notifications & Reminders

[ ] Notifications and Reminders
- [ ] Daily reminder panel
- [ ] Notifications for new TODOs
- [ ] Reminders for old TODOs
- [ ] Configurable notification settings
- [ ] Quiet hours configuration
- [ ] Notification preferences per TODO type

Code Actions & Automation

[ ] Code Actions
- [ ] Quick fix to convert TODO to GitHub issue
- [ ] Generate issue template from TODO
- [ ] Link TODO to existing issue
- [ ] Create branch from TODO
- [ ] Auto-close TODO when linked issue is closed

Advanced Features

[ ] Advanced TODO Management
- [ ] TODO dependencies (link related TODOs)
- [ ] TODO priority levels (Low, Medium, High, Critical)
- [ ] TODO categories/tags
- [ ] TODO due dates
- [ ] TODO completion tracking
- [ ] TODO templates

External Integrations

[ ] External Integrations
- [ ] GitHub/GitLab integration (sync with issues)
- [ ] Slack notifications
- [ ] Email reminders
- [ ] Calendar integration
- [ ] CI/CD pipeline integration
- [ ] Webhook support

Platform & Ecosystem

[ ] Extension Ecosystem
- [ ] API for other extensions
- [ ] Plugin system
- [ ] Custom TODO processors
- [ ] Language-specific handlers
- [ ] Extension marketplace integration

📋 Feature Requests & Ideas

We're always open to new ideas! If you have a feature request, please open an issue on GitHub.

Under Consideration:

Internationalization (i18n) support
Accessibility improvements (keyboard navigation, screen readers)
Dark/light theme customization
Custom TODO icons per type
TODO templates and snippets
Integration with task management tools (Todoist, Asana, etc.)

Legend:

🔥 = High priority feature
✅ = Completed
[ ] = Planned
Priority levels: High → Medium → Low

Support

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions, please open an issue on GitHub.

Made with care for developers who value code quality

Auto TODO Manager

Heber Almeida

Auto TODO Manager

Features

Quick Start

Usage Examples

Basic TODO Comments

Vue Component Example

Supported Comment Styles

Custom Keywords

Custom File Patterns

Configuration

Settings

Commands

Use Cases

Personal Projects

Team Collaboration

Code Reviews

Technical Debt Management

Development

Building from Source

Project Structure

Contributing

License

Acknowledgments

Roadmap

✅ Completed (v0.0.3)

🎯 Short-term (v0.1.x - v0.2.x)

Performance & Reliability

User Experience

Configuration

🚀 Medium-term (v0.3.x - v0.5.x)

Analytics & Tracking

Export & Sharing

Advanced Features

UI/UX Improvements

🌟 Long-term (v0.6.x+)

Team Collaboration

Notifications & Reminders

Code Actions & Automation

Advanced Features

External Integrations

Platform & Ecosystem

📋 Feature Requests & Ideas

Support