Chameleon Text is a robust and fast extension for VSCode designed for developers and data analysts who need powerful line-by-line text manipulation and mass transformation.
[!TIP]
This extension is optimized for use with Chameleon Selection, which significantly enhances your ability to select lines for transformation.
Features
Contextual Execution: Operates exclusively on selected lines, or the entire document if no selection is made. Multiple cursors are fully supported.
Direct Execution: Commands are accessible via the VSCode Command Palette, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and the right-click context menu.
Real-Time Preview: Instantly see the results and highlighted lines in the editor as you type command arguments, adapting seamlessly to your current VSCode color theme.
Interactive Contextual Help: QuickPick selectors for predefined arguments and an integrated Help button (?) inside input boxes provide instant context and examples without leaving the editor.
Scripting System
Tired of repeating the same sequence of commands? Chameleon Text features a built-in scripting engine to execute multiple commands in a chain.
How to use scripts
Create a Script: You can create .chameleon files or use an Untitled tab and set the Language Mode to Chameleon.
Tip: Use the Chameleon: New Script command to quickly create an Untitled script file!
Syntax: Write one command per line in the format: CommandName "argument1" "argument2".
Use double quotes " for arguments. You can escape internal quotes with a backslash \".
Add comments to your scripts by starting a line with #.
Run a Script: Use the Chameleon: Run Script command.
If you are in a text document, it will prompt you to select an open script or a .chameleon file in your workspace to apply to the text.
If you are currently in a script file, it will prompt you to select an open text file to apply the script to.
Script Example:
# Remove empty lines and duplicates
RemoveEmptyLines
Distinct
# Convert to title case
ToTitle
# Prepend a bullet point and add numbering
Prepend "- "
Enumerate "$i. "
# Replace using Regex (e.g. swap word order: 'Last, First' -> 'First Last')
Replace "/(\\w+),\\s*(\\w+)/g" "$2 $1"
Command Reference
The extension exposes the following commands in the VSCode Command Palette. When used in a script, use the Script Name and provide the necessary Arguments.
Filtering & Structure
Command Palette
Script Name
Arguments
Description
Chameleon: Distinct
Distinct
None
Removes duplicate lines, keeping only the first occurrence.
Chameleon: Remove Empty Lines
RemoveEmptyLines
None
Removes completely empty lines or lines with only whitespace.
Chameleon: Sort
Sort
"direction"
Sorts lines alphabetically (ascending by default).
Chameleon: Shuffle
Shuffle
None
Randomizes the order of the lines.
Chameleon: Join
Join
"separator"
Joins all affected lines into a single string using the separator.
Chameleon: Split
Split
"separator"
Splits each line into multiple lines using the separator.
Insertion & Replacement
Command Palette
Script Name
Arguments
Description
Chameleon: Prepend
Prepend
"text"
Adds text at the beginning of each line.
Chameleon: Append
Append
"text"
Adds text at the end of each line.
Chameleon: Format
Format
"sep", "pattern"
Splits the line by separator and reconstructs it using placeholders (e.g., $0).
Chameleon: Replace
Replace
"search", "repl"
Replaces text. Supports literal search or regex (using /pattern/flags). Allows $1 capture groups and \/ for forced literals.
Chameleon: Extract
Extract
"regex"
Extracts only the part of the line matching the regex.
Chameleon: Enumerate
Enumerate
"format"
Inserts a sequential number in each line (e.g., $i.).
Trimming & Padding
Command Palette
Script Name
Arguments
Description
Chameleon: Trim
Trim
None
Removes whitespace at the beginning and end of each line.
Chameleon: Normalize Whitespace
NormalizeWhitespace
None
Reduces multiple spaces to a single space.
Chameleon: Pad Left
PadLeft
"length", "char"
Pads the left side of the line with a character until a specific length.
Chameleon: Pad Right
PadRight
"length", "char"
Pads the right side of the line with a character until a specific length.
Chameleon: Remove First Chars
RemoveFirstChars
"count"
Removes the first N characters of each line.
Chameleon: Remove Last Chars
RemoveLastChars
"count"
Removes the last N characters of each line.
Chameleon: Remove First Words
RemoveFirstWords
"count"
Removes the first N words of each line.
Chameleon: Remove Last Words
RemoveLastWords
"count"
Removes the last N words of each line.
Casing
Command Palette
Script Name
Arguments
Description
Chameleon: To Lowercase
ToLower
None
Converts text to lowercase.
Chameleon: To Uppercase
ToUpper
None
Converts text to UPPERCASE.
Chameleon: To Title Case
ToTitle
None
Converts text to Title Case.
Chameleon: To Sentence Case
ToSentence
None
Converts text to Sentence case.
Chameleon: To camelCase
ToCamel
None
Converts text to camelCase.
Chameleon: To PascalCase
ToPascal
None
Converts text to PascalCase.
Chameleon: To snake_case
ToSnake
None
Converts text to snake_case.
Chameleon: To kebab-case
ToKebab
None
Converts text to kebab-case.
Encoding & Data Transformation
Command Palette
Script Name
Arguments
Description
Chameleon: Html Encode
HtmlEncode
None
Converts special characters to HTML entities.
Chameleon: Html Decode
HtmlDecode
None
Decodes HTML entities to original characters.
Chameleon: Json Stringify
JsonStringify
None
Escapes text to be valid inside a JSON string.
Chameleon: Json Parse
JsonParse
None
Parses a JSON string and extracts its text value.
Chameleon: Url Encode
UrlEncode
None
Encodes a string as a valid Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) component.
Chameleon: Url Decode
UrlDecode
None
Decodes a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) component.
