Custom IntelliJ Navigation

IntelliJ-style keymap and navigation for VS Code, with language-aware Extract refactoring and a silent error policy.

Self-contained alternative to k--kato/intellij-idea-keybindings. Solves the long-standing issue #142 where cmd+alt+v (Extract Variable) doesn't work in TypeScript because refactor.extract.variable is sent but TypeScript Language Service only exposes refactor.extract.constant.

What it does

1. cmd+b — Go to Declaration or Usages

A custom command that combines VS Code's separate navigation actions to approximate IntelliJ's ⌘B:

1. Try Go to Declaration first.
2. If an external declaration exists, navigate to it.
3. If declaration resolves to the current location, show Usages in a peek view.
4. If no declaration exists, try Go to Definition.
5. If definition also resolves to the current location, show Usages.

Command id: intellij.goToDeclarationOrUsages

2. Language-aware Extract refactoring

Four commands that auto-select the correct kind per language and prefetch to avoid the "No preferred code actions for X available" toast:

Falls back gracefully (multi-kind chain), and if no action is available it writes to the status bar instead of throwing a toast.

3. Silent error policy

Provider call failures (TypeScript server hiccups, vue.volar inlay hint internal failures, etc.) are written to the Custom IntelliJ Navigation output channel only — no error toasts by default. Toggle with customIntellijNav.showErrorToasts if you need to see them.

4. IntelliJ Mac keymap

Optional keymap categories (each independently toggleable via settings, default false):

Bundled (default true)

Extended (enableExtendedMacKeymap)

Editing (enableEditingKeymap)

Navigation (enableNavigationKeymap)

Search (enableSearchKeymap)

Refactoring (enableRefactoringKeymap)

VCS (enableVcsKeymap)

Tool Windows (enableToolWindowKeymap)

Settings

{
  "customIntellijNav.enableBundledMacKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableExtendedMacKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableEditingKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableNavigationKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableSearchKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableRefactoringKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableVcsKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.enableToolWindowKeymap": true,
  "customIntellijNav.showErrorToasts": false
}

Each toggle is false by default except enableBundledMacKeymap (cmd+b is the headline feature). Enable categories incrementally to avoid surprises.

Limitations

VS Code's contribution model imposes a few hard constraints:

• shift+shift (Search Everywhere) and ctrl+ctrl (Run Anything) — VS Code does not natively support double-tap modifier keys. The closest workaround is the ⌘⇧Space chord routed to workbench.action.quickOpen.
• Postfix completion (.var, .for, .return) — IntelliJ Live Templates have no first-class equivalent. Use VS Code snippets.
• Successively increasing code blocks — editor.action.smartSelect.expand is close but not syntax-aware in the same way.
• cmd+alt+f (Extract Field) — TypeScript Language Service does not expose this kind. Java only.

If you also use IntelliJ IDEA Keybindings (k--kato)

This extension does not require k--kato. If you have both installed, add these overrides to your user keybindings.json to ensure deterministic behavior on cmd+b:

[
  { "key": "cmd+b", "command": "-workbench.action.toggleSidebarVisibility" },
  { "key": "cmd+b", "command": "-editor.action.goToDeclaration", "when": "editorTextFocus" },
  { "key": "cmd+b", "command": "intellij.goToDeclarationOrUsages", "when": "editorTextFocus" }
]

To migrate fully off k--kato:

1. Enable all customIntellijNav.enable*Keymap toggles in settings.
2. Verify the keys you actually use (the tables above cover ~80% of common IntelliJ usage).
3. Disable or uninstall k--kato.
4. Add any remaining keys directly to your keybindings.json or open an issue.

Why this extension exists

I came from 10 years of Java/Spring with IntelliJ Ultimate. Switching to NestJS/TypeScript meant context-switching to VS Code, where:

• cmd+alt+v (Extract Variable) was silently failing for TypeScript files (k--kato hardcodes refactor.extract.variable which TS LS doesn't expose).
• Provider failures from vue.volar inlay hint internals were spamming red toast notifications on every cmd+b.
• The IntelliJ keymap extensions and VS Code defaults were fighting over cmd+b, cmd+1, etc.

This extension solves all three with: language-aware kind dispatch + prefetch, a silent-by-default error policy, and a self-contained keymap that owns its key conflicts via clear when clauses and configuration-gated toggles.

Local development

npm install
npm run check
npm run compile

Press F5 in VS Code to open an Extension Development Host window.

Packaging

Requires Node.js 20+.

npm run check
npm run compile
npx vsce package --allow-missing-repository

License

MIT — see LICENSE.txt.