KCB — Acoustic Diagnostics

Hear your code. Feel your errors. Code with rhythm.

The VS Code extension that transforms your diagnostic events into real-time acoustic feedback.

✨ What is KCB?

KCB is an intelligent acoustic feedback system for Visual Studio Code. Every diagnostic event in your editor — every syntax error, type mismatch, lint warning, and triumphant fix — triggers a unique, satisfying sound.

Stop staring at the Problems panel. Start hearing your code quality.

🎯 Features

🔊 Real-Time Acoustic Feedback

• Sounds play automatically as you type — no buttons, no manual triggers
• Every error, warning, hint, and fix triggers a distinct audio cue
• Triumph sound when you fix the last error in a file

🧠 Diagnostic Intelligence Engine (DIE)

• Understands 15+ diagnostic domains and 74 sub-categories
• Supports TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, C#, Java, C/C++, and any language using LSP
• Confidence scoring (0–100) ensures only meaningful events play sounds
• Repeat suppression prevents audio fatigue from chronic errors

🎛️ Control Center Dashboard

• Live Activity Bar panel with real-time error/warning counters
• Event Timeline showing the last 10 diagnostic events
• Animated pulse indicators and live statistics

🎵 Sound Pack System

• Three built-in packs: Default, Gaming, Retro
• Import your own custom sound packs from any folder
• Replace individual mapped sounds with your own files
• Preview any pack instantly with one click

📊 Status Bar Integration

• Live error/warning count always visible
• Color-coded: red background on errors, warning on warnings
• Click to open Control Center

⚙️ Smart Configuration

• 10 configurable settings for audio, intelligence, and behavior
• Confidence threshold, repeat suppression, debug inspector
• All settings documented with markdown descriptions

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install KCB from the VS Code Marketplace
2. KCB activates automatically when VS Code starts
3. Open any TypeScript, JavaScript, or Python file
4. Introduce an error (e.g. const x = ;)
5. Hear the acoustic feedback instantly 🎵

🎮 Commands

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type KCB:

⚙️ Configuration

🌍 Supported Languages

KCB understands diagnostics from any language that exposes them through VS Code:

Any language that sends diagnostics through VS Code's Language Server Protocol will work with KCB, even if no specific adapter exists.

🎵 Sound Pack Guide

Built-In Packs

Creating Custom Sound Packs

See SOUND_PACK_SPEC.md for the complete specification.

Quick summary:

1. Create a folder with a manifest.json and your audio files
2. Use KCB: Import Sound Pack from Folder
3. Map event types (ERROR_ADDED, ERROR_REMOVED, WARNING_ADDED) to your audio files

🏗️ Architecture

VS Code Diagnostics API
        ↓ (50ms debounce)
DiagnosticsAdapter
        ↓
Diagnostic Intelligence Engine (DIE)
   ├── Language Adapter Registry (12 adapters)
   ├── Classification Engine
   ├── Confidence Scorer (0–100)
   └── Context Analyzer (repeat/escalation/resolution)
        ↓
DiagnosticsDiffEngine (hash delta)
        ↓
DiagnosticEventBus
   ├── SoundEngine → PlaybackQueue → OS Audio
   ├── TelemetryService → Dashboard / Timeline
   └── StatusBarManager → Status Bar

🛠️ Troubleshooting

No sound is playing

1. Check KCB: Test Sound — if this works, diagnostics may not be registering
2. Ensure your file has actual errors (check the Problems panel)
3. Increase volume: kcb.audio.volume: 1.0
4. Enable debug inspector: kcb.intelligence.debugInspector: true and check Output → KCB

Sound plays only once then stops for repeated errors

This is intentional. Set kcb.intelligence.suppressRepeatedErrors: false to disable.

Sound is playing too often / too loudly

Reduce volume or increase kcb.intelligence.confidenceThreshold to filter low-confidence events.

Custom sound pack not loading

Ensure manifest.json is present in the root of the pack folder. See SOUND_PACK_SPEC.md.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

• 🐛 Report a bug
• 💡 Request a feature
• 💬 Join discussions

📄 License

MIT © Prince Verma

❓ FAQ

Q: Does KCB slow down VS Code? A: No. The full classification pipeline runs in under 5ms per diagnostic with zero UI thread blocking.

Q: Does KCB send any data anywhere? A: No. KCB is fully local. No telemetry, no cloud, no network requests.

Q: Can I use KCB with Vim/Neovim keybindings? A: Yes. KCB is keyboard-agnostic — it listens to VS Code diagnostics, not keystrokes.

Q: Does it work with remote development (SSH, containers, WSL)? A: Diagnostics are detected in workspace mode. Audio plays on the local machine.

Q: How do I disable KCB temporarily? A: Use kcb.intelligence.enabled: false or disable the extension entirely.