Magenta

Magenta is a VS Code extension for tracking AI-generated and pasted code as you work. It highlights suspicious edits inline, keeps per-file percentages in the status bar, and can audit when selected files are opened inside VS Code.

Features

Inline AI and paste highlighting

Magenta watches text changes in the editor and classifies inserted content as:

• ai when the content matches Magenta's structural heuristics for generated code
• paste when the content matches clipboard or paste-intercept signals

Flagged lines are highlighted in the editor and overview ruler so they stay visible without taking over the whole UI.

Live file summary

The status bar shows the current file's estimated mix of flagged content:

$(robot) 34% AI  $(clippy) 12% Paste

When the file is clean, Magenta shows a simple clean state instead.

Sidebar controls

The Magenta activity bar view includes:

• current-file AI and paste percentages
• a quick summary action
• one-click clear for the active file
• highlight visibility toggle
• theme selection for highlight styles
• a list of audited files

File access audit

You can right-click a file in the Explorer and choose:

• Magenta: Audit file access
• Magenta: Stop auditing file access

For audited files, Magenta writes open events to .magenta/access-log.jsonl and marks the file in the Explorer with an A badge. Events are labeled as either user or programmatic depending on whether the file opened visibly in an editor.

Persistent metadata

Magenta stores tracked line metadata under .magenta/ so highlights survive reloads and restarts. It also maintains an aggregate index for workspace-level summaries.

Commands

Settings

Magenta contributes these settings:

How detection works

Magenta is heuristic-based. It does not claim authorship with certainty. The current implementation combines:

• explicit paste interception through keybindings
• clipboard matching for inserted content
• a generated-code heuristic based on size, indentation consistency, trailing spaces, and character density
• line-drift correction so tracked ranges move with edits

This makes Magenta useful for visibility and auditing, but not a substitute for policy, review, or source attribution.

Workspace files

Magenta may create these files in the workspace:

• .magenta/files/**/*.json for per-file tracked lines
• .magenta/index.json for aggregate workspace statistics
• .magenta/audited.json for the audited file list
• .magenta/access-log.jsonl for audit events
• .magenta/config.json when custom ignore patterns are used

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Useful scripts:

• npm run watch for development builds
• npm run lint for ESLint
• npm run check-types for TypeScript validation
• npm test for the VS Code test runner

Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host.

Documentation

Additional project documentation lives in docs/FEATURES.md and docs/TECHNICAL.md.

License

MIT