Filebound Notes
What it does
File Notes lets you attach a persistent note to any file in your workspace. Switch files — the note switches with you. No separate tabs, no extra windows. Everything stays inside the Explorer sidebar where you already work.
Features
🔗 Line references
Write @L42 or @L13-18 anywhere in a note to pin it to a specific line or range. In view mode the reference renders as a clickable badge — click to jump directly to that line.
Three ways to insert a reference:
| Method |
How |
Type @ in the note |
IntelliSense dropdown lists all symbols in the current file. Filter by name, navigate with ↑↓, confirm with Enter or Tab. |
| ⛓ button in the panel header |
Inserts @L{n} based on the active editor cursor or selection. |
| Right-click in the editor |
File Notes: Insert Line Reference — works with multi-line selections too. |
✎ File-tree badges
Files with notes show a ✎ badge in the Explorer tree — no need to open a file to know it has annotations.
📌 Gutter indicators
Every line referenced in a note gets a colored left-border highlight and an overview-ruler mark — referenced code stays visible at a glance without opening the notes panel.
🔍 Notes search
File Notes: Search Notes opens a Quick Pick across all notes in the workspace. Filter by filename or note content and jump straight to the file.
⚡ Auto-save
Notes save automatically 500 ms after you stop typing. No save button, no lost work.
Usage
- Open any file in the editor.
- The FILE NOTES panel appears at the bottom of the Explorer sidebar.
- Click to edit — write your note, use
@L42 to reference lines.
- Click elsewhere to switch to view mode with rendered badges.
| Button |
Action |
| ⛓ |
Insert line reference at cursor position |
| 📁 |
Open the notes storage file in the OS file explorer |
| 🗑 |
Clear the note for the current file |
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for:
- File Notes: Search Notes — full-text search across all notes
- File Notes: Clear All Notes — delete all notes after confirmation
Installation
Search for File Notes in the VS Code Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X), or install with one command:
ext install mgrosshauser.filebound-notes
Storage
Notes are stored in VS Code's own workspace storage — outside your repository, never committed to git, but persisted across sessions and unique to each workspace.
{
"src/index.ts": "Entry point. @L5-12 registers all commands.",
"src/utils.ts": "Helper for @L23 — see issue [#42](https://github.com/WalSplitter/filebound-notes-vscode/issues/42)."
}
When a file is renamed, moved, or deleted via the Explorer, its note is updated or removed automatically.
