Code to Play - Unlock Games While You Code
Code to Play gamifies your coding experience by unlocking fun mini-games
as you write code. Every 100 lines unlocks 5 plays across all games.
Track your progress, compete against your high scores, and take fun
breaks without leaving VS Code.
Why Code to Play?
Coding sessions can be intense. Code to Play gamifies your workflow by rewarding your progress with classic mini-games. Write meaningful code, unlock plays, and enjoy guilt-free breaks—all within VS Code.
Perfect for:
- Staying motivated during long coding sessions
- Taking mental breaks without context switching
- Tracking progress with automatic code line counting
- Having fun while being productive
- Reducing risk of burnout and stress
Features
Multiple Mini-Games
Play classic games with a coding twist:
- Debug Snake - Catch bugs (ladybugs) and grow your debugging skills
- Whack-a-Bug - Click bugs before they escape in this fast-paced game
Smart Code Tracking
- Automatically counts meaningful lines of code
- Excludes comments, blank lines, and trivial changes
- Supports 13+ programming languages. Click to check supported files
- File type tracking
- Real-time progress updates
Progressive Unlock System
- Write code to unlock plays
- Default: 100 lines = 5 plays.
- Global play counter shared across all games
- Visual progress in status bar
- Unlock notifications to celebrate milestones
High Score System
- Track your best performances
- Local storage - your data stays private
- Per-game high score tracking
- Reset individual high scores anytime
- Compete against yourself!
Detailed Statistics
- Beautiful stats dashboard
- Total lines written
- Total plays across all games
- Per-game breakdowns
- Export your data as JSON
Privacy First
- Zero telemetry - no data collection
- All data stored locally
- No internet required
- No external API calls
- Your code stays private
Installation
- Open VS Code Or any VS Code dependent IDE (e.g. cursor).
- Go to the Extensions view (
Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac).
- Search for "React Next.js Smart Snippets".
- Click Install.
- Reload the IDE if prompted.
Getting Started in 3 Steps
Start Coding
Open any supported code file (.ts, .js, .py, .java, etc.) and start writing code.
Watch Your Progress
Check the status bar (bottom of VS Code):
- Locked:
45/100 lines - Keep coding!
- Unlocked:
5 plays - Ready to play!
3️⃣ Play Games!
- Click the 🎮 Code to Play icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
- Choose a game from the list
- Click to play and enjoy your break!
🔧 How It Works
Code Tracking Algorithm
Code to Play uses a smart algorithm to count only meaningful code:
✅ Counted as Code:
- Function and class declarations
- Variable assignments and declarations
- Control flow statements (if, for, while, etc.)
- Method calls and expressions
- Import/export statements
❌ Not Counted:
- Comments (single-line
// and multi-line /* */)
- JSDoc comments (
/** */)
- Blank lines
- Lines with only braces
{ }
- Whitespace-only lines
Language Support:
JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C, C++, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin, and more!
Unlock Flow
Write Code → Track Lines → Reach Threshold → Unlock Games
↓
Play → Use 1 Play → Repeat
↓
No Plays Left → Lock → Write More Code
Data Storage
All data is stored locally using VS Code's storage API:
Stored Data:
- High scores per game
- Total plays per game
- Total lines written
- Current unlock status
- Plays remaining
Privacy:
- No data sent to external servers
- No telemetry or tracking
- Everything stays on your machine
- Uninstall removes all data
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: How do I unlock games?
A: Write code! Default is 100 meaningful lines = 5 plays. Watch the status bar for progress.
Q: What languages are supported?
A: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C/C++, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin, and more. Click to check supported files
Q: Can I adjust the unlock threshold?
A: Yes! Settings → Code to Play → Adjust "Lines to Unlock" and "Plays Per Unlock"
Q: Do games work offline?
A: Yes! Everything runs locally. No internet required.
Q: Does this slow down VS Code?
A: No! Code to Play uses minimal resources and only tracks when you're actively coding.
Q: Why aren't my lines being counted?
A: Check that your file type is in the tracked extensions list. Also ensure "Count Meaningful Lines Only" isn't excluding your code style.
🗺️ Roadmap
Coming Soon
- 🎮 More games (Tetris, Space Invaders, Pong)
- 🎚️ Difficulty levels for existing games
- 🏅 Achievements system
- 📊 More detailed statistics
- 🎨 Custom themes
- 🔊 Sound effects (toggleable)
- 📅 Daily challenges
Under Consideration
- Multiplayer leaderboards (opt-in)
- Team competitions
- Custom game creation API
- Integration with GitHub contributions
- Online games.
Want to suggest a feature? Open an issue!
🐛 Known Issues
No major issues currently reported.
Report a bug: GitHub Issues
📜 License
This extension is licensed under the Apache License.
Third-Party Assets
Fonts:
Special thanks to the font creators for making these available!
About the Author
