VS Code's built-in Explorer does not expose a public API for adding arbitrary table columns. otak-filemeter uses the supported decoration API instead: each file gets a compact badge, and exact details are available from the hover tooltip.

Capabilities

• Metrics tooltip: hover the decoration to see line count and file size.
• Small marker badge: uses a compact i badge because VS Code decoration tooltips need a decoration target.
• Bounded line counting: line counts are calculated only for files under the configured byte limit.
• Bounded memory: files are counted a chunk at a time, so measuring holds 64 KB whatever the file's size, and the remembered measurements are capped.
• Scanner-friendly reading: files VS Code already has open are never read, types that can only be binary are never opened, and reads in flight are capped at 4.
• Batched redraws: file changes are announced as one event, so a build or a branch switch does not turn into thousands of decoration round trips.
• Local only: no telemetry, no network calls, and no workspace writes.

Settings

Commands

Notes

Explorer decoration badges are intentionally kept to a short i marker. Hover the marker to see:

Lines: 100 lines
Size: 5.0 KB

Reading Files

A line count needs the file's contents, and reading a file's contents is exactly what makes an on-access virus scanner such as Sophos or Microsoft Defender scan it — so otak-filemeter reads as little as it can get away with.

A file that is already open in an editor is answered from the editor's own line count, without any read at all. A file whose type can only be binary is never opened, because its line count would be discarded anyway. Everything else is read a chunk at a time and stops early if the first chunk shows binary content, and no more than four files are read at once, so revealing a folder does not arrive at the scanner as a burst. Only file sizes and line counts are remembered afterwards, capped at 4096 files, so the same file is not read again while it is unchanged.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.125.0 or newer

Installation

Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or run:

ext install odangoo.otak-filemeter

npm install
npm run package
code --install-extension otak-filemeter-0.1.9.vsix

Troubleshooting

• Badges do not appear after installing the VSIX: run Developer: Reload Window once. Version 0.1.3 activates immediately, but a reload is still the fastest way to refresh an already-open Explorer.
• No Explorer decorations appear at all: confirm Explorer: Decorations: Badges is enabled in VS Code settings.
• Modified files still show M: VS Code and the built-in Git extension may prioritize source-control badges over extension-provided badges. Try hovering unmodified files first.
• Line count shows unavailable: the file is larger than otakFilemeter.maxLineCountBytes, could not be read, or looks like binary content.

Security & Privacy

• No telemetry: no analytics, identifiers, or usage tracking.
• No network calls: it never uploads file names or file contents.
• No workspace writes: it reads metadata and small text file contents only to decorate the Explorer.

Related Extensions

More VS Code extensions by odangoo:

License

Released under the MIT License.