Mole: a map of the file you are looking at
Open a TypeScript file and Mole shows a small map of it in a panel beside the code: what is inside the file,
which other code uses it, which code it uses, and which files import it. Click any box and the editor jumps to
that exact line. The map follows you as you move between files.
Mole on the Excalidraw source (MIT), file binding.ts.
Think of it as the "you are here" sign in a shopping mall, but for code. It is meant for people who are new to a
codebase, and for reviewers who want to see how a change connects to the rest.
What you see
| Box group |
Meaning |
| defines |
the functions, classes and variables in this file |
| called by |
code that calls something in this file, at the line where the call happens (×3 = three call sites) |
| calls |
code this file calls, at the line where it is defined |
| imported by / imports |
files that import this file, and files this file imports |
| Impact (button) |
highlights everything that would be affected, up to three calls away, if you changed this file |
The map shows at most 25 boxes; the rest is summarised as "+N more".
Install
Install the .vsix file with code --install-extension mole-code-map-<version>.vsix (or Extensions view → ⋯ → Install from VSIX).
Planned: Open VSX (VSCodium and the forks that use it) and the VS Code Marketplace; until then install the .vsix from the GitHub releases page. Needs VS Code 1.101 or newer. The panel opens by itself in workspaces that contain TypeScript; in any other
workspace Mole stays silent (run Mole: Open map beside the code to start it anyway).
Privacy
Everything runs on your machine. Mole makes no network requests, collects no telemetry and calls no AI model.
It reads your source files with the TypeScript compiler and keeps its index in .git/mole inside the repository
(or .mole when the folder is not a git repository). Delete that folder at any time. The background process listens on a
local socket file in your temp folder (mole-<id>.sock), reachable only by your user; no network port is opened.
How it works
A small background process reads the project with the TypeScript compiler (the same engine VS Code uses), keeps the
map facts in a local SQLite file and updates them when you save. The process stops by itself after 30 idle
minutes (setting mole.idleMinutes; 0 = never) and the extension starts it again when needed.
Commands and settings
- Mole: Open map beside the code, Mole: Toggle impact view, Mole: Re-index repository
mole.autoOpen open the panel on startup (default on)mole.srcDir, mole.tsconfig choose what is indexed (default: the src folder, or the whole workspace when there is no src folder)mole.stateDir where the index lives, mole.idleMinutes idle shutdown
Known limits
- TypeScript and TSX only. JavaScript-only projects and other languages are not mapped.
- JSX elements (
<Foo />) and dynamic import() are not counted as connections.
- Lists are capped at 25 boxes, the rest is shown as "+N more".
- Needs the editor's built-in Node 22.13 or newer (VS Code 1.101+). Some VS Code forks on older Electron show a message instead of a map.
- One background process per repository folder.
- Tested on macOS only so far; Windows and Linux are not tested yet.
Source and license
MIT. Source and issues: https://github.com/raychu23/mole-code-map
Status
Early version (0.1). Feedback and bug reports are welcome.
