DevSocial — Social Coding Tracker for VS Code
Track your coding activity, connect with friends, chat in real-time, unlock achievements, and stay motivated — all without leaving your editor.
DevSocial transforms VS Code into a social coding platform. It automatically tracks your coding time, provides detailed analytics, and lets you connect with fellow developers to share progress and stay accountable.
Highlights
- Zero-config tracking — starts automatically when you open VS Code
- Real-time chat — message friends directly inside the editor
- Rich analytics — heatmaps, language breakdowns, contribution calendars
- Achievement system — unlock milestones as you code
- Privacy-first — your code is never read, stored, or transmitted
Features
Automatic Activity Tracking
DevSocial runs silently in the background and tracks your active coding time with precision.
- Detects typing, file saves, and editor switches
- Smart idle detection pauses the timer when you step away (configurable timeout)
- Tracks per-project and per-language time
- Distinguishes between writing and reading activity
- Pause and resume tracking anytime via the command palette
Live Dashboard
A sidebar panel that keeps you informed at a glance.
- Today's and this week's total coding time
- Current session details — active project, language, and duration
- Friends' live activity feed with online/idle/offline indicators
- Real-time updates every second
Analytics & Stats
Understand your coding habits with rich, interactive charts.
- Hourly Heatmap — see which hours of the day you're most productive (7-day view)
- Language Distribution — visual breakdown of languages used over the last 30 days
- Contribution Calendar — 365-day GitHub-style activity grid
- Interactive tooltips on all visualizations
Real-Time Chat
Message your friends without switching windows.
- Instant messaging over WebSocket
- Typing indicators and read receipts
- Per-friend unread message badges
- Message history (last 50 messages per conversation)
- Friends-only messaging for safety
Achievement System
Stay motivated with milestones that unlock as you code.
- Achievements for coding streaks, total hours, languages used, and more
- Visual progress tracking with locked/unlocked states
- VS Code notifications when you unlock a new achievement
- Achievement showcase in your profile
Friends & Social
Build your developer network inside VS Code.
- Search and add friends by username
- Accept or decline incoming friend requests with notification badges
- See what your friends are working on in real-time — project, language, and status
- Remove friends anytime
Profile & Avatars
Make your profile your own.
- Choose from 23 avatars across three categories — Animals, Characters, and Objects
- Avatar displayed in your profile header and visible to friends
- Personalize your coding identity
Privacy & Security
Your code stays yours. Always.
- Only metadata is shared — project name, language, and duration
- Code content is never transmitted — not a single line
- File paths are never shared — only the filename extension for language detection
- Granular privacy toggles — hide your project name and/or language from friends
- All communication secured with API key authentication
Getting Started
- Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
- Open the DevSocial panel from the Activity Bar (look for the DevSocial icon)
- Create an account or log in directly from the sidebar
- Start coding — tracking begins automatically
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type:
| Command |
Description |
DevSocial: Show Dashboard |
Open the DevSocial sidebar panel |
DevSocial: Pause Tracking |
Temporarily stop activity tracking |
DevSocial: Resume Tracking |
Resume activity tracking |
DevSocial: Sync Now |
Manually sync your data with the server |
Settings
Go to Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for DevSocial:
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
devsocial.enableTracking |
true |
Enable or disable activity tracking |
devsocial.idleTimeout |
120 |
Seconds of inactivity before marking as idle |
devsocial.syncInterval |
60 |
How often to sync data with the server (seconds) |
devsocial.shareProjectName |
true |
Share your current project name with friends |
devsocial.shareLanguage |
true |
Share the programming language you're using |
devsocial.apiEndpoint |
Production URL |
Backend API endpoint (advanced) |
Requirements
- VS Code 1.85.0 or higher
- Internet connection for sync, chat, and social features
What's New in 1.1.6
- Fixed duplicate message display in chat
- Improved chat message reliability
See the full CHANGELOG for version history.
Support
Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.
License
MIT License — see LICENSE for details.
