Codebase Manifold

Generate a token-efficient map of your codebase to paste into any Claude (or other AI) chat — instead of dumping raw source.

What it does

Scans your .js/.ts/.jsx/.tsx files and extracts, per file:

• A one-line purpose (from // @purpose: annotation, JSDoc, or filename heuristic)
• Exported functions/classes (signatures only, no bodies)
• Local imports
• A lightweight call graph

Outputs a single Markdown manifest (~1.5–2k tokens for a mid-size project instead of ~20k+ for raw source).

Usage

1. Open the Codebase Manifold icon in the activity bar (left sidebar).
2. The manifest auto-generates for your workspace.
3. Click Copy Manifest to copy just the compressed map.
4. Or check specific files and click Copy Manifest + Selected Files to include their full source (for actual bug fixes).
5. Paste into your AI chat, describe the issue — the AI tells you which files it needs, you check those boxes and copy again.

Also available via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

• Manifold: Generate Manifest
• Manifold: Copy Manifest
• Manifold: Copy Context for AI

Auto-refresh

By default, the manifest regenerates (debounced ~2s) whenever you save a file in the workspace. Configure via settings:

"manifold.autoRefresh": true,
"manifold.debounceMs": 2000,
"manifold.includePatterns": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", "**/*.js", "**/*.jsx"],
"manifold.excludePatterns": ["**/node_modules/**", "**/dist/**", "..."],
"manifold.maxFileSizeKb": 500

Annotating purpose manually

Add a one-line comment near the top of a file for precise control:

// @purpose: Handles bulk question queue with rate-limit-aware concurrency

If omitted, Manifold falls back to the first JSDoc block, then a filename-based guess.