Flash Nvim for VSCode

Flash Nvim for VSCode - Fast, precise, label-based code navigation inspired by Neovim's flash.nvim plugin. The most popular Neovim navigation plugin, now available for Visual Studio Code.

Table of Contents activate

• Flash Nvim for VSCode
  • Table of Contents activate
  • Overview
    • Why Choose Flash Nvim for VSCode?
    • Perfect Alternative To
  • Installation
    • Install from VS Code Marketplace
  • Usage
    • Tutorial
  • Configuration
    • Case Sensitivity
    • Appearance Customization
    • VSCodeVim Integration (Optional)
  • Acknowledgements
  • Keywords & Search Terms

Overview

Flash Nvim for VSCode brings the power of Neovim's most popular navigation plugin, flash.nvim, to Visual Studio Code. This extension provides lightning-fast, label-based code navigation that lets you jump to any visible location with just 2-3 keystrokes.

Why Choose Flash Nvim for VSCode?

• ⚡ Lightning Fast: Jump anywhere on screen in milliseconds
• 🎯 Precise Navigation: Label-based system eliminates guesswork
• 🔍 Smart Auto-Scroll: Automatically scrolls to matches when they're outside the visible range
• 🧠 Smart Symbol & Treesitter Selection: Instantly select entire functions, blocks, or scopes - turns 10+ keystrokes into 2-3 for daily copy/cut/refactor tasks
• 🌐 Universal: Works with vscode.dev (VS Code for Web)
• 👥 For Everyone: No Vim knowledge required - great for all developers
• 🔥 Battle-Tested: Based on Neovim's most loved navigation plugin
• 🎨 Highly Customizable: Adjust colors, labels, and behavior to your preference

Perfect Alternative To

Looking for alternatives to EasyMotion, Jumpy, Jumpy2, or AceJump? Flash Nvim for VSCode offers superior performance and a more intuitive label system, making it the best choice for fast code navigation in VS Code.

Installation

Install from VS Code Marketplace

Method 1: Direct Install (Recommended)

1. Click here to install Flash Nvim for VSCode directly from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Click the "Install" button
3. VS Code will open and install the extension automatically

Method 2: Install from VS Code

1. Open Visual Studio Code
2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Shift+X on macOS)
3. Search for "flash nvim for vscode" or "flash vscode"
4. Look for the extension by souravahmed
5. Click Install
6. Reload VS Code if prompted

Method 3: Command Line

code --install-extension souravahmed.flash-vscode-latest

Usage

Tutorial

Tutorial Video

1. Activate Navigation: Flash VSCode provides two main functionalities:

   • flash-vscode.start: alt+f Moves the cursor directly to the selected target.

   • alt+f while some text is selected will search for the selected text.

     

   • Press alt+f or alt+shift+f then <search> then enter to goto next match, shift+enter to goto previous match.

   • Auto-scroll: If all matches are outside the visible range, Flash automatically scrolls to show the nearest match - no manual scrolling needed!

   • Press alt+f or alt+shift+f then enter to search previously entered query.

   • Select text and press alt+f or alt+shift+f then enter to search and mark the selected text.

   • Press alt+f then alt+enter to mark all symbols (functions, classes, variables) in the current file.

   • Press alt+f (or any active flash mode) then shift+alt+enter for treesitter-style selection - marks hierarchical syntactic scopes (expressions, statements, blocks) around cursor for smart selection.

     

   • Press alt+f then alt+j or alt+k to mark all the next line or previous line. | Next Line | Previous Line | | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | | | |

2. 🚀 Smart Symbol & Treesitter Selection - Game Changer for Daily Coding:

Treesitter Selection

Treesitter Label	Treesitter Selection

Dramatically reduce the friction of selecting, cutting, and copying code. No more tedious click-dragging, Shift+Arrow key combos, or hunting for scope boundaries!

Symbol Navigation (alt+enter):

• Instantly jump to and select any function, class, or variable in your file
• Press alt+f → alt+enter to label all symbols
• Hit a label key to select the entire symbol definition (from start to end)
• Perfect for: Quickly selecting functions to cut/copy/refactor

Treesitter Selection (shift+alt+enter):

• The fastest way to select code scopes - expressions, statements, blocks, functions
• Press alt+f (or any active flash mode) → shift+alt+enter
• Labels appear on both opening and closing boundaries ({ and }, function start/end, etc.)
• Includes sticky scroll context - parent scopes visible at the top
• Select a label to automatically select the entire scope
• No more manual "find the matching brace" - LSP knows your code structure!

Why this matters for daily programming:

• Want to copy a function? alt+f → alt+enter → hit the label → Ctrl+C ✅
• Need to select an if-block? shift+alt+enter → hit the label → Done ✅
• Refactoring nested code? Jump between scope boundaries instantly ✅
• Turns 10+ keystrokes into 2-3 keystrokes for common selection tasks

4. Selection:

   • flash-vscode.startSelection: alt+shift+f Extends the selection from the original position to the target.

     

5. Preview

   • Added a preview in status bar.

     

6. Cancel Navigation:

   • Press Backspace to remove the last character of your query, or press Escape to exit jump mode.

Configuration

Case Sensitivity

By default, flash-vscode's search is using smart case. Meaning if any uppercase latter exists then becomes case sensitive, else becomes case insensitive. To change this behavior, add to your settings:

{
  "flash-vscode.caseSensitive": false
}

Appearance Customization

The following configuration options allow you to customize the visual appearance of Flash VSCode:

{
  "flash-vscode.dimOpacity": "0.65",
  "flash-vscode.matchColor": "#3e68d7",
  "flash-vscode.matchFontWeight": "bold",
  "flash-vscode.labelColor": "#ffffff",
  "flash-vscode.labelBackgroundColor": "#ff007c",
  "flash-vscode.labelQuestionBackgroundColor": "#3E68D7",
  "flash-vscode.labelFontWeight": "bold",
  "flash-vscode.labelKeys": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789!@#$%^&*()-_=+[]{}|;:'\",.<>/?"
}

• flash-vscode.dimOpacity: Opacity used to dim text.
• flash-vscode.matchColor: Color used for matched text.
• flash-vscode.matchFontWeight: Font weight for matched text.
• flash-vscode.labelColor: Color used for label text.
• flash-vscode.labelBackgroundColor: Background color for labels.
• flash-vscode.labelQuestionBackgroundColor: Background color for question labels.
• flash-vscode.labelFontWeight: Font weight for label text.
• flash-vscode.labelKeys: Characters to use for labels.

VSCodeVim Integration (Optional)

To invoke Flash VSCode commands from VSCodeVim, in your settings.json, add entries to "vim.normalModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive" as follows:

"vim.normalModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive": [
  {
    "before": ["s"],
    "commands": ["flash-vscode.start"]
  },
  {
    "before": ["S"],
    "commands": ["flash-vscode.startSelection"]
  },
  {
    "before": [ "<BS>" ],
    "commands": [ "flash-vscode.backspace" ]
  },
]

This configuration triggers Flash VSCode when you press s or S in normal mode.

Acknowledgements

• flash.nvim for the original ideas.
• Jumpy2 for some of the implementation details.
• flash.vscode flash.vscode(latest) extension is supper set of this extension.
• CVim-PR CVim for ux improvement ideas.

Keywords & Search Terms

Popular Searches: flash.nvim, flash nvim, flash.nvim vscode, flash nvim vscode, flash vscode, flash.vscode, neovim, nvim, vim navigation, vscode navigation, code jump, label jump, easymotion alternative, jumpy alternative, acejump alternative, quick navigation, cursor jump, code navigation extension, vscode jump to, fast navigation, keyboard navigation, vim motions, vscodevim extension, neovim vscode, vim for vscode, treesitter vscode, smart selection, scope selection, symbol navigation, code scope selection

Related Extensions: VSCodeVim, EasyMotion, Jumpy, Jumpy2, AceJump, Vim, Neovim

Use Cases: code navigation, quick jump, label-based navigation, keyboard-driven development, productivity tools, vim workflow, neovim workflow, fast coding, efficient navigation, smart code selection, scope-based selection, treesitter selection, symbol jumping, function selection, block selection, code refactoring, quick copy paste, efficient code editing