SearchDeck

Telescope-style search for VS Code with agent-ready @path references.

SearchDeck opens inside the editor area as a real tab. Search results stay where you left them, previews stay visible, and multiple searches can remain open while you keep working.

Demo Video

Why Install

VS Code already has great Quick Open, text search, and symbol search. SearchDeck brings those workflows into one persistent, keyboard-first editor tab:

• Keep search results open like any other editor tab.
• Open several independent search tabs for different tasks.
• Search files, text, and symbols from one input.
• Preview selected files without leaving the search tab.
• Jump with fast Telescope-like keys.
• Send exact files to coding agents by copying references like @src/abc.js with one shortcut.
• Use VS Code native commands when you want the built-in overlays.

What It Looks Like

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Search                                                       |
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| Files                         | Preview                     |
|   src/extension.ts            | import * as vscode...       |
|   src/search/ranking.ts       |                             |
|                               |                             |
| Text                          | highlighted match context   |
|   README.md:42                |                             |
|   src/panel/SearchPanel.ts:9  |                             |
|                               |                             |
| Symbols                       |                             |
|   activate                    |                             |
|   SearchPanel                 |                             |
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+

Features

Editor-Tab Search

Run SearchDeck: Open Search Tab or press Alt+Space.

SearchDeck opens as a normal VS Code editor tab. You can switch away, come back later, and keep the same search context.

Three Search Sections

SearchDeck searches:

• Files: fuzzy path and filename search
• Text: workspace text matches
• Symbols: workspace symbols from installed language extensions

When the input is empty, SearchDeck shows file results first, similar to Quick Open behavior.

Smart Section Ordering

Results stay grouped by section, but sections reorder based on strongest match.

Example: if text matches are strongest, order becomes:

Text
Files
Symbols

Preview Pane

Move selection and the right side updates immediately.

• File result previews file content.
• Text result previews matching line.
• Symbol result previews symbol location.

Agent-Ready @ References

SearchDeck turns any selected result into a precise reference for agent programming. Press Shift+Enter, then paste directly into your coding-agent prompt or chat:

@src/abc.js
@src/abc.js:42

• File results copy the project-relative @path.
• Text and symbol results copy the file path without a line number.
• No manual path typing, file browsing, or ambiguous filenames.
• Copy several references to build focused multi-file prompts quickly.

Example agent prompt:

Compare @src/search/ranking.ts with @src/search/fileSearch.ts:24 and simplify the scoring flow.

This is especially useful with coding agents and assistants that accept @path context: SearchDeck finds the relevant code, and the copied reference tells the agent exactly where to look.

Multi-root workspaces include workspace folder name:

@client/src/app.ts

Keyboard Shortcuts

All commands are contributed to VS Code, so users can change them in Keyboard Shortcuts.

Global

Inside SearchDeck

SearchDeck contributes searchdeck.open to terminal.integrated.commandsToSkipShell, so Alt+Space is handled by VS Code even when the integrated terminal is focused. It also includes a terminal-editor keybinding for terminals opened with workbench.action.createTerminalEditor.

Some operating systems reserve Alt+Space for the window menu before VS Code can receive it. If the OS captures the key, remap SearchDeck: Open Search Tab in Keyboard Shortcuts.

Commands

Settings

Install From Source

This repository is a VS Code extension project.

npm install
npm run compile

Then launch an Extension Development Host:

code --extensionDevelopmentPath .

Inside the new VS Code window:

1. Open Command Palette.
2. Run SearchDeck: Open Search Tab.
3. Or press Alt+Space.

Package Locally

Install vsce if needed:

npm install -g @vscode/vsce

Build package:

vsce package

Install generated .vsix:

code --install-extension searchdeck-0.0.1.vsix

Development

npm install
npm run compile
npm test

Watch mode:

npm run watch

Notes

VS Code native Quick Open, text search, and symbol search are overlay UIs. Extensions cannot embed those overlays inside a custom editor tab.

SearchDeck uses VS Code APIs and providers for the editor-tab experience, and also exposes wrappers for the native commands when you want the built-in overlays.

Text search in this version scans workspace files from the extension host because the stable VS Code typings used here do not expose an embeddable findTextInFiles API. Result caps and exclude settings keep that bounded.

Best For

• users who like Telescope-style workflows
• users who want search results to stay open
• users who often jump between files, matches, and symbols
• users who want fast keyboard navigation without losing editor context