Tabi Tabi
A little folklore in your workspace.
Meet six animated pixel-art companions inspired by Filipino folklore. Tabi Tabi gives them a home in your VS Code sidebar, where they wander, rest, greet you, and bring a little woodland magic to your coding day.
Choose a moonlit landscape or keep things simple with a blank background. Build your own group with one of each companion, up to six together. Your companions and preferences are saved for the next time you open VS Code.
Meet your companions
| Companion |
A little personality for your workspace |
| Duwende |
A tiny guardian with an oversized terracotta hat who tends and waters little mushrooms. |
| Kapre |
A muscular forest giant with shaggy hair, a bahag, and a glowing cigar. He walks at an easy pace and rests beneath his tree. |
| Tikbalang |
A playful horse-headed wanderer with a dark mane and a teal neckerchief. |
| Manananggal |
A moonlit companion who rests with her body attached, separates for flight, and returns to rejoin her waiting lower body. |
| Tiyanak |
A mischievous little crawler. Click to reveal a cheeky transformation. |
| Diwata |
A floating nature spirit with leaves and golden sparkles who brings flowers into bloom. |
These are original, gentle interpretations inspired by Filipino folklore. Traditions and stories vary across regions and communities.
Make yourself at home
- Five background choices: Balete Grove, Moonlit Rice Fields, Bamboo Forest, Riverside Village, or Blank.
- Small, medium, or large companions to suit your sidebar.
- Light, dark, or system appearance that follows your VS Code theme.
- Click greetings with waves, hops, and character-specific reactions.
- Small activities between wandering: mushroom tending, tree resting, and flower growing.
- Pause and resume whenever you want a quiet scene.
- Saved preferences: your group, size, appearance, background, and pause setting survive restarts.
Blank removes the illustrated backdrop while keeping your companions and their activities. Animation pauses when the view is hidden and respects your system's reduced-motion preference.
Get started
- Install Tabi Tabi from the VS Code Extensions view.
- Open Explorer and expand Tabi Tabi, or run Tabi Tabi: Open Companions from the Command Palette.
- Hover over the Tabi Tabi section header and click + to add a companion.
- Click the paint-can settings button to choose the companion size, appearance, or background.
You can also open the hat icon in the Activity Bar. Both views share your saved preferences.
Tip: Add Duwende, Kapre, and Diwata, then leave the scene running to discover their small activities. They happen automatically between wandering and resting.
| Control |
What it does |
| + |
Add a companion. Types already in your group are hidden from the picker. |
| Pause / Play |
Freeze or resume movement, sprite frames, growth, and effects. |
| Circle |
Bring your companions back and clear temporary plant patches. |
| Trash |
Choose an individual companion to remove. |
| Paint can |
Change size, appearance, or background. |
Click a companion to say hello. You can also focus the scene and press Enter or Space for a group greeting. Companions remain inside the scene as you resize the sidebar.
Command Palette
Open the Command Palette and search for Tabi Tabi:
- Open Companions
- Add Companion or Choose Companion
- Remove Companion
- Choose Background
- Companion Settings
- Pause or Resume Animation
- Resume Animation
- Bring Companion Back
Privacy and accessibility
Tabi Tabi runs locally. It does not read your workspace files, send telemetry, or make external network requests at runtime. Artwork is bundled with the extension. It supports keyboard greetings, VS Code appearance settings, and reduced-motion preferences.
Requirements
VS Code 1.90.0 or later.
Development and artwork
For local builds, browser preview, tests, and packaging, see the development guide. Original artwork, animation sources, and generation notes are documented in the artwork notes.
Released under the MIT License.
