Pretty Code

Pretty Code is a VS Code extension for expanding short personal keywords into reusable code snippets and algorithm templates. Store boilerplate once, type a keyword such as cppmain, and expand it in any text editor.

Usage

1. Type a keyword in an editor, for example cppmain.
2. Leave the cursor immediately after the keyword.
3. Run Pretty Code: Expand Keyword from the Command Palette or press:
   • Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Alt+E
   • macOS: Cmd+Alt+E

The keyword is replaced with its saved code snippet. Expansion works in any text editor file type.

Save A Snippet

1. Select code in any editor.
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+S on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Alt+S on macOS. You can also run Pretty Code: Save Selection as Snippet from the Command Palette.
3. Enter a keyword when prompted.

Pretty Code stores the snippet in your user settings. If the keyword already exists, you can choose whether to replace it. Shared indentation is removed from selected blocks so the saved code can expand cleanly at a new indentation level.

List Available Keywords

Press Ctrl+Alt+L on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Alt+L on macOS. You can also run Pretty Code: List Available Keywords from the Command Palette. Pretty Code opens a searchable Markdown list containing every bundled and locally saved keyword. Use Ctrl+F inside the list when your snippet library gets large.

Included Keywords

• cppmain: basic C++ main function
• pthread: pthread creation and join example
• fork: fork and wait example

Custom Snippets

Add or replace snippets in your VS Code settings.json using prettyCode.snippets:

{
  "prettyCode.snippets": {
    "hello": "console.log(\"Hello, world!\");",
    "cppmain": "#include <iostream>\nusing namespace std;\n\nint main() {\n    return 0;\n}"
  }
}

Each object key is the keyword you type, and its value is the replacement code. Use \n for new lines inside JSON strings.

Export Snippets For A Release

Locally saved snippets are available across projects on the current device. To bundle them into the next Marketplace release:

1. Open this project in VS Code.
2. Run Pretty Code: Export Snippets for Release from the Command Palette.
3. Save the file as snippets/default-snippets.json in this project when prompted.
4. Publish a new extension version from the terminal:

npm run publish-patch

The export contains the merged bundled and locally configured snippet library, sorted by keyword. Devices that install or update the extension receive these bundled snippets without signing in to GitHub or VS Code Settings Sync.

Sync Model

Pretty Code includes bundled defaults from snippets/default-snippets.json and reads custom snippets from VS Code settings. It does not provide its own cloud sync, login, or GitHub integration. Installing Pretty Code from the VS Code Marketplace makes bundled snippets available on any VS Code installation. VS Code Settings Sync may also carry custom settings between signed-in installations.

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Open this folder in VS Code and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host.

Packaging And Publishing

npm install -g @vscode/vsce
npm run package-extension
npm run publish-patch

npm run publish-patch increments the patch version without requiring a Git repository, then publishes the extension to the Marketplace.

If publishing fails after the version has already changed, fix the issue and retry the prepared version without incrementing it again:

npm run publish-current