Terminal Copy Helper

A lightweight VS Code extension that sends selected text snippets along with file path and line number information to the currently active terminal.

Features

• Reads one or multiple selected text segments from the active editor
• Automatically generates relative path and start/end line number descriptions
• Wraps raw text in triple quotes for easy terminal pasting or sharing

Usage

1. Open your target project in VS Code and ensure there's at least one active terminal
2. Select the code/text you want to share or execute
3. Right-click and choose Copy to Terminal (with path and line numbers), or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Alt + K (macOS) / Ctrl + Alt + K (Windows/Linux), or search for the same command in the command palette
4. Check the automatically filled content in the terminal

Compatible CLI Tools

This extension is designed to work seamlessly with various AI-powered CLI coding assistants, allowing you to easily share code snippets with contextual information (file path and line numbers) to the terminal. Here are some popular CLI tools that benefit from this extension:

Agentic AI Coding Assistants

• GitHub Copilot CLI: Send code snippets with path and line information for AI-assisted code review, debugging, and PR creation
• Claude Code: Share code context for complex refactoring, multi-file operations, and automated testing
• OpenAI Codex CLI: Provide code with location info for local AI-assisted development and iterative improvements
• Google Gemini CLI: Transfer code snippets for AI-powered code generation and documentation with real-time web search integration
• Amazon Q Developer CLI: Share code for AWS-specific development assistance and cloud resource optimization
• Cursor CLI: Send contextual code information for cross-file modifications and automated testing
• Qodo Command (Gen CLI): Provide code context for custom AI agent workflows and automated code reviews

Open Source CLI Coding Assistants

• aider: Share code snippets for AI pair programming, automatic git commits, and cross-file refactoring
• OpenCode: Send code with path information for terminal-based AI coding with LSP integration
• smol-developer: Provide code context for AI-generated project scaffolding and prototyping

This extension essentially provides a keyboard shortcut and context menu option to insert selected code snippets into the active terminal with path and line number information. Since it simply outputs formatted text to the terminal, it works with any CLI tool or command that can process text input, including all the AI coding assistants mentioned above. The triple-quote formatting makes it easy to paste and share multi-line code snippets in any terminal environment.

Development and Debugging

npm install
npm run watch

Then use VS Code's Run Extension debug configuration to test the functionality in a new Extension Host instance.

Installation and Packaging

Installing the Extension

Method 1: From VS Code Marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Terminal Copy Helper"
4. Click Install

Method 2: Manual Installation from VSIX Package

Step 1: Install VSCE Tool (if not already installed)

npm install -g @vscode/vsce

Step 2: Package the Extension

# Compile the TypeScript code
npm run compile

# Create the VSIX package
vsce package

This will generate a .vsix file (e.g., code-to-cli-0.0.1.vsix) in the project root.

Step 3: Install the VSIX Package

# Install locally in VS Code
code --install-extension code-to-cli-0.0.1.vsix

Or manually:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Click the "..." menu in the top-right corner
4. Select "Install from VSIX..."
5. Choose the generated .vsix file

Publishing Preparation

• Update the publisher field in package.json with your actual publisher ID
• Test the extension thoroughly before publishing
• Create a publisher account on the VS Code Marketplace if you haven't already
• Use vsce publish to publish to the marketplace (requires authentication)