JetBrains Replace in Files for VS Code
Find and replace in a workspace in a JetBrains-inspired view with live results and a preview of the selected match. On recent versions of VS Code, the view can open as a floating modal editor over your code.
Enable the modal
VS Code controls modal placement. Open Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and set:
"workbench.editor.useModal": "all"
This is a VS Code-wide preference: other editors may also open as modals. The extension does not change this setting for you. With "some" or "off", Replace in Files opens as an editor tab. The modal editor was introduced experimentally in VS Code 1.110; this integration should be used with a recent VS Code release.
Use
This release supports VS Code on Apple Silicon Macs. Open a folder or workspace, then press Cmd+Shift+R. You can also run JetBrains Replace: Replace in Files from the Command Palette. A single-line editor selection is used as the initial query.
- Toggle case sensitivity, whole-word matching, and regular expressions beside the search field.
- Search the whole workspace, a workspace folder, or a selected directory.
- Use the arrow keys to select a result, Enter to open it, and Escape to close the view. Clicking previews; double-clicking opens.
- Enter replacement text and use Replace for the selected match or Replace All for all results. An empty replacement removes the matches. Regular expressions support capture references such as
$1 and $<name>.
- Open in Search View transfers the query and search options to VS Code's built-in search.
Install and develop
Run npm install, then npm run package and install the generated .vsix using Extensions: Install from VSIX... in VS Code. Alternatively open the project in VS Code and press F5 to run an Extension Development Host. Run npm test for the search tests.
The default shortcut can be changed in Keyboard Shortcuts if it conflicts with another command; the built-in search remains available from the Search view and Command Palette.
Current limitations
The extension uses ripgrep to search files on disk, respects ignore files and boolean search.exclude entries, and limits results to the first 1,000 matches. Replace All is disabled when that limit is reached; narrow the search first. Replacements are applied as VS Code workspace edits and can be undone. Save unsaved changes before replacing; modified files are saved after replacement. Files changed since the search must be searched again. Regular-expression replacements require a pattern supported by both ripgrep and JavaScript. Unsaved edits are shown in the preview but are not included in search results until saved. Search supports file-based workspaces on a compatible extension host; virtual workspaces are not supported. Directory scopes are approximations of JetBrains scopes; JetBrains modules and named scopes are not available. Open in Search View transfers the query and options, but not the selected workspace folder or directory.
