What Was I Doing?

Never Lose Your Coding Context

🌐 Website • Features • Installation • Usage • Configuration • Contributing

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📖 About

What Was I Doing? is your silent productivity assistant.

Developers are constantly interrupted. Don't waste mental energy trying to remember your train of thought after a context switch. This extension seamlessly tracks your work context in the background and helps you resume exactly where you left off.

Whether you:

• Get pulled into an unexpected meeting
• Switch to another application
• Take a coffee break
• Close your laptop for the weekend

...the moment you return, a helpful popup instantly reminds you what file you were in, what function you were editing, and the exact next step you were supposed to take based on your TODO comments.

100% Private, 100% Local. We never send your code or data anywhere.

🎬 See It In Action

🚀 Quick Start: Install and Get Started

Get up and running in seconds:

Install from VS Code Marketplace and the extension automatically starts tracking your work context

⏰ Track Your Work Timeline

Never lose track of when you last worked on something. See exactly what you were doing 50 minutes ago, or even yesterday:

View your complete work history with timestamps — "What was I working on 50 min ago?" is answered instantly

📜 Browse Complete Work History

Access all your previous work sessions and jump back to any context with a single click:

Browse through all your saved work contexts and click any session to instantly resume from that exact point

🎯 Command Palette Integration

Quick access to all extension features directly from the Command Palette:

Search "What Was I Doing" in the Command Palette to see all available commands and features at your fingertips

⚙️ Customize to Your Workflow

Configure the extension to match your preferences — adjust popup behavior, idle timeout, history size, file exclusions, and more:

Fine-tune settings like popup display, idle timeout minutes, max history size, exclude patterns, and other options to fit your workflow perfectly

✨ Features

🔄 Automatic Context Tracking Seamlessly monitors your coding activity without any manual intervention. 📝 Activity Monitoring - Tracks file edits, cursor movements, and active editors ⏱️ Smart Idle Detection - Automatically detects when you step away 💾 Context Preservation - Saves your exact position, function name, and nearby TODO comments 🚫 Smart Deduplication - Doesn't save duplicate contexts repeatedly

🎯 Instant Resume Get back to work instantly with helpful context. 📄 Last Active File - Jump to the exact file you were editing 🔍 Function/Method - See the function or class you were in � Auto-Generated Notes - Automatic context summary (e.g., "Fixing auth bug in login.ts")- 🔀 Git Awareness - Branch name, last commit, and uncommitted files count- �📝 Next Steps - View TODO/FIXME comments for context ⏰ Time Tracking - Know how long you've been away

📋 Work Session History Never lose track of your recent work. 🕒 Session Timeline - Browse through recent work sessions 🔍 Quick Navigation - Jump to any previous context instantly 📊 Configurable Size - Keep as many sessions as you need 🗂️ Per-Workspace - Separate history for each project

⚙️ Highly Configurable Customize the extension to fit your workflow. ⏲️ Idle Timeout - Set from 1-120 minutes (default: 10) 🚫 File Exclusions - Ignore node_modules, .git, etc. 🏷️ Custom Keywords - Define your own TODO keywords 🔔 Auto-Popup - Toggle automatic resume notifications

🚀 Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Method 1: VS Code UI (Recommended)

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+X (Mac)
3. Search for "What Was I Doing"
4. Click Install

Method 2: Command Line

code --install-extension VanshSethi.what-was-i-doing

Method 3: Direct Link

→ Install from VS Code Marketplace

💡 Usage

Quick Start

1. Install the extension (see Installation)
2. Start coding - The extension automatically tracks your activity
3. Take a break - Step away for coffee, meetings, or lunch
4. Return - See a helpful popup showing where you left off!

Available Commands

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac):

Command	Description	Icon
What Was I Doing: Show Last Context	View your most recent work context	🕒
What Was I Doing: View History	Browse all saved work sessions	📋
What Was I Doing: Save Current Context	Manually save your current position	💾
What Was I Doing: Clear History	Reset all saved contexts	🗑️

Status Bar Integration

Look for the clock icon (🕒) in your status bar:

• Shows time since last activity (e.g., "2m ago", "1h ago")
• Click it to quickly view your work history
• Hover for tooltip with last active function/file

💡 Automatic Context Notes

The extension automatically generates helpful notes about what you were working on:

Examples:

💡 Fixing auth bug in login.ts, need to check JWT expiry in Method: validateToken()
💡 Working on Method: fetchUserData() in api.ts
💡 Editing database.ts

These notes are generated from:

• TODO/FIXME comments near your cursor
• Function/method names you were editing
• The file you were working in

The notes appear in:

• 🔔 Resume popup when you return
• 📋 History quick pick menu
• 🕒 Status bar tooltips

🔀 Git Awareness

The extension automatically captures Git context when saving your work:

Captured Information:

• 🌿 Branch name (e.g., feature/auth-fix)
• 💬 Last commit message
• 📝 Number of uncommitted files

Example Display:

🔀 Branch: feature/auth-fix • Uncommitted files: 3
💬 Last commit: feat: add JWT token validation

This helps you quickly understand:

• What feature/fix you were working on
• If you have uncommitted changes
• The last stable point in your work

⚙️ Configuration

Access settings via File > Preferences > Settings or Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux) / Cmd+, (Mac), then search for "What Was I Doing".

📋 All Configuration Options

⏲️ whatWasIDoing.idleTimeoutMinutes

Minutes of inactivity before context is automatically saved.

• Type: number
• Default: 10
• Range: 1-120

{
  "whatWasIDoing.idleTimeoutMinutes": 15
}

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📚 whatWasIDoing.maxHistorySize

Maximum number of work sessions to keep in history.

• Type: number
• Default: 30
• Range: 1-50

{
  "whatWasIDoing.maxHistorySize": 30
}

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🔔 whatWasIDoing.autoShowResumePopup

Automatically show resume popup when returning to work.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

{
  "whatWasIDoing.autoShowResumePopup": false
}

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🚫 whatWasIDoing.excludePatterns

File path regex patterns to exclude from tracking.

• Type: array of strings
• Default: [".*node_modules.*", ".*\\.git.*", ".*dist.*", ".*build.*"]

{
  "whatWasIDoing.excludePatterns": [
    ".*node_modules.*",
    ".*\\.git.*",
    ".*test.*",
    ".*\\.cache.*"
  ]
}

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🏷️ whatWasIDoing.todoKeywords

Keywords to detect in comments for next-step hints.

• Type: array of strings
• Default: ["TODO", "FIXME", "HACK", "NOTE", "BUG", "XXX"]

{
  "whatWasIDoing.todoKeywords": [
    "TODO",
    "FIXME",
    "WIP",
    "REVIEW"
  ]
}

🎯 Use Cases

Perfect for developers who...

Scenario	How It Helps
☕ Coffee Breaks	Return from a 15-minute break and instantly recall what you were coding
🔀 Context Switching	Jump between multiple projects without losing your place
🌙 End of Day	Close VS Code at 5pm, reopen at 9am, pick up exactly where you left off
📞 Unexpected Meetings	Get pulled into a meeting? Resume your work seamlessly afterward
🐛 Debugging Sessions	Navigate through different files and functions while maintaining context
📚 Code Reviews	Switch between reviewing PRs and your own work effortlessly
🎯 Focus Sessions	Take breaks between Pomodoro sessions without losing momentum

🔒 Privacy & Security

✅ 100% Local Storage	All data stored locally in VS Code's workspace state
✅ No External Servers	Zero network requests - your code stays private
✅ User Control	Clear history anytime with one command
✅ Open Source	Fully auditable code on GitHub

❓ FAQ

Does this extension slow down VS Code?

No! The extension uses efficient event listeners and only activates after VS Code finishes starting up. It has minimal performance impact.

Will it track files in node_modules or .git?

No. Common directories like node_modules, .git, dist, and build are excluded by default. You can customize exclusions in settings.

Can I use this across multiple workspaces?

Yes! Each workspace maintains its own separate history, so contexts don't mix between projects.

What happens if I don't want the auto-popup?

You can disable it in settings with "whatWasIDoing.autoShowResumePopup": false. You can still view history manually via the command palette or status bar.

Does it work with all programming languages?

Yes! Activity tracking works with all languages. Function name detection works best with JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, and other common languages.

🛠️ Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/vansh-121/what-was-i-doing
cd what-was-i-doing
npm install
npm run compile

Testing

Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host.

📋 Requirements

Requirement	Version
VS Code	≥ 1.106.0
OS	Windows, macOS, Linux

🐛 Known Issues & Limitations

Issue	Workaround
Symbol detection may not work for all languages	Works best with JS/TS, Python, Java, C++
Very large files (>1MB) may have slower extraction	Excluded by default in most cases
Function detection in complex nested structures	Still captures file and line number

Found a bug? Report it here 🐛

📊 Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release notes.

Latest Version: 1.0.8

• ✨ NEW: Added a beautiful interactive Walkthrough to guide new users on first install.
• 🚀 IMPROVED: Refined marketplace copy and onboarding experience.
• 🔔 NEW: Automatic first-run popup to open the walkthrough immediately.

Version: 1.0.6

• 🐛 FIXED: Custom TODO keywords now properly respected in note generation
• 🐛 FIXED: TODO comment changes now correctly trigger new context saves
• 💡 Automatic context notes generation
• 🔀 Git awareness (branch, commit, uncommitted files)
• 📝 Intelligent notes from TODO comments, function names, and file context
• 🎯 Enhanced resume experience with prominent note display
• ⏰ Smart idle detection
• 🎯 Instant resume popup
• 📋 Work session history
• 🚫 Duplicate context prevention

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!

• 🐛 Report a Bug
• 💡 Request a Feature
• 📖 Read Contributing Guidelines

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vansh-121/what-was-i-doing.git
cd what-was-i-doing

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Run in development mode
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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💬 Support & Feedback

If you find this extension helpful, please consider:
⭐ Starring the repo on GitHub
⭐ Rating it on the VS Code Marketplace
🐦 Sharing it with your developer friends

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Made with ❤️ by Vansh Sethi

Website • VS Code Marketplace • GitHub Repository • Report Issues