Trace code in a tree structure. Build and display code workflows as nested trace points (lines, files, and directories) so you can follow the flow and jump back to source anytime. Double-click any trace point to navigate to its source, with support for multiple trace levels.

Pair it with the Agent Skill so Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, or Gemini CLI can search, add, move, and rebind traces, and refresh the IDE when you ask.
This extension does not include an AI agent; install your preferred agent separately, then install and load the Code Trace Tree skill.

How to use

1. Open the Code Trace Tree activity bar view.
2. Use the Profile webview above the tree to switch trees, add a profile, or delete one.
3. In the editor, right-click a line in a workspace file and choose:
   • Create a Root Code Trace Point — start a new line-level trace tree (selects the new node; does not jump)
   • Create Code Trace Points (Under selected) — add a child under the selected node(s) in the tree (parent expands; new node is selected)
   • Update Selected Trace Points — move the selected tree node(s) to the current line
   • Go to the Trace Point in the tree panel (Only matching) — selects and reveals matching node(s) for the current line; does nothing when none match
4. In the Explorer, right-click a file or directory inside the workspace and choose:
   • Create a Root File/Directory Trace Point — add a file or directory node at the root
   • Create File/Directory Trace Point (Under selected) — add that file/directory under the selected tree node(s) (parent expands automatically)
5. Single-click a node to select it; double-click to jump to that location (line, file, or Explorer for directories).
6. Right-click a node and choose Copy Trace Point Text to copy its display text, e.g. test233 (TestControllerWebFlux.java:54).
7. Right-click a line trace point and choose Show Line Content to view its saved trimmed line text.
8. Use the view title-bar actions to expand/collapse, reorder, highlight, prompt for name on create, import/export, or edit descriptions. Drag a node onto another to reparent it (the target expands automatically).

TIPS: Prefer creating line trace points on text that is unique in that file (or uncommon), not generic lines like } or return;. Empty lines are not allowed. The extension stores occurrence counts to re-find the line after it moves; unique content rebinds more reliably.

Agent Skill

This extension does not ship an AI agent. Install one of the supported agents first, then install the Code Trace Tree skill and ensure it is loaded in the agent session so the agent can talk to the extension.

Supported agents:

• Claude Code
• Cursor
• GitHub Copilot (agent skills)
• Codex
• Gemini CLI

The skill lets the agent:

• Resolve the bound global storage XML for the project
• Search, add, move, and delete trace points
• Rebind line locations after source edits on disk
• Ask the IDE to reload / refresh extension data
• Select or navigate to nodes in the Code Trace Tree view

Python required: the main skill ops (trace_tree search / add / move / delete / rebind) run trace_tree.py, so Python 3 must be on your PATH (python3 or python). Resolve / refresh / select helper scripts are plain shell or batch and do not need Python.

Install skill — extract locations

Download code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip from the GitHub Release (one zip for all agents). Remove any existing code-trace-tree skill folder first, then extract into the skills directory for your agent:

Install example (Claude Code, Linux & macOS)

curl -L https://github.com/saidake/code-trace-tree-vscode/releases/download/v1.2.5/code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip -o code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip
rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/code-trace-tree
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
unzip code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/
rm code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip

Project-local: extract into .claude/skills/ instead of ~/.claude/skills/. For other agents, use the same zip and extract into that agent’s folder from the table above.

Install example (Claude Code, Windows PowerShell)

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/saidake/code-trace-tree-vscode/releases/download/v1.2.5/code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip" -OutFile "code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip"
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$HOME\.claude\skills\code-trace-tree" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$HOME\.claude\skills" | Out-Null
Expand-Archive -Path "code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip" -DestinationPath "$HOME\.claude\skills" -Force
Remove-Item "code-trace-tree-skill-1.2.5.zip"

Project-local: extract into .claude\skills\. For Cursor / Copilot / Codex / Gemini, use the same zip and change the destination path using the table above.

How to use the skill

After the skill is installed and loaded in your agent session, ask the agent in natural language. Mention the skill name when your agent needs an explicit skill reference:

Skill: code-trace-tree
Help me generate some trace point nodes related to the current topic.

Other examples:

Skill: code-trace-tree
Add a root trace point at the login handler, then children for validation and token issue.

Storage

Trace data is stored in a shared global folder:

• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\code-trace-tree
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/code-trace-tree
• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/code-trace-tree or ~/.config/code-trace-tree

Each workspace binds to a global XML in that folder by matching the workspace path (<path> in the XML) — path mode. Agents Case C create that global XML without .idea/code-trace-tree.project.id (IDE-agnostic). New projects allocate <ProjectFolderName>.xml (or Name1.xml, …) with a UUID <projectId> on first use. Legacy <projectId>.xml and folder-named files from older releases are still resolved by scanning XML contents. Without a workspace folder, the empty panel asks you to open one (Profile / Description / toolbar stay hidden). If the tree is empty (no nodes; only the default main profile or no profiles), an empty-state webview explains how to create a root trace point. Recover UI (grey Import stored data after move/rename) appears only when another stored global project still has a trace point. Clearing this workspace’s tree (including delete-all) does not keep recover UI visible for the bound file while it is empty.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.