DevNotes is a VS Code extension that lets you create, manage, and share annotations directly inside your code — without ever leaving the editor.
Attach notes to specific lines, write them in Markdown, and keep them private or share them with your team through project files.
Features
- Inline annotations — attach notes to any line or selection in any file
- Markdown support — write notes with full Markdown: headings, lists, checklists, tables, code blocks
- Syntax highlighting — code snippets inside notes are highlighted automatically
- Personal & project notes — keep notes private (stored locally) or share them with the project team (stored in
.devnotes/) - GitHub & Azure login — authenticate to associate notes with your identity
- Sidebar — browse all notes for the current workspace in the activity bar
- Edit & delete — update or remove notes directly from the note panel
Getting Started
- Install the extension
- Open the DevNotes panel in the activity bar
- Sign in with GitHub or Azure
- Select any line or block of code, right-click and choose DevNotes: Add Note — or use the lightbulb action
Commands
All commands are available via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
DevNotes: Sign in with GitHub |
Authenticate with your GitHub account |
DevNotes: Sign in with Azure |
Authenticate with your Azure account |
DevNotes: Add Note |
Create a new note for the selected code |
DevNotes: Open Note |
Open a note in the detail panel |
DevNotes: Delete Note |
Delete a note by ID |
DevNotes: Clear Data |
Clear personal notes, project notes, or both |
DevNotes: Clear Session |
Reset the current authentication session |
Note Scopes
| Scope | Storage | Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | VS Code globalState |
Only visible to you, on this machine |
| Project | .devnotes/<username>.json in the workspace |
Visible to anyone with access to the repository |
Personal notes are always filtered by the logged-in user — switching accounts will not expose another user's private notes.
Project Notes Storage
Project-scoped notes are saved in a .devnotes/ folder at the root of your workspace. Each user gets their own file (<username>.json). You can commit this folder to share notes with your team, or add it to .gitignore to keep them local.
Requirements
- VS Code
^1.120.0 - A GitHub or Azure account (required to create notes)
Extension Settings
No configuration required. DevNotes works out of the box.
Known Issues
- Notes anchored to a file will not update automatically if the file is renamed or moved outside of VS Code.
Release Notes
0.0.4
Initial release of "DevNotes by Etazhi" now available.