# Linesmith

a vs code / cursor / windsurf extension that types code into the active editor on cue. uses the extension api directly (TextEditor.edit()) instead of synthesizing keystrokes. no autocomplete to fight, no bracket auto-close, no formatOnType. built so recording tutorials stops being a typo-and-retake loop.

sibling to typesmith. same family, different surface (terminal vs editor).

demo

what it does

• typing engine that uses TextEditor.edit() directly: bypasses autocomplete, snippets, bracket pairing, and formatOnType; works in remote sessions (ssh, wsl, codespaces) where keystroke injection often can’t reach
• .linesmith script files: plain text with --- on its own line separating chunks. the file is the textarea; edit it in a normal vs code tab with the full editor chrome
• target tracking by uri: the target editor is whichever non-.linesmith tab you last clicked into. the panel shows it in the header so it’s never ambiguous, and the link survives a panel detach to its own os window
• clipboard fast path: copy code anywhere, focus the target editor, hit ctrl+alt+shift+l (or cmd+alt+shift+l) to type the clipboard contents at the cursor
• detach panel into its own window: for recording mode, drag the control panel off-screen, the capture only sees the editor
• reset between takes: clear the target and re-arm all chunks for the next attempt
• language-agnostic: engine inserts characters; the language is the target editor’s concern. same .linesmith file works for html, python, rust, anything

install

why i built it

i record a lot of code on camera. pasting looks fake. typing live means typos, autocomplete getting in the way, and the retake loop. typesmith solved this for the terminal back in april. but code editors are not dumb pipes the way prose targets are, and a keystroke-injection tool would spend its life fighting vs code. linesmith is the editor sibling: type real code at a controlled pace, on take one, every time, with the editor’s actual edit api doing the inserting.

v0.2 next: cursor choreography via per-chunk @directive frontmatter (@cursor end-of-line, @speed 60), so a recording can jump back into a function signature to add types, then up two lines for a docstring. the killer feature, deferred so v0.1 could ship narrow.

mit · free.